The tracks led right into a little shanty town jus' north of the ruins, an' my heart, already way too damn heavy at seein' what was left of my old home, sank even further. The place was small an' grubby, fulla tents an' junk an' hardly any real buildins' to speak of. I walked a bit ahead of the others, slowin' down as I reached the settlement, an' three big guys, each one a fellow miner from when I'd been here, saw me an' strode on over, shootin' me dark glares an' clenchin' their fists. But I didn't blame 'em, not one bit. I jus' stood there an' waited.
"You..." one of 'em muttered. "You're back. Asshole..."
"Brock..." I sighed.
He spat at my feet. "Don't talk like we're still friends! I'm surprised you had the nerve to show your face around here again. Never thought I'd see the day. And I'll be glad when you're gone!"
"They kick you out of another town?" another guy taunted. "You're nothing but trouble, Barret! You destroy everything you touch. Haven't you done enough damage already? Just get lost!"
"See what happened here?" the third guy, Argus, frowned, pointin' at the dirty, dusty little town all 'round us. "It's all your fault that North Corel turned into a garbage heap! Did you forget?"
I shook my head. "No. I'm sorry..."
"Fuck you!" he snarled.
Then he punched me in the face. There was pain, an' I tasted blood on my mouth. But I didn't move. Knew he was right. He an' the others had been my friends once, guys I'd worked with an' trusted for years, at least 'till Corel was wiped out. They'd lost everything then, same as me, an' I knew I couldn't never make up for it.
"You ain't even worth the effort," Argus growled. "Freak!"
Then Jessie charged forward. "Hey! Back off!"
Argus turned on her an' saw Cloud an' the others. "You with him? I feel sorry for ya! Barret's a walking death sentence. You'll be a lot better off without him dragging you down, trust me!"
"It's not his fault!" Jessie insisted, her mako eyes blazin'. "You don't know everything! If you want someone to blame—"
I thrust my arm out in front of her. "Jessie! That's enough!"
She looked at me. "But—!"
"This ain't your fight, girl," I told her, gently now.
I'd noticed that she hadn't been herself lately, not since we'd started headin' for Corel. An' I thought I had a pretty good idea why. Although I didn't know anythin' specific, I had my suspicions. Mighta been parta why she went off on me back at Costa del Sol. Wasn't really me she was mad at, but herself. An' I understood that all too well.
I laid my good hand on her shoulder. "It's awright. Jus' let it go."
Jessie gave in. "Barret..."
"Like I told ya last night, it's my fault this town was... destroyed," I went on, looking at her an' the others as Argus an' his pals walked away grumblin' to themselves. "You heard what they said."
Aerith shook her head. "But how could they? It's terrible!"
I shrugged. "I know, but it's true."
"Let's find the ropeway," Cloud said, his eyes roamin' warily 'round town. "We'd better not stay here too long."
"It's this way," Tifa pointed at a nearby sign.
It was advertisin' the Gold Saucer an' gave directions to the station, so we headed over to the western edge of town, past all them tents that were huddled down on the dirt along the hillside, until we came to the platform. There was more signs here, a few lights, 'an a booth with one bored-lookin' guy workin' behind it. A few people stood waitin' on the wide wooden platform, an' suspended from two thick cables was a blue metal trolley with small propellers on either side.
"If you folks are headin' for the Gold Saucer, go ahead and get on," the guy behind the booth said. "Don't worry, it's free."
As soon as the door on the side of the air trolley opened up, people started climbin' aboard. We was in line ready to get on when a woman, streaks of gray in her long hair, noticed me an' walked over. Unlike the guys who'd met me earlier, she didn't have no hostility in her eyes. Only pity as she gazed sadly up at me for a moment.
"What happened with the reactor couldn't have been avoided," she told me. "Everybody here knows that. It was just an accident waiting to happen. But I'm afraid no one'll be satisfied unless they have someone to blame. I'm sorry this was such a hard homecoming for you, Barret. I really wish it could've gone differently."
I nodded. "Thanks, Adele. So do I. But what's done is done."
She sighed. "Yes, I suppose it is."
Then she turned, walked off the platform, an' headed inside one of the tents. Much as I appreciated what she'd said, seein' what I'd done to my old home made that old familiar anger flare up inside me again, as much at my own damn self as at Shinra. But there wasn't nothin' that I could do 'bout it, so I jus' pushed it down best I could and followed the others onto the air trolley. We got settled into our seats, an' before long we was ridin' along the cables to the Gold Saucer.
— — — — — — —
We saw it glittering ahead of us well before we actually got there, a towering golden spire standing all alone in the middle of a vast desert, and its many multicolored lights shone cheerfully in the coming night. A long, sprawling roller coaster encircled eight round hubs all situated around the central core at different levels like the fruit of some massive metal tree. Fireworks exploded above it in shades of red, purple, green, and blue as spotlights swept over a thick mist of cloud that hung in the air just below the air trolley and the lower hubs.
"Impressive," Red murmured.
"Glitzy, more like," Barret grumbled.
Tifa chuckled. "Looks fun, though. What do you think, Jessie?"
"Yeah," I agreed, though my heart was still heavy with what I'd seen in Corel. "I'm sure we'll have a good time."
Then the air trolley rode into the docking bay, passing underneath a huge, colorful neon sign decorated with the words "Welcome to Gold Saucer" before passing into a short, darkened tunnel. We came out of it only a moment later as the air trolley exited from the mouth of a giant, round character made of pink plastic with a pair of short, stubby arms, a huge head sunk almost halfway into the floor, wide hands, and small, pointed ears. Three plastic birds sat on top of it.
Once the ride was over, we got out and found ourselves at the Gold Saucer's main entrance. Colorful scenes covered the walls and cheerful, festive music filled the air as we moved off the platform. Ahead of us a little on our right was a spiraling yellow dome with eyes and an orange arch with the word "Welcome" curving over it in thick golden letters. A few people in chocobo suits greeted us and everyone else who'd gotten off the air taxi as a woman in a black and pink uniform stood patiently by the archway and smiled. We went over to her.
"Welcome to the Gold Saucer," she said. "Are all of you together? A single group pass is 3,000 gil. A lifetime pass is 30,000."
"Just a group pass," Cloud answered.
She nodded and handed it to him after he'd paid. "Thank you. And take these as well. They're GP tokens, and you'll need plenty of these to pay for things here at the park. This is a complimentary sample, but of course you can win more by playing the different games. If you want to redeem them, you can do so at Wonder Square and the chocobo races. There's a lot to see, so please enjoy yourselves."
Then we went under the arch and into a short connecting hall that opened at the other end into a large round area which looked to be the Gold Saucer's central hub. It was bright, yellow, and full of color, with a half dozen orange circles on the floor curving under a picture of a large white moogle, a smaller one, and a chocobo. Above it on the other side were eight colorful pictures, seven of them in front of round doorways with gaudy rainbow borders and one below a wide monitor with a map that showed general information about the park.
"Wow!" Aerith giggled, rushing into the middle of the room. "Let's have fun, guys! Might not really be the best time to do this, but I think we could use a break, like at Costa del Sol."
Cloud nodded. "Couldn't hurt."
She went over to Barret. "Cheer up, Barret."
"I ain't in no cheery mood," he grumbled, his mind surely as much on Corel as mine was. "So jus' leave me alone."
Aerith put her hands on her hips. "Really? Too bad!"
Barret blinked. "The hell...?"
"Come on, Tifa," she said, taking her by the hand. "Let's go. Cloud, you and Jessie be sure to enjoy yourselves!"
"Oh, we will!" I assured her.
Tifa lowered her voice. "Wasn't that a bit harsh, Aerith?"
"Not really," she replied. Then she went over to Barret, who stood a little apart from the rest of us. "We're gonna go play!"
"So jus' go on an' play already!" he exploded, throwing his arms up in exasperation as he turned to face her. "But while you're wastin' time screwin' around, don't forget we after Sephiroth!"
Aerith's face paled as Barret stormed off into one of the doorways. "Oh, my. I think he's mad... did I go too far?"
Tifa shook her head and laughed. "No, you did fine, Aerith. I think he's doing a little better now, actually. Just give him some time. He's got a point, though. Let's not forget why we're here."
"Keep your eyes and ears open, people," Cloud agreed.
"Will do!" Aerith promised. Then she beckoned to Tifa. "Come on! Looks like they've got chocobos here, Tifa!"
She grinned. "Let's go see them!"
"It seems there's also an inn," Red noted after reading the monitor. "A rather odd place by the name of the Ghost Hotel. I assume that we'll be staying here for the rest of the day?"
"Yeah," Cloud nodded.
Red padded toward the doorway. "Just as I thought. Then I believe Yuffie and I will go and secure rooms for all of us."
"Think they've got any good materia?" she wondered.
"Perhaps," he said.
Yuffie motioned to him. "Then let's get a move on! Later, you guys! We can all meet up there tonight, I guess."
"Try to stay out of trouble," Cloud reminded her.
She winked. "Ha! You wish!"
Then she and Red disappeared into the bright round doorway that led to the Ghost Hotel. After a moment, Aerith and Tifa both waved to us before taking another doorway to Chocobo Square. That left just me and Cloud. It was the first time we'd been alone together since we'd left Costa del Sol, and I had a hunch that Aerith had deliberately chosen to go with Tifa instead of him for that very reason.
"So, where to?" I asked.
Cloud shrugged. "Up to you, Jessie."
I looked at the different doorways for a minute, and after thinking it over and checking the directory, I decided on the Speed Square. That shooting coaster sounded like just the thing to help me relax, so with a little skip in my step, I led Cloud through the rainbow-bordered round exit and into a tubelike connecting hall.
The first part of the Speed Square was a long, brightly lit area with stone walls and floors. A set of stairs next to the exit we'd just left went up into another short tunnel that led to the ride itself. The curving and twisting tracks for the coaster towered high overhead, and arranged on our left on two levels were half a dozen more exits, each with a colored sign above it, leading to the other parts of the Gold Saucer. All around us, people came and went, crowds of them.
We had barely taken a few steps when one of the strangest men I'd ever seen strode over to us. He was tall and muscular, like some kind of tank on legs, and all he wore was a pair of red shorts and a wide golden belt. His short black hair was almost like Andrea's, cut very close to his scalp, and he had a wiry, curling mustache. Although he was definitely middle-aged, the guy was impressively fit.
"Hey, boy!" he called.
"Boy?" Cloud raised an eyebrow.
I giggled. "Well, you are."
"Not you, too," he sighed. Then he turned to the guy, not bothering to hide his annoyance. "Yeah? What do you want?"
"You having fun here at my park?" the man asked, folding his arms in front of him. Then he noticed me and grinned. "I'd say you are, with such a lovely lady at your side. Good for you, boy!"
Cloud frowned. "The name's Cloud. Quit calling me boy."
"Ha! You've got spirit!" he laughed.
"And you are?" I wondered.
He bowed slightly but with a little flourish. "Me? I'm Dio, owner of the Gold Saucer. Your young man here seems to be a strong type. I like that! You should stop by the Battle Square sometime. I think he'd enjoy the fights there, my dear. Very challenging."
I nodded. "We'll keep it I mind."
"Oh, by the way," Dio continued, stroking his mustache, "Do either of you know anything about a black materia?"
Cloud and I exchanged an uneasy glance. Whatever that thing was, it didn't sound good. And not like any kind of materia I'd ever heard of before. More like something Sephiroth would be interested in finding. Which meant we'd have to keep an eye out for it.
Cloud shook his head. "Never heard of it. Why do you ask?"
"Well, just yesterday this odd fellow came here asking me about it," Dio shivered. "Probably because I collect lots of rare artifacts—you can see them on display over in the Battle Square."
"This guy..." I asked. "Was he wearing a black cloak?"
Dio nodded. "Indeed he was, my dear. And he had a tattoo on him as well. The number 1, strange as it sounds. Quite an odd fellow, I must say. He left sometime late last night, I believe."
Cloud stiffened. "Where did he go?"
"No idea, I'm afraid," Dio shrugged. "But if I find out, I'll be sure to let you know. In the meantime, don't forget to stop by the Battle Square while you're here. I'm sure you'll like it."
As he walked away, I glanced curiously at Cloud. "So... it looks like Sephiroth was here. But what's this about a tattoo?"
He sighed. "I don't know, Jessie. But back in Midgar, while I was in the slums with Aerith trying to get back to the rest of you after Reactor 5 went up, we found another guy with a number tattoo. Only his was 2. He was pretty out of it, kept mumbling to himself."
"Think there's a connection?" I wondered.
"Could be," Cloud nodded. "The guy in the slums wasn't wearing a black cloak, but still... we'd better keep our eyes open. Sephiroth might be using them somehow. And there might be more."
I was sure of it. "Yeah. But in the meantime, it won't hurt to have a little fun while we can. So let's ride that coaster!"
The line at the top of the stairs was fairly long as it wound through a few bright yellow dividers, and there was a gift shop at the other end of the platform. Cloud and I finally got our turn about twenty minutes or so later, but it was definitely worth the wait. As it happened, the ride wasn't just a roller coaster. There were holographic targets along it that you could shoot using a blue light laser at the front of the car for lots of points that could be exchanged for prizes.
Since I was better with a gun, Cloud went ahead and let me do the shooting, and I managed to rack up a pretty impressive score. That big plush chocobo I got for him from the gift shop with my points once we were done was awfully cute, and Cloud looked adorably awkward with it in his arms as we walked back to the exits. I knew he'd probably been expecting me to win him something more suited to his tough guy look, but this... this was just way too much fun.
"Well, what's next?" he asked.
"Hmm..." I thought aloud, following his gaze. "I hear they've got a show over in the Event Square. Some kind of play."
Cloud glanced at the plush chocobo. "Sure, but... I wanna go drop this off at the hotel first. Not that I don't like it, Jessie. I do, it's just that I, uh... I'm not used to carrying toys around."
I laughed. "Fair enough, SOLDIER boy. Yuffie and Red've probably gotten us all our rooms by now, so we'll go there first. But you're gonna win me something at the Wonder Square later."
"Deal," he agreed.
— — — — — — —
Chocobo Square was, like the rest of the Gold Saucer, cheerful and brightly lit, full of color and sound. Aerith and I had come here half an hour ago after leaving the others in the central hub. We were inside the racing hall, a round and pretty hi-tech place full of people and activity. The curving walls were lined with lights, and above the circular desk in the middle of the main room where the bets were taken was a huge flat screen monitor showing the races as well as detailed information about each of the chocobos and their riders.
"You know, Tifa, I had no idea chocobos came in different colors," Aerith giggled. "I thought they were only yellow."
I nodded. "Neither did I. But it seems they come in all kinds. Blue, green, pink, white... and that black one in the higher ranks. Looks like he'll be up again in the next race. Teioh, I think."
Aerith gazed at the screen. "Yeah. And his jockey, Joe. I guess some breeds do better at the races than others. He seems to win a lot. Wanna place another bet, Tifa? We still have plenty of gil."
"Now don't you get carried away," I teased. "We'll do one more, get a prize if we're lucky, then go meet the others."
"Sounds good!" she grinned.
As it turned out, fortune did smile on us. We bet on Teioh and won an enhancer. We picked it up from the circular exchange desk off to the right side of the room and looked at the little vial for a moment. It was, according to the label, a tonic that could temporarily boost the abilities of whoever drank it. I'd heard a little about them back in Midgar—they were a Shinra product, though pretty hard to find in the slums. I didn't doubt it could do what it claimed, and with the dangerous journey that we were on, I knew we could definitely use it.
On our way out of the main hall with its neon signs, I glanced past the bookmaker's desk to the other side of the room where another exit led to a waiting area for the jockeys. With things now in between races for the moment, some of them were out there talking with a few people wearing suits and Gold Saucer employee ID badges. Racing managers, by the look of it. But then I noticed one who was pretty different, and I couldn't help staring a little. She really stood out.
The girl was young, probably no older than Aerith and I, not some stuffy middle-aged guy in a suit. She wore a bright pink dress that went down to her knees, and on it was a white apron and a red bowtie in the front and a larger yellow bow in the back. Her red shoes looked almost like those you'd see on a doll, and the girl also wore a pair of long white gloves up to her elbows. And holding her fiery, shoulder-length hair in place was a yellow band with a single chocobo feather sticking upright and to her left. Was she really a race manager?
The girl's dark blue eyes took in everything that was going on with a shrewd, knowing gaze, and I realized she probably knew more about this place than anyone. Then she saw me looking at her, but before she could do anything, a tall and muscular man with red shorts and a wide gold belt strode out of the jockeys' waiting area, and after seeing Aerith and I, beckoned to the girl and spoke quietly to her. I couldn't tell what they were saying from across the crowded main room, but I was sure it had to do with us. I glanced over at Aerith.
"We've been here too long," I told her under my breath.
"Yeah, I don't like it, either," she agreed.
But when we hurried outside, we stopped short and quickly moved out of sight. Gathered on the steps below, luckily with their backs to us, was a squad of Shinra soldiers. I shared a worried glance with Aerith as the squad's leader looked over his men. What was going on? Why were there Shinra soldiers in an amusement park?
"You all know the situation," he told the rest of the soldiers. "There seems to have been an incident in the Battle Square not long ago, and it appears that Avalanche is involved. They've been sighted here and can't be allowed to leave. Find them, but don't attack unless you have to. The general wants them alive—for now. And don't worry about Dio and his crew. We'll deal with them later. Dismissed."
Then they left, scattering into the different round tunnels rising up along either side of the stairs in stacked rows of lit tubes, each one with the name of its destination emblazoned across the side in bold, slanted red letters. A spotlight shone into the night sky overhead, one of many that swept around the Gold Saucer. As soon as the soldiers were gone, Aerith and I hurried down the stairs, needing to get away. But seconds later, we heard footsteps behind us and whirled around. A pair of park security guards flanked the muscular man we'd seen earlier.
"Hello, ladies," he said. "I'm afraid you'll have to come with us. Just heard about a nasty piece of work that went down in the Battle Square, and it seems one of your companions may be involved. Shinra's looking for you all, too, but I think you'll agree that it'd be better if you go with me than with them. We need to get you out of sight."
"What did you have in mind?" I asked. "And who are you?"
The man stroked his thin, curving mustache. "Dio, my dear. I own the Gold Saucer. And I'm also your only chance to avoid getting caught by Shinra. It won't be very pretty, but I know a place where you can lay low for a day or two until they move on. It seems the president and the general have plans for you. Not the same ones, though."
Aerith blinked. "Heidegger's here? Last we saw, he was in Costa del Sol with Rufus. Not that we expected they'd stay there..."
"The president arrived around a week or so ago," Dio explained. "A young fellow, but much too cold. Never takes time to enjoy the park. It would do him good, you know. Such a frigid boy. But no fool, either. It seems he was expecting you and your friends to show up. I don't think he means to try to capture you, though."
"Tell that to the soldiers," I frowned. "Heidegger acts on his orders, doesn't he? We heard those troops talking."
Dio nodded. "Like I said, the general and the president don't seem to be on the same page, my dear. My guess is, Heidegger thinks he can win back the president's favor by delivering you all to him. I doubt he's aware of what that boy Rufus is really up to, though."
"Are you?" Aerith asked.
"Ho, ho!" he laughed. "You're a sharp one, aren't you? I try to keep out of Shinra's business as much as I can. Like you, the president's after that black-cloaked fellow. But I doubt his reasons are as noble as yours. Wouldn't tell me much, only that he's looking for an old artifact, some kind of key. I collect lots of strange things, you see, and that's why both the president and the black-cloaked stranger came here. Unfortunately, I don't have what they're after. At least, not yet."
I frowned. "How do you know all this?"
Dio chuckled. "Aside from my talks with the president, I've had my assistant do some digging. She's very good at what she does. And if you still have doubts, know that we have a mutual friend. You've never met him, but he's been keeping eye on you for a while now."
"Who is he?" Aerith wondered.
"Not for me to say," Dio shrugged. "But he's on your side. That's all I can tell you. And the longer we all stand here talking, the more likely it is that Shinra'll find your friends before we do."
I couldn't really argue with that. "What's your plan?"
"Like I said, I know a place where Heidegger's men won't be able to reach you," Dio explained. "It's a bit rough, but from what I've heard of you and your friends, you can surely handle yourselves. Quite a strong bunch, I must say. I like that! So I'm here to help."
"We can take on Shinra soldiers," I said.
He laughed. "Oh, I don't doubt it! But if you fought them here, that wouldn't look good for you, I'm afraid. That ugly incident I mentioned earlier. I've just come from the scene after meeting up with two of your friends earlier, and I can already tell that Shinra's itching to pin it right on you. Fighting them'll just give them the excuse they need to make it look legitimate. So we'll have to beat them to it."
"What do you mean?" Aerith asked.
Dio grinned. "Why, we're gonna throw you in jail."