Start Date: March 16, 2023

Windwillow

Final Fantasy VII

In the North Crater, Cloud became engulfed in the Lifestream and vanished as Sephiroth's cataclysm unfolded. Having been found comatose in the southern village of Mideel, Tifa decided to remain with him, despite her desire to continue with AVALANCHE. Shinra's newest plan, to collect four Huge Materia from across the world, has become the party's next interest. The objective: hijack the Huge Materia before Shinra can do so. Two of their targets are Fort Condor and North Corel, with the latter piquing Barret's interests. With Cid established as the new leader of AVALANCHE, a small away team is now en route there to thwart Shinra's scheme.

Chapter Forty-Five: Seize 'em Before Shinra Does!

Scene One

North Corel had failed to change much, even upon Meteor's summoning. Its people remained poor and destitute, though with the added dread of their onrushing demise souring even the horrible moods of its citizens. With the Gold Saucer closed there was no economy or traffic and food, short in supply as it already was, dwindled to nothing. As de-facto leader, Montana had done the best that he could to alleviate the pain, but he couldn't solve the underlying problems. And to him, Barret was one of the underlying problems, so his return did nothing to lighten his mood.

His arms folded tightly over his chest, Montana stared at the man before him with not just a skeptical eye, but an angry one. The idea that Barret had brought Meteor down on them somehow managed to sour him even more. "You have some nerve to come back here..." he growled. "I suggest you leave before anything unfortunate happens to you."

Swelled with rage, Yuffie angrily stomped her way towards Montana, but Cid emotionlessly held her back. While she clawed at him in fury, Cid quietly shot his own glare at Montana with enough intensity to stagger him. "We ain't here to step on anyone's toes... So pull your head out of your ass and tell us about the Huge Materia that Shinra's got in your reactor," Cid said plainly. "Then we'll leave, never come back, and have a great time in doing it. So, pony up."

With clear disdain, Montana reluctantly backed off and gave an angry grunt. "Fine. Shinra's secured the Huge Materia already, and they're loading it up to be transported to the Corel Station shortly. Anything else you'll have to take up with them," Montana said testily. He took his hand and shoved Barret away impatiently. "Now, get the hell out of here."

"You mean they've finally repaired the tracks?!" Barret exclaimed. As he passed Cid, Montana reared back for a punch, but Cid effortlessly caught it. Although Montana struggled, he was no match for the seasoned warrior. "Look, I know we ain't on good terms, but that's another issue entirely. We have to get the Huge Materia before those punks can take it away."

Montana managed to wrestle his hand away by shoving Cid back, something the pilot didn't take kindly to. "Good terms?" snarled Montana. As his fist clenched, Cid's tightened as well. Montana's rage may have been more personal, but Cid's was reaching his breaking point. "You screw up our lives twice and you're talking good terms?"

After Montana spoke, Cid grabbed him by the collar and dragged him close to his face, his anger apparent. Watching Barret be subjected to that level of hate, hate he'd never seen explained, truly infuriated him. "Hate whoever you want, but you ain't touching one of my friends," Cid snarled. Montana reluctantly backed off, leaving Cid to stare into his soul. "That kind of hate just festers... and it pisses me the hell off."

"You mean like you and Shera?" Yuffie snickered. In response Cid brutally backhanded her, his knuckles hitting against her face with considerable force. The blow immediately staggered the ninja and nearly dropped her flat on her face, though she quickly recovered and prepared for a fight. Cid's glare alone was enough to cause her to meekly back off. She'd had enough punishment for one encounter.

"Grudges can be toxic, and I know it for a fact. Get ready to do your work, smalls," Cid snapped, further intimidating Yuffie. Although she attempted to look strong, that resolve easily melted as Cid's glare intensified. "You say you're a ninja, so get ready to do some ninja stuff and get us inside the reactor. I ain't got the patience to deal with you bitching at me."

Empty hate, huh? God, I'm a hypocrite...

Scene Two

Even though it had been damaged, the Corel Reactor was swiftly repaired and put back into service after the explosion that prompted Corel's destruction. One of four Huge Materia had been created here by condensing Mako with a uniquely powerful method, and getting it out of Corel was a top-class priority for Shinra. Accordingly, security had been beefed up to the max.

As she fiendishly rubbed her hands together, a glint formed in Yuffie's eyes. "Oh, hell yeah! Get ready to watch the great Yuffie in her natural habitat, folks!" she cackled. Just as she was preparing the infiltration, however, the gates to the reactor opened and a long train rushed by them towards Corel. Her mojo ruined, trembling, she dropped to her seat and screeched out an expletive. "Oh, come on!" she screamed. Her face drooped, jaw dropping as she began to pout. "I was just about to do something cool, dammit! Come back!"

While the train carrying the Huge Materia steamed away, Barret angrily grit his teeth. It couldn't end like that, and it wouldn't. "There's only two ways they could be going: to the Corel Station, or towards the launch pad up north," he growled. "If we pick the wrong one, we're screwed!"

"Those bozos don't have the brains to do the smart thing... so they're headed to North Corel," Cid snapped. He whacked Yuffie over the head again, something that she nearly came to blows with again, before he angrily jabbed his thumb at the reactor, which stopped her cold before her anger began to build again. His glare again silenced her. "Hey, ninja girl! Get us in there and I'll do the rest!" he snarled.

Although Yuffie wanted to argue, she simply didn't have the time, so she charged forward into the reactor's main facility, Barret and Cid following close behind. The garrison never knew what hit them, and within minutes Cid had secured his own train and steamed forward towards the one carrying the Huge Materia. They made good time, but as their target passed by the track split in two, with one headed south towards Corel. Cid immediately changed course and took the northern route, the one that would lead to the launch pad. Despite his best efforts, though, all he could do was catch up to them, so another plan was needed. As their train passed by the target train, the distance was simply too large for them to jump.

Cid adjusted his scarf and turned to Barret with a scowl. "Fire one of your air bullets and rocket us out towards the train!" Cid ordered brashly. He adjusted his gloves and checked his watch quickly, praying that his materia would get the job done. The plan was a desperate one, but it was all he could come up with. "I'll draw us in with my gravity materia, and we go from there!"

Yuffie immediately grabbed Cid by the scarf and dragged him in her face, a face that was quite clearly manic. "Y-Y-You want to do... what?!" Yuffie shrieked. As the terror widened, her eye began to unconsciously twitch. "That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard of! What if the train's made of wood, moron?!"

Barret grabbed Yuffie's wrist tight, but as she turned to curse him out she watched the desperation in his eyes, begging her to follow Cid's plan. Against her better judgment Yuffie and Cid grabbed tight onto Barret, who fired a full-strength blast that blew the three towards the train. Cid lifted his wristwatch and activated his materia, dragging the three of them forward. Once they'd come close enough Cid brandished his spear and dug it into the door of the train, which managed to bring the three to an (uncomfortable) halt.

Less than pleased, Yuffie angrily smacked Cid over the head. "Thanks, you just shaved a year off my lifespan!" she screeched. "Gawd!" Cid smacked her back, but before they could come to blows they watched as Barret narrowed his air cannon at the car's rear door. Yuffie groaned and hung her head. "Guess we can rule out a surprise attack..." she muttered. She dusted herself off and snatched up her weapon, prepared for a fight. "You people are nuts!"

Scene Three

Barret's blast shattered the door to the train car into bits of wood and iron, with the remnants peppering the Shinra infantrymen within. The soldiers lifted their rifles but were stopped cold when Barret snapped open his hatches and unloaded on them. Once the troopers had been cleared out, the away team burst in through another few cars until they reached the baggage car.

As Yuffie hoisted up her prize, she did a cheerful little dance. Once she'd celebrated for a bit she pumped her fist and began to cheer. "Mission accomplished!" Yuffie tittered. Her celebration ended abruptly when Cid whacked her on the back of the head. "Hey! Stop hitting me!" she screeched.

"We still need to stop the train, doofus!" Cid snapped. He withdrew his spear and directed her attention to the next door. "Can't be far from the head locomotive now! We gotta break through and get the hell out of dodge!" Indeed, the next car was the engine room, which Barret quickly broke into and took out the troopers guarding it, then smacked the engineer unconscious with the broad side of his Gun-arm. The look of satisfaction on his face ended abruptly when Cid's fist connected with it and sent him reeling. "You freaking moron! We never learned how to stop the damned train!" he snarled. Barret's face immediately dropped.

Yuffie began to panic and was quickly smacked down by Cid, who immediately took the controls. They seemed identical to the locomotive they'd commandeered, so logic was that to stop it, you had to do the opposite of making it move. With everything he had Cid pushed and pulled the levers, and as his muscles began to give out the city of North Corel came into view. A new determination swelled in him and he accelerated his movements, overworking his muscles to the breaking point.

Son of a... The things I do for these jokers! Ouch!

The citizens of North Corel had gone about their business of being poor and miserable as usual. It was the roaring sound of an oncoming train that alerted them to the real danger they'd been put in; if Cid couldn't stop the train, it would barrel into North Corel and destroy what little remained. Montana hurriedly attempted to evacuate as many people as he could, but the engine steamed forward and he reluctantly shut his eyes to await his fate. As the din faded he opened his eyes and watched as the locomotive ground to a halt.

"What... what... what in..." Montana stammered, the words hardly forming.

One of the hatches to the engine room began to creak, then flew open to reveal Yuffie tumbling down to the ground. As she drunkenly stumbled her way towards Montana, she had a manic look of satisfaction in her eyes. Still, she was only barely hanging onto her lunch. "My boy Barret just saved your sorry asses, that's what happened!" she croaked, before finally giving up and falling face first to the ground.

From the cabin Cid shakily stepped out of the train car, clearly unbalanced. He used all the strength he had to put a cigarette in his mouth and form a twisted grin. "The man you've hated for years just dragged your chestnuts out of the fire. Looks like an apology is in order. And I suggest you make it loud..." Cid moaned before he dropped to his seat, exhausted. He'd had enough of Montana's hate, though it made him reflect on his own.

Barret recklessly staggered from the engine room, swaying unevenly as he approached Montana and the other miners. When he stared at the citizens, desperation swelled on his face. "Is anyone injured?!" he choked, coming to an uneasy halt and swaying in place. He took in a deep breath and exhaled sharply, his head drooping. "I don't care if you hit me, but just... please, tell me no one was injured..." Barret whimpered.

No words were exchanged as Montana stormed towards Barret with his hand reared back, seemingly ready to strike. Though Barret flinched, his body felt the full weight of a grown man when Montana gruffly embraced him, tight as he could. As the rest of the people of North Corel flocked to Barret's side, Cid finally managed to snap open his lighter and ignite his cigarette. A sheepish grin crossed his face as he took in a deep puff, then dropped to his back in satisfaction.

Hate... Seeing it become not hate kind of makes me feel warm inside...

Scene Four

Although you couldn't call it a party, it was a celebration. There wasn't much food to eat, but there was enough booze to liquor up Cid and flush Yuffie's cheeks bright red (before she passed out again). The away team left North Corel triumphant, in possession of the Huge Materia and bolstered with a redemption four years in the making. When Barret and his friends entered the conference room, Barret gripping a thick piece of cloth, there were smiles all around. Yuffie shared one too, then gagged and passed out cold to the floor while cursing Cid and his airship one final time.

The joy Red XIII felt at seeing Barret's happiness closed the circle of the man he'd seen meekly surrender to battering and insults only a few weeks before. A toothy grin crossed his snout when he walked towards Barret and lightly brushed up against him. "I take it you feel vindicated?" Red XIII tittered. Seeing his old friend happy again swelled his chest with pride. He hadn't seen him this happy... well... ever.

Unable to hide his glee, Barret plopped down in his seat and stared up at the ceiling. "Four years... Four, long years, and now no one hates my guts!" Barret laughed. He held back a belch and gripped his stomach with satisfaction as the alcohol kicked in, a wide smile forming on his face. "They done liquored me up good, though! I ain't firing straight for a while yet!"

Yuffie somehow managed to stagger to her feet, gripping her mouth in one hand and her stomach in the other. Fighting Shinra didn't do anything to help her motion sickness. "Well, isn't that great for you!" she snapped. She gripped her face in her hands and let out a shriek of frustration. "I just jumped back into the Ninth Circle of Hell! Being on this piece of junk really pisses me-"

In retaliation, Cid brutally whacked Yuffie over the head with a karate chop that nearly knocked her out cold. As she feebly put up her dukes in an attempt to fight back, he sighed and plopped down in his seat with a thud. "Insult my baby one more time... and you'll lose a tooth!" Cid snarled, hard enough to force Yuffie back into her seat. He angrily snapped open his lighter and attempted to light his cigarette. "Ungrateful little monkey..." he scoffed.

Unable to find a good response to what he'd just seen, Vincent quietly put his face in his hand and reached out to Cid. "While Yuffie... recovers... May I see the Huge Materia?" he asked, and was answered by receiving the clothed package. He unfurled the wrappings to reveal a large, yellow, diamond shaped crystal of materia, much bigger and shinier than normal materia. As he marveled at the object, he quietly laid it on the table and pushed it towards Cid. "And that means we move to our next objective..." Vincent said plainly. He brushed the hair from his face and laced his fingers together. "Fort Condor."

Cid finally managed to ignite the flint, and put the flame to his cigarette to light it. He took in a deep puff, then exhaled a cloud of the noxious gases from his nose. "Ain't that peachy..." he muttered. Turning to Vincent, he returned the cig to his mouth. "And what's a Fort Condor? I'm guessing there's a big-ass bird on top, but other than that..."

Vincent turned to Barret, who managed to gather himself enough to sober up. "Fort Condor is based off an old Shinra reactor that was taken over by a massive condor... hence the name," he said flatly. "The condor's so rare that a bunch of folks gathered to protect it. They even gave me this baby..." Barret smirked as he ran his fingers down his Gun-arm. "Pisses me off that they're gonna get bum rushed by those jerks, but I ain't in any condition to fight... unless you want me to puke in the middle of the battle."

Red XIII lifted his head and curled his tail around his paws, prepared for action. "I'd like to go, if possible. I'm sure my Grandpa would want me to kick some tail for the sake of someone else, and I wouldn't feel right leaving them without backup..." he said. A toothy grin etched itself onto his snout. "Grandpa's always been big on wildlife conservation!"

After a brief period of hesitation, Vincent laid his hands on the table and laced his fingers with a sigh. He worked out a kink in his neck briefly before turning to Cid with a somber stare. "I'll go. The other options are Yuffie and the cat, and given that Yuffie's unconscious and our feline companion is probably the weakest of us... This is my time to fight."

Maybe I can protect something after all. It might make my migraine feel a bit better.

Cid quietly extinguished his cigarette and rose to his feet. After stretching his limbs a bit, he took his spear and attached it to his back. "Right... The big guy, the little brat, and the annoying cat are out, and the rest of us go rescue Tweety Bird, am I right?" Cid smirked. Working out the kinks made him feel almost like a new man, one ready to wreak some havoc. "I feel like raising some serious hell right about now..."

Scene Five

The war at Fort Condor had raged for months, with neither side accomplishing anything of note. While the squatters had successfully held off Shinra troops, their resources had begun to dwindle and their mercenaries, unable to be paid, had begun to leave the fort in search of other employment. Shinra had lost several of their soldiers, including officers, in the attempt to retake Fort Condor and with Meteor and WEAPON rampaging their manpower was also stretched to the limit. Cid's team soon touched base with Waman and his men, and were soon prepared to defend the fort. Well, not yet. That takes another couple of paragraphs and a scene change, but for all intents and purposes...

With the battle lines drawn, Waman had taken to nervously smoking his cigarette, his fingers trembling. It was a habit he'd wanted to break, but at least it calmed his nerves. "You folks came at either the worst or the best time possible... Shinra's all pissy now that WEAPON is raising hell, and now they want to take this place over... but we have zero intention of letting them do that!" Waman snarled.

Vincent's eyes scanned the room, finding it conspicuously empty of combatants. He turned back to Waman with a scowl, laced his fingers, and rested his chin on his hands. "I don't see much in the way of military might..." he sighed. The intensity of his glare sent a chill down Waman's spine."Tell us what you have to work with, and we might be able to be of assistance."

He knew the situation was dire. Even so, they had to make their final stand or lose their war at the final moment. Waman drooped his head and sighed. "The outlook is grim, folks. We have about a hundred trained mercenaries that still listen to us, the few folks who've decided to stick around without pay... These guys were trained by an ex-SOLDIER, so they're tough, but if they throw five hundred men at us we're plum out of luck..."

As a smile formed on his face, Cid snapped his lighter open. "Yeah... We've heard the guy was passable..." he chuckled. He put the fire to his cigarette and ignited it. "I've also heard that you set one of our folks up with some kind of new weapon."

Waman's eyes widened, hard enough to make them ache, as he extinguished his cigarette with a prideful gasp. "You know the beetle-armed dude that got done over by us?! Hot damn! Matter of fact... When we rearranged his weapon we found some killer technology that we've adapted for ourselves!" he chortled. "The three air mortars we put together could probably take out a hundred at once! Then again, any more than that..."

Vincent quickly took stock of the situation and formulated a plan, quicker than he'd thought he would, actually. "A solid defense is in order. Stagger the cannons to cover the most area possible, then back them up with the mercenaries in between the mortars," he ordered. "The next issue is how many troops Shinra will commit to the operation."

As he held his chin, Waman attempted to calculate the number of enemies. He motioned for Wayna to come close and offer the intelligence, but the information he received turned his face green. "There's... three... hundred..." he croaked. He began to tremble, again reaching for a cigarette. "If we use 'em right, we might be able to take out a hundred with the mortars... so, two hundred... are left... unaccounted for..."

Cid stretched his neck and took a deep puff of his cigarette. He exhaled sharply, a tiny skull forming from the smoke he expelled, and Cid confidently laid his hand on the table. "The cannons take out a hundred, a hundred mercenaries take on another hundred, then we take out the other hundred..." he laughed. "Math might be a bit wonky, but whatever. Never claimed to be a mathematician, and I don't care about being one."

Incredulous, the blood draining from his face, Waman dropped his cigarette in shock and his face fell. The mere idea was ridiculous! "A-Are you guys serious?! You three?!" choked Waman. "We're dealing with serious combatants! Do you really-"

"We've been in combat before and we'll pull our weight," Cid grinned. He gripped the remnants of his cigarette in his glove and smashed them to ashes, confidently allowing the final embers to fall to the table. "Bring 'em on."

Scene Six

Fort Condor's defense plan had always been the same, and it had been successful in repelling Shinra's assaults. That, of course, was against forces under a hundred men. With three hundred well-trained and well-led infantrymen ready to attack, a hundred amateur mercenaries could never handle them all. Fortunately, they had help. As Vincent suggested, Waman split up his air mortars to cover the widest area, with half of the mercenaries attacking the enemy while the other half defended the fort. In addition, they had three special commanders that would split up and lead the attack. As the assault began, no one in the conference room had much confidence about their chances, but losing was not an option.

"Position the mortars for maximum spread! Wipe out as many of the enemy as you can!" ordered Waman. Accordingly, the three air cannons were carefully aimed and fired, three massive waves of air pressure successfully blasting away a third of the enemy force. As the remainder approached, Waman incredulously dropped into his seat to wait for the attack. "Are you sure this even has a chance of working?!" he screeched.

"Beats me," said Vincent plainly, much to Waman's distress. As he drew his revolver and cocked it, he turned a glance towards each of his friends as they prepared to head out. "Half of the mercenaries hold off the attackers, the other half make sure that no one gets through the lines! Me and my friends will split up and take one route each! Be ready for anything!"

The outside of the fort, a.k.a. the battlefield, was a large, hilly area laced with heaps of scrap used as defensive cover. Three openings were left unattended, but now each was manned by a member of AVALANCHE. Fifty of the best mercenaries left would engage the enemy as they approached and fall back when necessary, while Vincent and his friends would take point and attack head-on. As the troopers approached, armed with rifles and swords, the three members of AVALANCHE advanced head long into the fray.

As they split up, Red XIII slid to a halt atop one of the three routes. Flames licked his lips, soon replaced by shimmering stars that he viciously breathed at the enemy with the intensity of a meteor shower. The first wave fell, but the next waves continued on, and so Red XIII advanced to melee range. With a flurry of fangs and claws, back flips and wild acrobatics, he began to rip through the troopers like a hot knife through butter.

Cid had prepared for the battle carefully, and had brought props. After lighting his cigarette he swept his lit cig along a band of dynamite, dynamite that he then hurled downwards towards the enemy. The concussive blasts wiped out several of the soldiers, leaving the rest to be engaged personally. Twirling his spear like a whirling dervish, Cid lunged down the hill and made a wide slashing motion that wiped out a handful of the enemy. He wasted no time in his follow-up, turning on his heel and hurling a ball of pressure that struck the ground, expanded, and blew away enough of the troopers that Cid could handle the rest himself.

Falling to one knee, Vincent used his left arm as a base to aim his shots. He took aim, narrowed his eyes, and fired several consecutive shots that took out a dozen or so, and followed up by bracing briefly on the ground. With the grace of a ballerina, Vincent vaulted into the air and narrowed his claws to a single point. The resulting Trine beam struck the ground as if a dagger had pierced it, and with a wide sweeping motion the ray expanded into a field of energy that dispersed the next wave.

"That's about a hundred!" called Vincent as he reloaded and began to fall back. Together with the mortars, they'd repelled two thirds of the attacking force, but were now running on fumes. "Bring in the mercenaries! We'll back them up!" he ordered. "Red, Cid, hunker down and support them from a distance!"

Although Cid resented being ordered around, he and Red XIII quickly retreated to the top of the hill. As the mercenaries rushed towards the final wave, Vincent dropped to his stomach and aimed his weapon like a sniper rifle. The fifty mercenaries, well trained by Cloud, engaged the remaining hundred, backed up by Vincent's cover fire and Red XIII's Earth Rave bombardments. Cid hung back, too exhausted from using his materia to support them, much to his fury. Even so, the fifty mercenaries slowly began to retreat. The enemy was also well trained, and their experience showed. Vincent and the others also retreated while inflicting as many casualties as possible.

"Have they reloaded?!" called Cid, and as he received an affirmative, he threw his hand towards the final wave and extended his fingers. "Blast 'em!" he ordered, snapping his digits shut into a fist. The last group of Shinra infantrymen climbed over the final hill in expectation of reaching their final objective. They found their final resting places when the three air mortars narrowed together into a single point and obliterated the last of the enemy, their battered bodies flying down the hill in a wave of shrapnel.

"And that's how it's done, ladies and gentlemen!" Cid cackled fiendishly, snapping open his lighter to ignite a victory cigarette. As he ignited the flint, a slight rumbling interrupted before the cigarette could be lit. Turning, Cid watched as the condor high above began to quake. "Aw, hell..." he whimpered impotently, his cigarette dropping limply from his lips.

Scene Seven

The condor above the aptly named Fort Condor quietly began to shake, a mighty wind encompassing it as a red aura began to surround it. Its massive egg slightly cracked, followed by a succession of cracks that culminated in the egg blowing open with the intensity of a bomb. In the crimson sky, a huge shape emerged from the egg, whirled its wings, and the light condensed down into the egg as the condor stumbled and fell to the ground dead. The massive crash shook the entire fort, and the resulting shockwave dropped everyone to their knees. Once the chaos had dimmed, Waman brought Wayna with him to check the egg up top.

"What in blazes...?!" Waman gasped. Wayna staggered to his feet just beneath him as a titanic creature broke open from the egg. The resemblance to the condor was unmistakable, though its color was pale and its tiny beak solid gold. As the baby condor flapped its wings and lifted up, a tiny red orb dropped from atop the fort and into Waman's hands.

Wayna staggered up to the top of the fort, desperately concerned for the condor. "What is that for?!" Wayna gasped, staring at the still shimmering summon materia. As the stone slowly slowed and finally stilled its movement, Wayna quietly dropped to his seat and exhaled sharp enough to make his teeth rattle. "Wh-What is that?" he choked.

"Seems to me it could only be one thing... the Flames of Resurrection... the sign of the legendary Phoenix!" breathed Waman. As the light inside the materia began to dim, he could only barely breathe. Tears slowly filled Waman's eyes and he tightly clutched the stone to his chest. "The guardian deity... The condor's death has signaled a new birth of hope!" he laughed. "After all these years, its egg hatched... into this! The Phoenix lives again!"

With the battle at an end, the mercenaries and AVALANCHE gathered together in the operations room of the fort. As the final celebration ignited, with liquor abundant and a brightness in the air, Waman settled in with Wayna next to a small dresser, where the three heroes gathered around as he clicked open a box and withdrew a large, red crystal, which he graciously handed to Cid.

His eye twitching, Cid angrily snatched the Huge Materia with one hand and slammed the other on the table, hard enough to frighten Waman. "You mean that's it?! That's the Huge Materia?!" Cid screeched, incredulous that their quarry had been locked in a box the whole time. "What the hell did we just fight for, then?!"

"The safety of the condor and its chick was more important to us than this thing... We dug it up a few years back and hid it away, 'cause we knew Shinra wanted it," explained Waman as he settled into his seat. "Until the condor's egg hatched, we had to buy time. Once the condor's sacrifice allowed its chick to be born, its essence was reformed as this: the Phoenix summon materia!" Waman said proudly. "Our homeland has sought it for ages, and when we saw the condor nesting, we knew it would produce our guardian spirit! Now, we can dismantle the fort and take the Phoenix materia back to where it belongs!"

He was wholly unable to contain or hide his fury, and Cid angrily grabbed Waman by the neck and drew him in close."You mean to say that this whole thing was so that the bird could crap out a materia?!" snapped Cid."What kind of screwed up plan was that?! I thought you were fighting for the stupid condor!"

"We were. Once, every few hundred years, the condor molts its adult body and is reborn as a chick! It's the embodiment of the Phoenix!" laughed Waman. "Back in our homeland, this materia only comes about once in several centuries! It's the treasure we've been looking for... 'Cause we saved the condor, it gifted us with its summoning materia! Now, we can reinvigorate our village!"

Supposing that that sufficed for an explanation, Cid withdrew his hand and readjusted his scarf. "Well, whatever. Ain't my business anymore... Cheers to you guys, and we get the Huge Materia!" Cid laughed proudly as he extended a hand to Waman, who promptly shook it. "Now, never ask us to do that again," he snapped.

"We can't thank you guys enough! Really, we can't!" said Waman, clasping Cid's hand in both of his own. As tears swelled his eyes and his fellow countrymen followed suit, Waman gratefully bowed his head. "You got our pride and joy back for us! We'll never forget your generosity!"

Cid chuckled, then broke out into full-fledged laughter. "Making Shinra's lives miserable is the kind of thing that we thrive on," he said proudly. He snapped his lighter open again and lit a fresh cigarette. "You folks found something more important than money, and winning proved that you took the moral high ground, beat them at their own game, and that your fight is over!" Cid said, smiling widely. He snapped his lighter closed and his smile lightened. "You can go home with your heads held high!"

Author's Notes

Choreographing the Fort Condor battle was actually really fun. Whether the tactics themselves are militarily sound, uh... no idea. As usual, I gave all three of them their moments to shine, I think. I suppose I actually could have changed up my idea for Bahamut and replaced it with the Phoenix, but because I've been writing off the cuff for the last year or so, it never occurred to me to do so. Well, whatever. Bahamut shows up in the final chapter either way...

I also want to address something, something I'm not happy about. When I've written my pieces I've included forewords and afterwords in some of them, which I found out recently wasn't allowed. That's why the stories popped up so suddenly on the 7th, so I've decided to release this chapter early. I had zero intention of bumping my works. I didn't know that deleting the notes and adding them to the pieces to make them work would bring them up as new updates. Because of that I feel like I have to actually update FFVII... I didn't intend to bump these things, and I want to apologize for doing so.