THIRTY-TWO

Dyne was jus' where I'd known he'd be, at the ruins of his old home near the northeastern edge of the prison. There was a deep ravine past it now that hadn't been there years ago. A quake must've split open the land since I'd been gone—we'd always had our share of 'em out here, an' them bigass land worms diggin' through the desert didn't help matters either with all the tunnelin' they liked to do.

Dyne had his back to us as he knelt by two graves, one for Eleanor an' one for Marlene, in what was left of his front yard. Didn't look very different from when I'd last seen him—dark hair, black sleeveless jacket with that white shirt he liked, rugged green cargo pants an' tough work boots. Aside from his left arm, that is. He'd had a high-powered Stinger machine gun grafted on in place of what he'd lost all them years ago. Its slim body an' narrow barrel rose up to jus' above where his elbow used to be. Seein' it made my own gun feel heavier.

"Dyne… is that you?" I asked.

He stood up slowly but didn't turn 'round to face me jus' yet. "Now there's a voice I haven't heard in years. A voice I'll never forget. I knew you'd come back sooner or later, Barret."

I took a step forward when he finally did look at me. "I knew it… I knew you was alive. We had the same operation. I always hoped I'd see ya again someday. But listen, Dyne, I wanna—"

A gunshot jus' in front of my feet brought me up short. He held up his good hand. "What's that? I hear her…"

"What…?" I blinked.

"Eleanor… her voice," Dyne went on, cocking his head to one side as if he really was listenin' to her. "Calling out to me… begging me not to hate your fucking guts. That's why… I didn't hunt you down and kill you. She kept telling me… not to do it."

I sighed. "Can't blame ya. I know I was stupid. Had my head up my ass. Not askin' ya to forgive me, Dyne. But… what're ya doin' here in a place like this? Why are ya killin' innocent people?"

"Why!?" Dyne snarled, pacin' back an' forth. "The hell do you care for? Are those people gonna understand why? You think the people of Corel are gonna understand after hearing Shinra's bullshit? I don't care why! All they give us is death and excuses, Barret. And what's left after that is a world of emptiness and despair…"

"Dyne…" I murmured.

He went on, punctuatin' his words with gunshots aimed at the dirt as he paced. "Still wanna know why? Fine. I wanna destroy everything. The people of this city, the city itself, the whole world! I've got nothing left anymore. Corel, Eleanor, Marlene…"

I took a step forward. "Marlene's still alive, Dyne."

"What?" he stared at me.

"After you fell, I made it back to town," I explained. "Found Myrna, but she was already gone. I wanted to stay with her to the end, but then I remembered Marlene. I found her safely tucked away in what was left of your house here where Eleanor hid her."

Dyne clutched his head. "Marlene… my little girl…"

"She's safe in Midgar now," I said, hoping the mention of her would calm him down. "Let's go see her, awright?"

"She's alive…" he breathed.

I nodded. "Yeah. So come on, Dyne. We'll—"

Another gunshot at the ground by my feet cut me off before Dyne aimed at me. "Guess we gotta fight, then."

"What!?" I stared.

His eyes didn't look sane no more. They was wide an' wild. "I can't let Eleanor be all by herself, Barret. I've gotta take Marlene to her. And I've gotta punish you for destroying my world."

I shook my head. "You crazy, Dyne?"

"Marlene wants to see her mom, doesn't she?" he growled.

"Dyne!" I shouted, gettin' my own gun-arm up jus' in time to block as he shot at me. I winced at the sparks. "Cut it out, man! I can't die yet, an' I don't want you or Marlene to, either."

He fired again. "Well, my life's been over since then!"

"I don't wanna fight you!" I argued.

"Tough!" Dyne spat. "Time to pay for what you did, you bastard. It won't bring Eleanor back, but I'm sure she'll rest easier knowing you're dead and that Marlene's back with her again."

Cloud started forward. "Barret!"

"Stay the hell outta this, merc!" I said, sweepin' my arm out to keep him from gettin' too close. "This is my problem!"

"The hell it is!" Jessie swore. Then, before I knew it, she darted past Cloud an' slipped right in between me an' Dyne, facin' him as she held her arms out wide. "If you want someone to punish, Dyne, punish me! What happened to Corel isn't Barret's fault!"

I reached for her. "Jessie? The hell you doin'?"

"What I have to do," she said, never takin' her eyes off Dyne.

"Who are you?" he frowned.

Jessie swallowed heavily. "At the time, I was Scarlet's assistant… her protégé. And… I was the one who armed the troops with the weapons they used to destroy Corel. I was the one who designed and developed them in the first place. I was the one who authorized their deployment. But for killing monsters, not people. I didn't know, Dyne. Scarlet never told me what she was really doing. I shouldn't have trusted her… but I did. And that makes me just as guilty as she is."

So this was why comin' here'd been so hard for her. Jessie just stood there, braver in that moment than I'd ever seen her as she confessed to what she'd surely been keepin' locked down deep inside herself all these years. Her eyes were locked on Dyne, an' she didn't dare look at me yet. Even Cloud hadn't moved an inch, stunned both by what she'd done an' what she'd said. I was pretty floored myself, an' I'd suspected she'd been carrying some kinda secret 'bout Corel for a while now. But… not like this. I wasn't really sure what to feel at first.

"Then you can die, too," Dyne spat, aimin' his gun at her.

Jessie didn't move, but I did. "No!"

I shoved her outta the way jus' as he fired, an' the bullet grazed my shoulder instead of punchin' into her chest. Didn't have no choice now but to fight him. Couldn't let him hurt Jessie or Marlene. So I rushed at him an' slugged him in hard the gut with my left fist, then backhanded him across the face with my gun-arm. Still didn't wanna kill him, but I had to stop him, had to snap him outta this shit.

Dyne recovered fast, sweepin' his gun-arm across an' blastin' away at me an' Jessie as he straightened up. While she dove for cover behind a nearby mound of junk, I deflected the shots with my Vulcan cannon. Then I returned the favor, aimin' for his arm an' the ground at his feet. He fell back a few steps but didn't waver. Outta the corner of my eye, I saw Cloud start to pull his two swords out.

"No!" I ordered, motionin' to him with my good arm. "Stay fuckin' put, Cloud! I got this! Jus' look after Jessie!"

He nodded. "Don't get yourself killed, Barret."

I shrugged off another blast from Dyne. "Hell no! I got this!"

As Cloud fell back, I circled 'round Dyne, tradin' shots with him as I went. With a flick of his wrist, he activated somethin' on his gun-arm an' fired a stream of explosive blue energy blasts at me, like some kinda fancy, hi-tech molotov cocktail. I dodged most of 'em but still caught a few an' grunted. Drawin' on my Fire materia, I hit him right back with a searin' column of flames that swirled all 'round him for a moment or two before goin' out. He didn't let up, though.

More bullets came my way, Stinger shells again, as Dyne kept at it. Fired off a few shots at Jessie, too, as she was watchin' from the debris, but Cloud quickly blocked 'em with his swords before they would've hit her. He glared darkly at Dyne but didn't rush him, knowin' this was my fight. Stayed close to Jessie, though, an' kept his weapons ready. I knew he'd keep her safe, so I focused on what I had to do.

The ravine echoed with the sounds of gunfire as Dyne an' I fought, each of us takin' hits but neither of us goin' down yet. His eyes was still as crazed as ever, as if the pain didn't matter to him. I'd been tryin' hard as I could to avoid hurtin' him too much—even after all that he'd done, I still couldn't see him as anythin' but my friend—but I was afraid that it might not be enough to stop him. An' I knew them people he'd killed up in the Gold Saucer needed to get justice. That was why I'd agreed to Dio's plan. Better me than some damn stranger.

"Come on, Dyne!" I yelled, still hopin' he'd listen. "Snap outta this! It ain't you! We can still help ya, awright?"

He answered with more bullets. "Go to hell!"

I deflected the bullets with my gun-arm an' fired right back with a volley of my own. "Don't make me do this!"

"I want it… to be over…" Dyne breathed. "All of it…"

"I ain't no executioner!" I argued.

He reached into his belt an' took out some kinda grenade. "Then I guess I'll have to be yours! And I'm taking you with me!"

My eyes widened. "Dyne!"

Before I could stop him, he rushed in an' tossed it at me. The blast knocked me off my feet as it burned across the area, but it was smaller than I'd expected. Still hurt like hell, though, as I crouched painfully on the ground on one knee an' waited for my ears to stop ringin'. As I held my chest with my good arm and caught my breath, I looked up in time to see Dyne, jus' as hurt an' burnt as I was, glarin' down at me with his gun-arm pointed at my head. But as he cocked the trigger an' got ready to fire, Jessie darted in between us with her orange energy blades lit an' drove him back hard, her brown mako eyes blazin'.

"You're not touching him!" she swore.

"Jessie?" I blinked.

She answered me without lookin' away from Dyne. "You've always been there for me, Barret, for all of us. You've always protected me. But now it's my turn to protect you. I can't change what I did, but I won't let him or anyone else hurt you. Or Marlene."

Then she launched herself at Dyne, tappin' the phoenix insignia on her belt to bring up that energy shield of hers. It softened the impact of Dyne's shots an' took most of the damage for her as she cut an' slashed at him again an' again. Even without her speed boost, she was fast, her arms an' legs a blur as she spun, ducked, an' dodged, blockin' shots left an' right one after another. But as hard as she was fightin', Dyne wasn't goin' down yet. An' I was the only one who could change that. So with a pained grunt, I rushed back into the fight.

As Jessie used her blades to throw an arc of orange energy at Dyne, I struck him from from the other side with more fire magic at the same time. He staggered, sprayed bullets wildly at us to try an' drive us back, but we stayed ahead of him. While Jessie sliced him with a quick flurry of blindin' slashes that left orange energy trails behind 'em, I unloaded on Dyne with my Vulcan cannon, determined to end this here an' now. An' when I saw the heat gauge on my gun was full, I knew exactly what to do. So I took aim an' got ready to let loose.

"Jessie!" I called. "Fire in the hole!"

She nodded, dodgin' another shot from Dyne as her energy barrier finally flickered out, an' quickly dove away. She caught him right across the face with a cartwheel kick as she did, an' it kept him off guard long enough to give me the openin' I needed. The blast was bigger than one of my orange fireballs, more like a grenade bomb, an' as it hit, it hurled Dyne backward across the clearin' an' slammed him to the ground, fire burnin' everywhere in a deafenin' explosion.

When it was over, he jus' knelt there, clutchin' himself as he panted for breath. After a moment, he slowly stood up again an' held onto the wall of his ruined house for support. I started to go to him, knowin' he was done fightin' and seein' that the madness in his eyes was gone now, but he waved me off almost as soon as I did.

"Back! It wasn't just my arm… that I lost, Barret," he sighed. "I lost something else… something I've never been able to replace. Myself… I don't know what happened, where I went wrong."

I nodded. "I dunno either, Dyne. Wish to hell I did. For both of us. This the only way we can settle this thing?"

Dyne winced, shakin' his head. "I'm not sure. I don't know much of anything anymore. I told you before, I just want to destroy everything. This world, even myself. And… I need you to stop me, Barret. Why do you think I went up and killed those people in the Gold Saucer? To get you down here to… end all this for me."

"There's gotta be another way…" I argued. "I can't do it."

"When I heard you'd arrived up there—I've got people who get me information about what goes on in that place—I knew it was time. Had to get your attention so you'd do… what we both know you have to do. I can't… go on like this anymore. And I'd rather it be you that… brings me peace. A friend instead of someone I don't know."

I raised my gun-arm, then lowered it again. "I can't, man. I can't do it. An' what 'bout Marlene? Don't ya wanna see her?"

"Think about it, Barret," Dyne said. "How old was she when Corel was destroyed? Just a baby, only a few months old. Even if I did go with you to see her, she wouldn't know me. And… my hands are too stained to carry her anymore. I don't want that for her."

"Dyne…" I murmured.

Then he pulled off the gold pendant he was wearin' an' tossed it to me. "Give that to Marlene, alright? It was her mother's. You remember, she used to wear it all the time back then."

I caught it an' nodded. "Yeah, I do. An' I will."

"Hard to believe Marlene's four already," Dyne said as he made his way to the edge of the ravine. "Time does go by, doesn't it? Barret, don't you ever… make that little girl cry… you hear?"

I did. "I won't. That's a promise."

He stood with his back to the ravine with his arms stretched out to either side an' let out a long, shaky breath. "Then I guess… this is it. In spite of everything… it was good to see you again."

"Dyne?" I blinked, realizin' what he was doin'. "No! Don't!"

"Goodbye, Barret," he whispered.

I reached for him. "Dyne!"

But it was too late. He let himself fall over the edge into the chasm, an' this time I knew he wasn't comin' back. I sank to my knees, helpless as I yelled out his name. I'd wanted to save him, to help him in spite of all he'd done, but he was gone. An' as I thought 'bout him, I realized for the first time that blowin' up the reactors in Midgar an' hurtin' all them people wasn't no better than his rampage here.

"Dyne…" I breathed, clenchin' my fist as I knelt there. "We was the same, you an' I. My hands ain't any cleaner than yours, old buddy. An' I shouldn't be able to… carry Marlene either."

Maybe I'd gone too far in wantin' to get back at Shinra. Maybe Tifa had been right. Jessie had damn near been killed because of me. An' so many others hadn't been as lucky as her. Shinra'd been plannin' to drop the plate no matter what, as we'd found out before leavin' Midgar, but I knew then that it was my own damn fault for lettin' us be the excuse to do it. My need for revenge had caused all that.

I watched helplessly as Barret knelt by the edge of the ravine, those broad shoulders of his sagging as he screamed Dyne's name. I'd known, as soon as the fight was over, what Dyne was going to do—I'd seen it in his eyes, calmer then than they'd been ever since we'd found him. Near me, Cloud had shouldered his swords, his eyes never leaving the scene in front of us, and the concern on his face not just for me but for Barret really touched my heart. After switching off my own weapons, I tucked them into their holsters as Barret stood up.

"Cloud…" he said quietly without turning around. "Mind givin' us a moment? Jessie an' I need to talk… alone."

He nodded. "Okay. But if you upset her, I'm kicking your ass."

Barret didn't argue. "Deal. Now go on."

"You gonna be okay, Jessie?" Cloud asked me.

"Yeah," I assured him, taking his hand for a moment. "Don't worry, Cloud. I've known this was coming for a long time."

He gave my fingers a gentle squeeze. "Alright. Good luck."

"Thanks," I smiled.

Then he was gone, making his way back down the dirt path. After watching him go, I swallowed heavily and looked back at Barret, more nervous than I could ever remember being. At first, he didn't move. He just stayed where he was, his back to me as he looked out over the wide ravine and into the desert as he clenched his fist.

A moment later, he let out a long sigh and relaxed his fingers, then finally turned around. His eyes were calm, but I was still a little scared. I'd imagined this moment so many times, each one worse than the one before, but I didn't flinch or back away. I stood straight and ignored the knots twisting my stomach as best I could. Barret's expression was hard to read even for me in that moment, and I braced myself for what I was sure was coming, the major tongue-lashing I knew I deserved for what I'd done to him and Marlene all those years ago.

Barret stopped right in front of me, as big as ever, and even though I didn't want to lose his friendship, I didn't see how he'd want anything to do with me now even though I'd fought to protect him against Dyne. It didn't make up for helping to destroy his home and family. But when he finally did speak, it wasn't at all what I was expecting, and it was the sweetest, most wonderful thing I'd ever heard.

"Jessie," he said softly, laying his good hand lightly on my shoulder. His brown eyes were gentle as he gazed at me. "What happened here… to me, to Marlene, to Corel… ain't your fault."

"What?" I gaped.

Barret went on. "You ain't the perp, Jessie. You a victim, jus' like us. Scarlet's the one that caused all this, not you."

I blinked away tears. "You really mean that? I just… I've wanted to tell you for so long… I was just scared. And I've always blamed myself. I should've known better, not trusted Scarlet."

"I know," he said. "I made the same mistake, Jessie. When you told us in Midgar that you was her assistant back then, I figured you'd had a part in what happened to Corel. I didn't know what, but I wasn't gonna push ya 'bout it, either. Knew it must've really been eatin' ya up inside. And that you'd tell me when you was ready."

"Thank you…" I sniffled.

Barret nodded. "Been carryin' this a long time, ain'tcha?"

"Too long," I admitted, my cheeks wet. But at that moment, I didn't care. "I expected you to yell at me and tear me down like you did when you first found out I used to work for Shinra. I thought that was gonna be it for our friendship, that it was over."

He shook his head. "Nah. Can't blame ya when I ain't no better. An' I try my best not to make the same mistake twice. While you was busy recoverin' from bein' so hurt in the plate collapse, I promised myself I'd never rip into ya again like I did that day."

I wiped my eyes. "Barret…"

"I forgive ya, Jessie," he assured me. "Was a little mad at first when ya finally did fess up, but it passed. Now you've gotta forgive yourself. I don't want this keepin' ya down anymore."

I felt then as if a heavy weight that I'd carried for so long that it had become a part of me had just rolled off my shoulders. And for the first time, I thought I really could forgive myself. I couldn't forget about the loss Barret had just endured, though, and as I thought of that, I put my hand over his and gazed quietly up at him.

"I'm sorry about Dyne," I said. "I wish we could've saved him."

Barret nodded. "Thanks, Jessie. So do I. But I'll be awright. An' you know, I think I can finally start puttin' what happened here… to me an' him an' Corel… behind me. I think I can let it go."

I smiled. "Maybe we both can."

Then we were in each other's arms, sharing a hug together. And as we stood there in the dry desert afternoon, I laid my head on his broad shoulder for a moment and found myself starting to believe, just as my other self had said in that dream I'd had in Costa del Sol. Not just that I could overcome my guilt, but that I could save Aerith as well. Knowing that Barret had forgiven me gave me strength. Kindness like his… you don't ever forget. And I never have, not once. Standing there with him, I felt at peace, even if only for a little while.

After a minute or two, Barret let go and chuckled. "Better head out before Cloud comes stormin' back in here lookin' for ya. I don't think I need to remind ya how much he worries."

"Oh, I know how he is," I giggled as we walked.

We found Cloud just a short ways down the trail winding through the junkyard, leaning with his back against a pile of scrap metal and his arms folded in front of him. When he saw we were coming and that we were smiling and feeling a lot better than when he'd left, he lowered his arms, relaxed, and joined us as we approached.

"You two okay?" he asked.

I hugged him for a moment. "Yeah. A lot better, Cloud. Barret and I were able to sort some stuff out between us. About him and Marlene, me and Corel. Both of us really needed it."

Cloud nodded. "Good. Ready to head back?"

"Yep!" I grinned as I let go of him.

"We all done out here," Barret agreed. "Now we jus' gotta go an' see Mr. Coates in the trailer to get outta here."

Cloud motioned to us. "Then let's mosey."

We met up with the others at the ruined house a few minutes later and filled them in on what had happened, though Barret and I kept the details of our private conversation after the battle to ourselves. We just told them what we'd told Cloud, and no one pressed us about it. Aerith and Tifa smiled knowingly at me, though, understanding what I hadn't said. Cait knew too, of course—he'd been there with me that day when I'd found out about Corel, him and Reeve both.

"Ye seem a lot happier than ye was earlier, lass," he said as we made our way to the trailer. "Ye found what ye needed?"

I sighed contentedly. "Yeah, Cait. I did. I know you and Reeve tried to tell me the same thing all those years ago, that Corel wasn't my fault, but hearing it from Barret was different somehow."

Cait twitched his whiskers. "I can imagine. Couldnae been easy for ye tae carry a burden like that for so long, Jessica. I'm glad ye worked it out, though. Ye always did look better with a smile!"

"And you know it!" I laughed.

"Guess this means we'll have to let Barret help us kick Scarlet's ass, Jessie," Yuffie added. "I'll try to save some for him."

He pumped his fist and grinned. "You damn well better!"

"Oh, we will," I assured him with a wink.

It was refreshingly cool inside the trailer thanks to a makeshift air conditioning unit that had been set up in there, and I was glad to have a break from the dry desert heat for a while. Coates, who I guessed was the warden, looked warily at us from behind his desk. He was a tall and muscular dark-skinned guy with blue eyes and a short flattop of blond hair. He wore a bright green suit, and from his neck hung a gold chain with a round disc that looked pretty expensive.

"Ah, there you are," he said as he looked at us. "I figured you would show up here sooner or later. Dio and Esther filled me in, and Cait told me a few of you went into the junkyard to face the boss. So I can pretty much guess why you're here. But tell me anyway."

Barret nodded. "We wanna go up."

Coates folded his arms in front of him. "You see to the boss?"

"Sure as hell did," Barret answered, showing him the pendant Dyne had given him. "Dyne's at peace now. He can't talk anymore to tell ya to send us up, but he gave me this instead."

Coates stared at him. "You killed him, didn't you? He's dead. That's the only way you could've possibly gotten that. Maybe now this place'll settle down. Dyne didn't care about a thing…"

Barret grabbed him by the collar. "You think you knew him!?"

"N-No!" Coates stammered. "I don't! Sorry…"

"Fine. Now get us outta here," Barret growled, letting him go.

Cloud glared at Coates. "Can do you do it?"

"Yeah," he said. "Won't be easy, though. You've gotta win a chocobo race at the Gold Saucer to earn your freedom. And only one of you can go up at a time. That's just how it goes."

"Say what!? Dio an' I had a deal!" Barret spat.

Coates nodded. "I know, and this is part of it. That's the rule, and I can't break it. So don't bother threatening me. But don't worry, Dio and I've taken care of it. One of you can go up."

"Then that'll be you, Cloud," Barret pointed at him.

"Yeah," he agreed.

I grinned. "You're gonna do great, Cloud!"

"Yes, good luck!" Aerith added.

"We'll be waiting down here and rooting for you," Tifa smiled. "So go up there and win! I know you can do it."

Coates went on. "As some of you might already know, Dio wants to make sure you win. But he won't just hand you a victory, either. You're gonna have to race against real professional jockeys. Not at the highest ranks, though—you'll be in Rank D, the lowest."

"And easiest?" Tifa asked.

"That's right," Coates said. "Normally, prisoners trying to win their freedom start at Rank C, which is a step up—a bit harder, but they still can still win if they're good enough. But Dio wanted to make sure that you had every advantage he could give you, so he's put you lower down and made sure you won't be facing his top jockey. Joe occasionally likes to race in the bottom ranks once in a while."

Cloud nodded. "Alright. So what do we do?"

"You'll need to register and get a manager, but Dio and I've already arranged that for you," Coates replied. "I contacted her while you were dealing with Dyne, so she—ah, there she is."

"Hi, everyone!" a new voice said.

We all turned to see a girl in a short, bright pink dress with a white apron step inside the trailer. She looked to be about my age and nearly as short as I was, with a wide yellow hairband in her long red curls. In the middle of it was a single chocobo feather. Her red bowtie was kinda cute, and it matched her shoes. The white gloves the girl wore went all the way to her elbows, and as she walked up to us, she smiled and gave us a cheerful wave. I liked her immediately.

"This is Esther," Coates said. "She might look a little funny, but you couldn't ask for a better manager for the races. She's also Dio's assistant and helps him run the Gold Saucer. Most of you met her when we had you brought here, so no need for introductions."

"I haven't met all of them, Coates," Esther reminded him. "And the others didn't really have a chance to say hi before."

He sighed. "Fine, fine…"

Esther turned to us and giggled. "It's so nice to meet you all! Sorry about this whole thing, by the way. I know it hasn't been easy. But we'll get you out, don't worry. I'm happy to help!"

"Good to see you again, Esther," Tifa grinned.

"And you!" she replied. Then she turned to me. "Ah! I take it you're Jessie? And he's Cloud, right? Dio told me."

I chuckled as I shook her hand. "That's us!"

Esther returned the favor, then looked at Cloud. "You know, you've got a jockey's build. You could go far in the races if you wanted to. But we're just concerned with this one for now. And it might interest you to know that today's is actually a doubles race."

"What's that mean?" Aerith asked.

"There are two kinds of races held at the Gold Saucer," Esther said. "Singles and doubles. Singles is about what you'd expect—eight jockeys each racing for themselves. Doubles is different, though—four pairs of jockeys racing as partners trying to win together."

Cloud nodded. "I think I get it."

"Whichever team gets both jockeys across the finish line first is the winner," Esther explained. "The race doesn't end until two partners on the same team finish the last lap. You could reach the end first, Cloud, and as long as your partner gets there before two members of any other team, you'll win. This kind of race isn't so much about finishing first as it is about finishing together. It's about teamwork."

"Sounds like fun!" Aerith laughed.

Coates scratched his head. "Wait… I thought only one of them was going up, Esther. But if Dio's fine with it…"

"He is," she replied.

"Well, okay," Coates shrugged. "Best of luck, then."

Esther turned to Cloud. "So, who's gonna be your partner?"

"You up for it, Jessie?" he asked me.

"Hell, yeah!" I laughed, pumping my fist and doing an excited little hop. "We are so gonna kick ass up there!"

He gave me a faint smirk. "That's the idea."

"Ready when you are!" I winked, giving him a thumbs up.

"Then just follow me and we'll get you guys all set up and ready to go," Esther smiled. "The rest of you can watch the race in the bar across from the trailer. It's sure to be quite a show."

Tifa waved as we left. "Good luck, guys! You can do it!"

"I have no doubt you'll succeed, my friends," Red assured us. "And that you have the best chance of winning."

"We're all rooting for you!" Aerith cheered.

"Go get 'em!" Yuffie added.

Cait did a little dance atop his moogle mount. "Fortune's good! So get on up there ahn have some fun, ye two!"

"Enjoy the show," Cloud quipped.

Then I pointed upward and grinned. "Time to race!"