Final Fantasy VII: Lifestream - Book 3: Pursuit

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."