Start Date: May 2, 2023

Windwillow

After the Novelization: The Calm After the Storm

Chapter Two: Reaching for Redemption

Scene One

Barret Wallace's life had been full of twists and turns, very few of which bent in his favor. Blamed four years earlier for destroying his home town, his sins had finally been absolved upon his second homecoming during the Jenova War. Even that, however, wasn't satisfying enough; he wanted to start a new life with Marlene and make something more of himself. Since his daughter and Aerith's mother Elmyra had been set up in Kalm by Reeve, Barret soon joined them and attempted to rebuild his life. At this he was wholly unsuccessful. The citizens of Kalm, put off by his Gun-arm, refused to hire him for anything more than basic labor. Even that turned out badly, when his lack of a primary arm forced him to work under a handicap that he was simply unable to overcome. So discouraged, he'd resorted to living under Elmyra's roof as a squatter. Although he was able to remain near Marlene, it was far from a satisfying existence.

While his room in Kalm was comfortable, it could also be called spartan. He had no pictures, no flowers, nothing but a plain bed, a drawing desk and a bedside table. Barret had asked for it himself; he didn't feel like he deserved anything better. The loss of his friends as well as the murder of Aerith had leadened his burden, and even with North Corel's forgiveness, to him it wasn't enough. As he laid in bed one night Barret stared quietly up at the ceiling fan. Carefully noting the movements of the blade, counting the revolutions, analyzing the drab colors of the fan... and yet despite his best efforts, his mind wandered to places that he never wanted to search for again.

Sephiroth's dead. Big whoop. Even with Marlene, something's missing... three names on a sheet of paper are missing. I got what I asked for when she told me what they said before it all ended. Wedge...

He was coated in blood and dirt, the final vestiges of his existence prepared to expire at a moment's notice. Cloud had tried to heal him, but he was too far gone. Wedge had fought valiantly... but it wasn't enough. As he lay dying on the battlefield, he was joined in his final moments by Cloud and Tifa.

"Wedge, hush..." Cloud reassured, cradling his head in his arms. "You're gonna be okay... We're gonna get through this..."he whispered. But his words were empty; blood dripped from Wedge's lips and he bore the bruises of the abuse the soldiers had given him. He only had a few more minutes left before he finally expired.

Somehow managing to fight himself from the brink, Wedge smiled at Cloud. "You remembered my name... Thanks, Cloud..." he croaked. Just knowing that he'd come was enough, that he'd decided to save the Planet after all.

Gritting her teeth Tifa attempted to force a smile, but it wouldn't come. "Where are Barret and the others?!" she asked fervently, the fire in her eyes giving Wedge just a slight bit of hope that she could save the others.

"I'm sorry... I couldn't do anything..." hacked Wedge. As more blood dripped from his mouth, his salty tears soon joined them. "Biggs... Jessie... Barret... They're all still fighting... don't let them die, please!" he sobbed. Once he'd finished his final words Wedge's life expired, though Tifa barely managed to catch his head before it hit the ground.

Biggs...

"Quiet... Can you hear that?" asked Cloud in a hushed voice. Tifa grimly nodded and they both inched towards the nearest pillar. Slow, careful steps, a firm hand on his blade, Cloud moved past the pillar and was met by a pistol trained between his eyes.

He was coated in blood and dirt, and his signature red bandana was slightly askew, but he still seemed to be alive. "You came back," he said dryly. Slowly Biggs lowered his gun. "I thought you said you didn't care about the Planet," Biggs snapped.

Slowly lowering his sword, Cloud lifted it to his shoulder and returned the blade to his back. "Never said I didn't care about you..." Cloud murmured.

The strain was becoming almost unbearable, but seeing Biggs up and moving gave Tifa some semblance of hope. "And I never stopped caring..." she whispered softly. "How bad is it?"

"Bad as it gets... Barret and Jessie went up ahead, and I stayed back to..." Biggs grit his teeth, straining against his injuries, and a slight trickle of blood fell from his bandana down his face. "I stayed to wait for you," he said quietly. More blood joined the trickle, flowing down his face and around his eyes and his body began to quake and break down.

"Biggs! We can-" Before Tifa could finish speaking, Biggs laid his finger to her lips to shush her. Somehow he mustered the strength to softly shake his head, spots of blood splattering on Tifa's face that were soon accompanied by her own tears.

"Go... just go..." rasped Biggs. It had taken the last of his energy, and so he dropped limply into her embrace. Tifa tearfully brushed his bandana aside to see a bullet wound, the same one that had taken his life.

Forcing back her tears, Tifa ran her hand along Biggs' face and left a slight streak of red on the back of her glove. Trembling, she felt Cloud's hand on her shoulder and turned to see the resolve in his eyes. She tenderly laid Biggs' body to the floor and crossed his arms over his chest, praying that he could find at least a little dignity in death. Although it took all the energy she had Tifa forced herself to run towards the next floor. As Cloud eyed Biggs' body, in grief his grip tightened and he lashed out with his blade, slicing apart a pillar and dropping it to the ground. As the chunk of steel dropped inertly to the floor, he quietly hurried to join Tifa, although he turned his head back and bowed it in respect for his fallen comrade first.

... you were the hardest, Jessie...

Although she nearly fell Jessie managed to brace her hand against the wall to keep herself standing. Cloud's hand, extended to help her, was waved away with a grim smile. "No... no..." Jessie sighed, dragging herself back up to her feet. "This has to be karma... Maybe someone upstairs is finally making us pay the piper... I'm just sorry I didn't get to..." She paused and shook her head. "No, forget it... it's nothing..." Jessie took in a deep breath and lifted her sidearm to her face. "Listen... Barret's on top of the pillar. Please back him up, Cloud. I'll guard this place," she said resolutely.

"Jessie... you..." Cloud rasped, a moment before Jessie took his face in her free hand and drew it up to her lips. His eyes snapped open wide as her lips touched his, yet despite it all he wasn't able to return the gesture and simply allowed her to kiss him. A few blissful moments passed as their lips mingled, though Jessie finally withdrew her lips. "Jessie!" he croaked, not appalled but still shocked... in a good way.

It began as a smile but quickly turned into a dark kind of laughter, a grim smile on her face as Jessie turned her eyes to Tifa. "Sorry, Tifa..." she murmured. Receiving no reaction from her friend, she lifted her pistol up with both hands and narrowed it at the descending stairwell, the one that Cloud and Tifa had come from. "If anyone comes, I have your back. Just go, and don't look back..." she rasped.

While Cloud ushered Tifa up the next staircase, Jessie's eyes remained trained on the door. When it opened she fired twice, downing one agent and hitting the other with a mutual strike. As a soft smile crossed her face she fell to her side, dead. Even so, she'd remembered the number: a hundred and twenty three, the number of innocent lives she'd taken before she'd surrendered her own.

As he remembered each of his fallen friends, Barret's left hand drifted down the shell of his Gun-arm. He could feel the firm steel fight against his fingers, and in anger he ran his nails along it hard enough to leave a scrape on the weapon.

The guys at Fort Condor gave me this stupid thing... after I mangled yours. And I remember what you said, Sakaki... Always have and always will, even if I am dense as a rock.

"Kill, kill, kill. All violence does is breed more of the same. But if you won't take my advice... Will this satisfy you? Fine. When you want to really satisfy yourself, come back and I'll make you a real hand."

"I'm ready..." Barret murmured softly. "I want to be satisfied..." he breathed, barely audibly.

Scene Two

Meteorfall had been quite generous to North Corel. Mako energy was being discouraged and alternative fuels encouraged, one of which was coal. Given that North Corel had been a coal mining town for generations that immediately put them at the forefront of the market. It wasn't overnight, but between the increased demand for coal and the reopening of the Gold Saucer, the town soon became swelled with resources and was actually petitioning to become its own state before the WRO emerged. What had once been shanties and hovels soon swelled into a fully fledged town that could rival what the original Corel had been. The worn down people, so long oppressed by hunger and despair, now began to accumulate money and luxuries and became frequent visitors to the Gold Saucer. One home remained as it had before, however. It was a halfway broken down hut, littered with garbage and spare parts, but it was home to a certain individual who had managed to eke out his own living during the dry spell. With long gray hair woven into dreadlocks, old man Sakaki had been a chain smoker for almost his entire life. Just watching Barret enter the door coated his face with a smile that he couldn't suppress.

Barret rustled around in his pocket and laid down a wad of Gil that he'd been given by Elmyra and slid it towards Sakaki. "Dunno what your prices are these days, but I hope this'll cover some work..." said Barret cautiously. He didn't want to hold out hope that Sakaki would even take his money in the first place.

Snapping open his lighter, Sakaki lifted the fire to his cigarette and stuck it between his lips, a wry smile forming as he snatched up the bills. "I've been waiting three damn years for you to pull your head out of your ass, you jackass," he snapped. While at first Barret thought he'd been rejected, Sakaki instead rustled around in his cabinet and withdrew both a pen and a drawing pad that he used to create his designs. "Do you want another machine gun this time? I've been experimenting with compact firearms... Or do you actually want a real hand?" asked Sakaki tentatively.

"Second option," Barret said smilingly. He ran his fingers along his Gun-arm's shell and scratched at it. "I'm ready for what you've been asking me for..." he murmured. With a toothy smile, he stretched out his hand for Sakaki to shake. "I'm ready to be satisfied!" said Barret proudly.

"And what about Dyne? Did he decide to do the same, or did you put him six feet under? Damned fool would only listen to force..." muttered Sakaki grimly. When Barret averted his eyes, Sakaki quietly snatched up his cigarette and snuffed it out. That was what he'd expected, but it wasn't what he'd hoped for. As Barret turned to leave, Sakaki slammed his fist on the desk and startled him cold. When Barret turned to stare at him, Sakaki smiled again and pulled out a bottle of liquor. All Barret could do was smile and reach for a cup.

Scene Three

After Sakaki had finished drawing up plans for Barret's new prosthetic, he sent Barret back to Kalm to await the hand's completion. While his spirits were lifted Barret remained unable to find a stable job, however. Day after day he retreated to his room and shut the door tight, never answering it even when Marlene knocked. It was one day when Tifa rapped on the door that Barret finally opened it. Tifa had brought Barret a new cocktail of her own design and they shared it over stories of their travels. They talked about the bloody battles and the heartrending moments, where they'd been pushed to their limits, but Barret remained silent whenever AVALANCHE was mentioned. While Tifa expected as much and poured herself another drink, she was startled when Barret began to unlock his desk drawer, something he hadn't done for anyone else.

"I've been thinking over and over about their last words..." said Barret hesitantly. While Tifa remained uncertain of what to say, Barret withdrew a large, folded sheet of paper and laid it on his bed. "And it made me come to a decision: I've asked for a new hand from Sakaki," he said smilingly. Tifa smiled widely, but when Barret unfolded his drawing she stopped cold.

One hundred and twenty three intricately carved crosses had been etched onto the large sheet of paper, with the letters W, B, and J written in the center. It didn't take long for Tifa to realize that there was another letter etched in red that she at first mistook for another cross: T. Shaken, Tifa quietly set her drink down beside the bed and continued to examine the drawing over and over. "Pretty... abstract..." she murmured, running her hands along the sheet and laying her hands on the three letters in the center. She'd known how much their deaths had been eating him up, but Tifa never expected him to resort to this kind of thing as a form of penance. "What does it mean?" Tifa asked softly.

"You already know. Don't act like you think I'm as dumb as Cloud says I am..." Barret said quietly. He withdrew the sheet and began to fold it up again, and flashed a sheepish grin to Tifa. "I got a request..." he muttered. "Don't tell anyone else about this."

While at first taken aback, Tifa quietly took her hands and laid them on top of Barret's good hand and nodded. She and Barret shared another round of drinks before Tifa departed and left Barret laying in his bed with a wide smile on his face. Now that he'd finally shown someone his work, he felt at least a bit more vindicated...

Scene Four

It had been about a week since Tifa had visited him when Cloud came calling as well. Now dressed in a sleek, black leather outfit Barret immediately noticed that he no longer had the Buster Sword strapped to his back. Cloud walked towards Barret with a smile on his face and extended his knuckles, which Barret quickly bumped. As Cloud retracted his fist, he turned and leaned against a nearby house with a smile on his face.

"Glad to see you looking so chipper, Barret," said Cloud with a warm smile. Even if Barret didn't have his new hand yet, he'd wrapped his Gun-arm in bandages and had it covered with a sheet of red paper. He was ready to put an end to his hate.

Barret nodded and ran his hand along the sealed weapon. "When I saw the old man he chewed me out at first, but then he offered to make the hand free-of-charge... an offer that I took," he smirked. "What brings you out here in the sticks, man?"

"Things in Edge have been going well, and Tifa's made a new Seventh Heaven in the downtown area... Free booze to anyone who would help build the place," he said with a smile. "You and Marlene ought to come out sometime. I'm sure Marlene would love to have some of Tifa's hand squeezed orange juice."

"Sounds like an offer I gotta take... Thanks, man!" said Barret cheerfully. "Me and Marlene will be out in a few days... so get that new cocktail she made ready for me to chug!" With a smile Cloud turned and walked away, but looked back briefly before a frown replaced his smile.

You know... I'd like to see that drawing, too...

Scene Five

Three days later Barret and Marlene set out for Edge. To get there they had to cross through the wasteland that stretched between Kalm and Midgar, but there hadn't been any reported attacks on caravans so they felt comfortable enough to go on foot. They carried with them a supply of water and a few pieces of fruit to last them through the journey, a journey that had stretched a cheerful smile on Marlene's face. As they traveled Marlene moved two steps at a time, dancing wildly across the withered ground as if she were in a playground. "Do you think Tifa's got some lemonade for me?" she asked cheerfully.

Barret smirked and rubbed her over the head. "Better. She's squeezing her own orange juice, just for you!" he grinned. Marlene smiled wider and continued down the cliff, but when he sighted an oncoming danger Barret yanked her back and slid her behind himself. "Get ready to run, baby!" snapped Barret. What approached was a rather large mutant, one that had sneaked by the caravans in hopes of finding a more isolated target. It was much like the Guard Scorpion that Barret had fought against with Cloud, although this was organic. Even so, it had mutated into a being much like the robot and possessed the same laser in its tail.

"You aren't going to fight it? I thought you'd fight it!" Marlene wondered. Gritting his teeth, Barret slid to a halt and pushed Marlene away, directing her back to Kalm. Although she ran the mutant scorpion quickly bypassed Barret and lunged at Marlene. Barret quickly attempted to grab it, but before he could the mutant flicked open its weapon and narrowed it at Marlene. With no other option, Barret shoved her out of the way, taking an attack that ripped open a hole in his side and dropped him to the ground immediately, writhing in pain. "Daddy! Why aren't you fighting back?!" shrieked Marlene.

The mutant slashed at Barret, knocking him back as the monster skittered towards Marlene. Barret flashed a quick look to his right arm and ripped off the bandages to reveal his Gun-arm's shell. He narrowed his eyes at the monster, which was approaching Marlene rapidly, and snapped open his hatches, but quickly shut them.As the Gun-arm began to charge, Barret's secondary weapon began to quake. A small bubble poked out from the barrel beneath his Gun-arm and broke out into a small, focused gust of wind. The blast soared through the air and towards the scorpion, and when it struck blew its chest open and dropped its carcass to the ground. Even so Barret fell to his back and clutched his bleeding wound with a deep, guttural groan.

"Daddy, hang on! I'll help!" Marlene screeched. As she ran towards her father she reached down and ripped off a piece of her dress, immediately applying it to Barret's wound. "Aunt Elmyra taught me this, in case I skinned my knee!" she said proudly.

Barret exhaled sharply as the cloth wrapped around his injury, and he felt the bleeding begin to slow. As he opened his eyes to thank Marlene, however, he turned his gaze up and his blood ran cold when he saw Jessie's face staring down at him. The image of Jessie quickly bandaged the wound, tightening it with enough force to close the damaged portion of Barret's stomach. The sight of Jessie's face, replacing Marlene's, immediately forced Barret into a state of shock. When he watched as Jessie's smiling face was quickly replaced with his daughter's, Barret turned his eye to his right arm again and his breath slowly returned to normal.

Scene Six

Sakaki slammed his fist on his desk, immediately sending his ashtray flying far away. "What kind of garbage are you spouting now?!" he snarled. "I've almost finished the damn thing, and now you say you want another gun in it?! Pull your head outta your ass and decide already if you want a real hand or not!" Sakaki screeched.

"Sorry, man..." Barret groaned. Unlike what Sakaki was expecting, he took the abuse and stared straight ahead at the old man. "I'm... kind of looking for a bit of both... You said you were trying to come up with something compact? Does that mean you can add it to the real hand?" he asked softly.

"Y-You stupid-" choked Sakaki. Outraged, he angrily tightened his fist and snatched Barret up by the collar and drew him in close. Even the anger on his face, however, didn't affect Barret at all. Sakaki ground his teeth together angrily and took Barret's face in his free hand. "I thought you'd worked through this bull already!" he snarled. "How many times do I have to tell you-"

"I can't be satisfied if I can't protect my baby..." said Barret quietly, though with enough force to halt Sakaki's anger. Barret sighed and took Sakaki's hand and lifted it away from his collar. "I wanna have a real life... but I've got to be able to protect Marlene when the time comes. Seeing her face made me realize that I ain't done fighting... 'cept now, it's not for hate. I want to fight to protect Marlene when she needs me... If you don't want to meet me halfway, I've got the money to pay you so that we're going to be even," he said, more forcefully. He intended to make sure that Sakaki hadn't wasted the last month.

"You God damned fool! Haven't you learned anything?!" snarled Sakaki. "The only thing a gun does is kill people! You've put bullets in enough people to know that you can't protect jack when you're firing off a God damned volley of bullets!" he growled.

Barret wordlessly reached into his pocket, withdrew the blood soaked rag that Marlene had used to bind his wound, and laid it on the table in front of Sakaki. "Then come up with something that doesn't cause collateral damage... Okay?" he asked, desperation on his face. "My daughter used this on me, and I'll be damned if she ever has to do it again! I don't care if you give me a pop gun! Just give me something I can use to protect my daughter! If you want me to beg, I will!" said Barret calmly, calm enough to stifle Sakaki's anger. He'd clearly come to his own resolution.

As Sakaki stared at the bloody piece of fabric, he quietly turned his glance to the fierce determination in Barret's eyes. Three years earlier when he'd come to him for his Gun-arm, he'd seen the same kind of determination. But this was different. Barret was totally ready to walk away and keep his weapon, and if he did, there wouldn't be any kind of resolution to his sins. Leaving that shell on his arm would be even worse than putting it on there in the first place. Sakaki silently took Barret by the collar and shoved him back. He wordlessly snatched up another cigarette, put it between his lips, and lit it. After taking in a deep drag, the old man exhaled a cloud of the foul smoke straight in Barret's face. When Barret's face remained unchanged, Sakaki scowled and reached behind him, withdrew the plans for Barret's new hand, and slapped them down on the desk again.

"Those jokers at Fort Condor figured out the secrets, but I've been working on something a lot better... and just what you might be looking for," he said with a smirk. "Converting it into something that helps you live your life shouldn't be too difficult..."

Author's Notes

I was glad to expand on the original moments of Chapter 8, and give the three members of AVALANCHE a more modern take on their final moments. When I'd first written Midgar my style was totally different... and I wanted to update those events with a bit more detail and flair. Other than that... the notes were pretty accurate, except in the original draft Barret used his Catastrophe Limit Break (which he used against Sephiroth) to incinerate the mutant scorpion, but I decided that it was a bit too apocalyptic to risk hitting Marlene.

The Gun-arm described in the final paragraph refers to the new design I've created for my own "canon," if you will. Or cannon, whatever. I didn't think I could come up with a way to describe his laser cannon from Advent Children, so I came up with my own. Instead of morphing from a normal hand to a God damned laser cannon, the hand is more or less an actual prosthetic with the exception of a few adaptations. Around his wrist are the six retractable barrels that emerge when Barret needs to use his mini-gun, and in the center of the palm is an air cannon much like what he had in the main fic, except more concentrated and far more powerful. It's somewhat based on Franky's updated artillery arm in One Piece, after the two-year time skip. The barrels sort of rotate from a guard around the wrist, like a proper mini-gun except they're a safe distance back from the actual hand itself. With it, he can actually live out his life with Marlene, same as he always wanted to.