The FF7 Experience: (Chapter 3: Midgar slums: smoke filled shit hole of destiny)
It was the night before. Tomorrow, the ban on Midgar would be lifted. It’s been an intense 8 months and some number of days, but I’m here. I continued my training, fighting monsters near Kalm. As I grew stronger, I went further and further away until I could go to the ranch and back on my own.
Choco Bill gave me a ‘Chocobo Lure’ materia when I visited him. His thanks for beating the Chocobo Eater. Though to be fair, Glen helped a lot.
Here is my growth thus far:
I am now level 5. Yes, the gap between levels has increase THAT much. I’m close to 6 though, I can feel it. I kind of have the feeling that once I start the journey, leveling up will be a lot easier.
With my training, my power, speed, and magic have increased notably. My strikes are better timed, my endurance has improved, and my overall use of my scythe has sharpened. I still use the same materia as before. I wonder when the damn things will level up? Though to be fair, the monsters around here aren’t that great for materia leveling.
Since I’ve reached level 5, I was awarded with a new technique. It took a lot of consideration on my part. I didn’t just want to pick any old technique. Magic could be my offense. What I wanted was something I couldn’t do with materia. So I picked Shadow Imitation. This technique is from Naruto as well. The user extends their own shadow and locks it with their opponents. Then, their opponent can not move and will copy any movement the user makes. So if I step left, so do they. Same thing with any other movement. Why would I choose this when I could use ‘Stop’ magic later on? Status magic tends to be unreliable. Poison works well, in my opinion but anything REALLY good fails a lot. I’ve seen it work, so it’s not impossible. But it’s not worth it. So with my new technique, I tested it out on a few people and monsters and came to this conclusion: It’s almost useless against strong monsters. Yes, I wasted my technique for this level. The technique is based on the two opposing wills. If I used it on a child, I’d be able to hold them for a long time and drain little energy. If I used it on a common monster, I’d probably be able to hold them for a minute before they break free. If I tried it on a large monster or a strong one, I’d say I’d have seconds. Using it on those types of enemies is a sure fire way to lose energy and fast. Also, in addition to them moving with me, I move with them. So if someone punched a person that was under my binding, I’d move from the impact aswell.
I’ve also learned my second level one limit break. It’s ‘Slice & Dice’, another of Tidus’s overdrives. His first two really sucked in my opinion, which is why they were also my first few limits. I had a chance to test it out. I run around with improved speed and swing at them a bunch. Nothing special, I’m afraid.
Glen taught me about hand to hand combat. He basically parroted the training he received as a Shinra soldier. Nothing all that special, but if I was ever unarmed, I wouldn’t be completely useless.
I have to say, it was getting terribly boring the last few months. The same routine was wearing on me. I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time. Er, well waiting for TOMMOROW for a long time.
I think I should note, the monster population in this area has seen a considerable decline. Here is my secret: The monsters here are stronger then most I’ll run into in Midgar, with the exception of bosses. However, I’ve only fought small groups at a time. That’s how I’ve been doing it. In the game of FF7, the party would take on groups of 3 or 4…sometimes more…and then they’d fight another like a minute or two later. They’d do it again and again and barely wear out in my game with their healing and mad skills. But I’ve only been fighting small groups and there have been large gaps in between each fight. Even then, there were some tough times. That’s how I know I’m still behind. But I’ve come a ways since that time when I first began.
I died, too. Glen was with me on another of his deliveries and we were swarmed by a metric butt load of ostrich monsters. A bunch focused on me and ripped me up pretty bad. Glen blasted them away and used a Phoenix Down on me before rushing me back to Kalm. Apparently, there is also a time span to how long you can be ‘dead but not dead enough’ before you actually BECOME ‘dead enough’ Does that make sense? No? That’s what I thought.
So here I am now, sitting at the usual bar eating some steak and fries. I remember some of the good times I’ve had here, too. There were good times, for sure. One of the most notable was my birthday. We celebrated it here in this bar. I was surprised with how many people were around. It’s a small town though, so it’s not that surprising. Small communities tend to form stronger bonds with one another.
I’m 15, and tomorrow I’ll be entering the Midgar slums. It’s quite a feeling, I have to say. When I turned 15 here, I had to wonder: how old will I be when I return home? Walter said I’ll be as old as I was when I left. So even though I’m 15, I’ll be 14 when this journey is over. Cool, I guess. Or not? I’m not sure yet.
I finish up my meal and slide the plate forward, taking a small recovery period before getting up. I really shouldn’t have eaten so much. After a few minutes, I head to the inn and get into bed. I’ve lived here, in this room. The whole time I was in Kalm, I always had this room. It got to the point where I didn’t even have to pay anymore. They treated this room as though it were mine, and in time, I’ve come to think of it as though it were. The innkeeper is a nice woman. One of the people I’ll miss.
I think just a little more before I relax and rest. It was hard to fall asleep because of the excitement, but I managed.
The alarm sounded early in the morning. I don’t know why I set it, it’s not like I’m expected at any specific time or anything. Earlier is better, I guess?
I shower and clean myself up before getting dressed. I purchased all the things I’d need last night. I also bought a few Mythril Armlets as spares to give to AVALANCHE along with the Fire materia I have. I have 4000 gil on me. I’d accumulated a lot, though I would spend some on gifts for birthdays, helping out a few people, and buying new supplies.
When I go downstairs, I notice that Rose is not around. Odd. After stepping outside, I understood why. A number of the town’s people stood near the entrance. How long have they been waiting there for? This was my first question. But they answered my second question instead, which was, why were they there?
“Grant!” Glen waves as he calls my name.
I approach the group and look between them. “What’s this?” I ask.
The bartender, Frank, answers. “We all heard you were leaving for Midgar today. So we all thought we’d chip in and help you for your journey.”
Rose nodded, “It’s dangerous in the slums and we all know how you rattle on about becoming stronger…so we got you a few things.”
I couldn’t help but smile warmly. It was certainly a nice surprise.
“Here. This is my ‘Heal’ materia. You’ll need it if you travel alone. Status magic is a real pain in the ass, after all.” Glen laughed before placing the orb in my hand. His Heal materia was at level 2, possessing ‘Poisona’ and ‘Esuna’ as spells. Definitely an asset.
“Thank you, Glen.” I bow, placing the orb on my armlet.
Let’s see…so now I have Earth, Sense, and Poison on my weapon, and I have Restore, Heal, and Chocobo lure on my armlet. There’s also the fire in my items pouch.
“Take this.” Frank says, handing me a vest. “Me and some of the regulars bought you this Protect Vest. Hope it’ll come in handy.”
“Oh for sure! I hate getting my body scratched and ripped and all that stuff…” I reply.
He laughs and hands me the vest which I place on underneath my shirt. Yes, I do this right I front of them. I’m not embarrassed. My flak vest was more for warmth and putting shit in and had no defensive value. But the protect vest was designed specifically to reduce combat damage to the body area.
“And this…” Rose says, “Is some money we all pulled together. We know you have some, but in a place like Midgar, the more the better. You’ll need it.” She says, handing my a bag of money. I count it up quickly. I’d say there’s about 5000 gil in there. Shit, these people were really going all out for me.
“I…Don’t know what to say.” I smile, “Oh wait, yes I do. Thanks for everything, all of you.”
“You’re always welcome back here. You take care of yourself, okay?” Glen says.
I give him a quick hug. While embarrassing, it was something I had to do. He was like family to me. After some final parting comments, I set off towards Midgar.
I still wasn’t sure how to join AVALANCHE. I’d pictured a number scenarios, but the problem was, I knew little if nothing about the group and what they were doing before Cloud joined. I decided I would go to Tifa’s bar and observe a few things. Get info. Then, I’d decide.
Along the way, I ran into a few Custom Sweeper monsters. They’re little bipedal robot spider things. They also shoot lasers called ‘Mantra Magic’. They’re tough, but I managed. Earth magic saves the day once again.
And after walking for a good 2 hours and killing things that move along the way, I was at the gates of the Midgar slums. The city was even bigger close up. With no pink magic barrier present, I was free to enter.
I pushed the large doors open and went inside. The air quality changed the instant I stepped in. There also appeared to be an ever so thin lair of smoke floating above me. The atmosphere was dark. The plate above which held the real Midgar blocked out the view of the sky. And, it was not completely dark. Light shone in from above. Weather they installed lights on the bottom of the plate for those I the slums or if there were cracks in it to allow light to enter, I was not sure.
The recognizable thing I see is the church in the Sector 5 slums. I thought of going inside for a moment, but figured I’d save meeting Aeris for later. I strolled past the building, recalling how I’d go about getting to sector 7. From what I remembered, I’d turn left upon entering and keep going until I was in the slum part of sector 5. Aeris’s house was in this area, but I wouldn’t need to see her yet. From there, I keep going through the construction like area (and fight the unusual house monster they have there), until I come to two possible roads. One leading to the Wall Market (sector 6 slums), or the other leading to sector 7. That’s the one I wanted.
As I continue walking, I hear footsteps. I turn my attention to the source and see two raggedy looking men walking towards me. They have torn clothing and red bandanas. I wouldn’t say they were from a gang. Just bums that were bandits. Bum bandits, we’ll call them.
“That pouch o yers looks pretty full there, brat.” The one on the right said with a grin.
I turn to them with an unimpressed look on my face.
“Less then 5 minutes in, and already I’m meeting pieces of shit.” I say as I pull my weapon out. My scythe vs. their little butter knives. I wonder?
The two stopped, surprised by my response. It doesn’t take long for them to regain their over confidence, however.
“Heh. Trying to play tough? Ya lil shit.” The one on the left says cheekily. “You’re outnumbered.”
I slam my weapon into the ground and do the seal for my technique. My copy appears next to me and we both stand ready. “No I’m not.” I grin back.
“…the fuck? Ah hell, c’mon Charlendroff, let’s get him!”
What a sad name.
They both run forward at the same time. Not wanting to kill them, I swing my scythe with the blade pointing away from them. The shaft connects with the first one’s head, instantly knocking him out. I made sure not to swing so hard that his head was cracked open or something. The second one charges, so I duck down and drove the bottom of my weapon into his gut. He coughs out air before I bring it up, nailing him in the face. He spits out blood before hitting the ground and passing out.
“…I didn’t even need a copy.” I mutter.
I wasted a lot of energy making the copy, and for what? They weren’t a threat. Two drunk bums with tiny little knives.
I sigh to myself and have the clone walk with me. If I summoned him, I might as well keep him around for the next fight. As long as he isn’t hit, he can stick around for a bit.
We make our way into the sector 5 slums. I only really entered the area to look around. A few minutes later, I’m satisfied with the heaps of garbage scraped together to form houses, so I leave.
“We’ll need to watch out for that house monster. He shoots bombs and stuff. Messed up, hey?” I say to my copy. It merely nods.
It didn’t take long once we entered. We navigated through the area with relative ease, climbing over junk and such. We were almost at the end when we heard a loud thumping sound every few seconds. I turn around and stare blankly. A little red house with painted black stripes for eyes was hopping in my direction.
“Let’s go bring the house down!” I say, laughing at my own incredibly bad pun. My clone only sighs.
“Quake!” I shout as it lands on the ground.
The ground came up from underneath it, but it hopped up again just in time to avoid it.
“Shit..!’ I say, dodging just in time as the house came down from above me. The ground rattles ever so slightly from it’s landing. My clone takes a swipe at the house, causing stucco and other wall type stuff to fly off.
I swing in suit, doing the same to the houses opposite side. It jumps up again, aiming for my copy. It evades the attack and we attack in sync this time, damaging the outer wall more. Fighting a house was something I could only picture on an acid trip, and here I was doing it.
Panels began shooting off the house’s walls. That meant it was going to transform. Fire flew from the panels in our direction. I jumped back with my clone, but felt the ends of my arms burn slightly from the heat. The metallic material on my weapon became hot, forcing me to drop it. My copy was a bit further away then I was, so he remained unharmed.
Silvery metallic arms and legs came out from the panels and a head surfaced in the front. It wouldn’t need to hop anymore, now that it had legs.
“Quake!” I shout out, yet once again, the Hell House jumped up, though not before taking some damage on his lower section.
It was then I noticed another panel come off.
“Wha?” I say in confusion. “Shit! Missile!” I curse. I had a potty mouth.
The missile came my way rather quickly. So fast, getting out of it’s path in time looked doubtful. Then I felt my clone grab me and throw me out of the way. The missile’s resounding explosion destroyed my copy and the force of the explosion sent me flying into a pile of metal nearby.
“Guh..” I mutter. I open my eyes and the damned house is directly in front of me. It swung it’s back hand at me, knocking me into another pile of trash.
Fucking shit, a house was beating me up. Shouldn’t it have been easier then the monsters I’ve been fighting so far? Maybe the monsters near Kalm were made weaker so I could take them? Or the monsters in Midgar were made stronger so the difficulty level would go up? Walter was silent, so I couldn’t be sure.
I open my eyes and see the house heading in my direction again. I quickly jump up and away from it’s fist, watching it connect with the ground.
“Cure!” I shout. A gentle glowing force surrounds my body, repairing some of the damage I’ve taken thus far.
Limit Break! Thank gawd. Wait, I don’t have my scythe. I spot it lying near by, but it’s behind the Hell House. Well, looks like I have no choice.
“Shadow Replication!” I shout, making a clone appear next to me.
I need the clone to distract the house (or kill it) while I get my weapon and use my limit. The clone understands, I can tell. It always has whenever I’ve come up with a plan. Trusting everything to my copy, I make a dash for my Scythe.
Sure enough, the clone and the house engage one another. I hear the sound of metal clashing and wall being torn. A few steps away from my weapon, I hear an explosion and a faint pop. My guess? He launched a missile at my replication.
I pick up the scythe and allow the red energy to surround me, as I cry “Spiral Cut!”
Performing the usual slips, I prepare to bring my blade down for the final strike. I tear through the house, nearly splitting it in half in the process. After completing the attack, I jump back and wait for it to die….only to find it isn’t QUITE dead yet.
“God damn!” I shout in frustration.
In a fit of pure rage, and I’m sure there was ‘some’ strategic sense to what I did, I hurled my scythe forward with all my might. At the same time, the thing brought up it’s right arm and points it at me. It’s arm made a sizzling sound before it launched off and strait towards me. I don’t recall the house having a rocket punch in the game…
My scythe hit the house, finally killing it. Seconds later, it’s arm hit me, sending my back into the wall of a damaged tool shed. At least it was dead…
I cough out some blood and wipe it from my lips. No level up. I swear, I’m close though. I get up to my feet and grab my scythe from the fallen house, then stagger along. The energy I spent on replications was really starting to show. My vision blurred a bit and I felt like throwing up.
“Cure.” I said, as I repaired some of the damage. I loved the feel of that light. One moment, I would be in pain, and then it would be relieved. Not always completely, but the transition was nice for me. From ‘oh god, this is awful’ to ‘this isn’t THAT bad’.
I reached the end of the area and found the gateway to the sector 7 slums. I looked down at my injuries. I’d still need to treat them. The cure magic can only do so much. I didn’t have the MP to use it again for a complete recovery. I’m pretty sure I have bandages on me, though.
As I enter the gate, it doesn’t take long to spot Tifa’s bar. I take slow steps towards it and feel at my ribs. Something isn’t right. Upon lifting my shirt and protect vest, I notice a large purple bruise. That thing would have been a bitch if I weren’t wearing the protect vest. I’ll have to give the people of Kalm a big thank you next time I’m there.
“Urg.” I groan. Not long now, though. Almost there.
A few scrubs glance at me before disregarding me. I guess they acknowledge I’m hurt, but don’t care all that much? Not that I’m offended. I wouldn’t want their help, anyways.
I make my way up the wooden steps and burst through the saloon type doorway. The place really wasn’t all that bad. There were a few wooden square tables around with barstool seats. At the front, was a long wooden counter with a shelf full of various liquors. There was a pinball machine as well, which I remember as being the way into the AVALANCHE base. Their ‘base’ was actually just one room. But they did well considering what they had. At least, that was my opinion when I played the game.
I step inside a little more and look around. I’m guessing the one with black hair is Biggs. He’s sitting with a plump guy in a yellow pirate-like getup. He has a red bandana on his head with dark hair. I don’t see Jesse anywhere, though. Maybe she’s working downstairs? At the table to the right are three guys I don’t know, so I ignore them. And lastly, at the front, is Tifa Lockhart. She’s better looking in person then in the game. Though, she was a not-so-well designed 3d character in the game. So looking better isn’t all THAT hard. She has long dark brown hair with amber eyes. Her facial features are gentle and a small, almost subconscious smile is present on her lips. She has her short black shorts on with the tight white tank top. Her bust is impressive, I dare say. I’d probably get a hard one if I weren’t so tired and hurting.
I watch her turn around and arrange the drinks on the counter. So I choose now to walk ahead. I didn’t want to sit with the AVALANCHE crew or with the drunk guys I didn’t know, so that left the front, right near her. I believe she was 20 or 21?
I plop down into my seat and give a small grunt. Tifa hears the sound and turns around to greet me.
“Oh? Hello there.” She smiles.
“Um….Hi?” I stutter back.
“Something tells me you’re not 21.” She jokes.
Shit, the drinking age was 21 in this game? So you can go off in SOLDIER and die for…whatever it is people in SOLDIER die for…but you can’t get shitfaced? That’s just a bit harsh.
“Yeah, I’m 15. Um…Can I get some juice and food?” I ask timidly.
She nods, “Of course. What do you want to eat?”
“Hm…sandwich…BLT?” I manage.
“You got it.” She replies.
While she fixes my food for me, I lift my shirt and examine my bruise a little closer. It seems I have some minor cuts too. The cure magic took care of most of the damage. I don’t have any more MP, so I’ll probably poor some potion on the cuts and bruise.
I pull out my potion when it occurs to me that it might be impolite to do this in her bar. I should probably clear this with her or something.
“Excuse me?” I say to her while she’s making the sandwich.
She looks up and turns back to face me. “Yes?”
“I uhh…is it okay if I treat this here? I won’t make a mess, I promise.” I assure her.
She looks down at my injuries and frowns. “Ouch. That’s okay with me. What happened?”
“…a house beat me up.” I replied lamely.
She blinked a few times before a look of understanding dawned on her. “Ohhh…you came from the sector 6 slums? That’s pretty dangerous.” She said. It sounded like she was scolding me. Geez.
“I know.” I nod. “I’m fine though, really. I made it here, right?”
Tifa turned around and continued making my sandwich while we talked.
“Yeah, I guess you did. That’s good. So what brings you to these slums?” she asks.
“I’m…here for something. Can’t say. Hush hush kind of stuff, you know.” I say jokingly.
“Oh…hush hush, hm? Well then, where did you come from?” she says. She turns back around and places a plate in front of me. A rather large BLT sandwich and a clean glass of OJ.
“Kalm. Nice place.” I answered before taking a bite out of my sandwich.
“Kalm? There must be something important here if you came to the slums from such a nice place.” She says.
Tifa is a good bartender. She’s friendly and hot, and probably serves as the bouncer as well. Speaking of which, I can hear the guys I the back getting really loud. It sounds like their arguing.
And moments after thinking this, I hear hands slam on the table. I glance in their direction and see their al standing up, glaring at one another.
“You take that back you son of a bitch!” the first one demands.
“Go to hell!” The third shoots back.
“Hey, you spilt your drink on me you little shit!” the second yells to…someone.
I look back at Tifa and see her sigh. I was guessing she was about to deal with them. Deciding now would be a good chance to show off some of my skills, I stood up and formed the hand seal for the Shadow Imitation.
Tifa was preparing to yell at them to knock it off when they gasp slightly and turn to face me. Before long, their all frozen in place and staring right at me. On the floor, you can see my shadow connected to the three of theirs.
“Hey.” I say in as calm a manner as I can, “I’m trying to enjoy my food here. Take your shit outside.” I move my hands to my sides. Now, they can’t move but any move I make, they have to copy. Holding drunks in place was easy enough.
“What the fuck? I can’t move!” the first shouts. The rest voice similar obvious statements.
One problem I never considered, however. Now what? If I had them punch each other, my body would have to move just like theirs. So when one is hit, I’d move the same way. But they’d al move differently because not all of them would be hit. So what would happen to me? Would I move the same as all of them? Would the technique dispel? I probably shouldn’t use it on groups often.
I decided to bluff. “You probably realize you can’t move. I’ll say this: Leave now or I’ll kick your asses.” I tried to sound menacing. As menacing as a 15 year old teenager could sound, anyways. But they couldn’t move, I had that going for me.
“You little shit!” the third shouts angrily.
Tifa watches the scenario play out, fully prepared to step in should ANY of us do anything uncalled for.
Seeing as the three wouldn’t back down, I had managed to find a way to deal with them. They were standing rather close to the wall, and yet I had no wall behind me. With all my force, I swung my head back and released the technique moments before their heads hit the wall behind them. They copied the movement and their heads connected with the wall, instantly knocking two of them out. The third was still conscious and pissed off. He sprung forward, though his drunken movements were not all that graceful. I was preparing to fight him when Tifa shot forward and twisted the guys arm behind his back and slammed him down onto the table.
Biggs and Wedge had been watching this whole thing as well. I saw them stand when the drunks were first causing problem, but they ended up leaving it to Tifa and I. And might I say, Tifa is quite fast.
“It’s always the three of you. Do this again and you’re all banned for life.” Tifa says firmly.
“Ahh! I’m sorry Tifa! It won’t happen again!” the man cries.
“Okay. Take your buddies with you when you leave.” Tifa says before releasing her grip.
The man grabbed his friends and dragged them out of the bar. Where he went with them from then on, I didn’t care.
I sighed and sat back in my seat as Tifa took her place behind the counter again. Seeing her movements, the fact that she could kick my ass sank in fully. To me, it made conversation a little more difficult. Girls that could beat me up were a new experience for me.
“Sorry about that.” Tifa says to me.
“No.” I say, shaking my head, “I should say that. This is your bar and I shouldn’t have done that. It’s obvious you could have taken care of them.”
She smiled at me and patted my head, “Thanks. So, how’s your sandwich?”
“Exploding with taste.” I reply with my own smile.
“I’m glad.” She glances back at the floor where my shadow and theirs once were. “What was that thing you did to them?”
“Shadow Imitation. I link my shadow with theirs and force them to copy my movements.” I answer.
She lifts and eyebrow. “That’s unusual. What materia does that?”
“None.” I answer truthfully, but decide not to go further.
I think I’ve found a way to mention AVALANCHE. Don’t know if it’s smart or not, but it feels like a good idea right now.
“So…I hear bars are a good place for information. I was wondering if you could tell me something?”
I feel eyes on me. Biggs and Wedge. Why the fuck are they looking at me?
Tifa rested her elbows on the counter and leaned forward. “What is it?” she said. It sounded like she was hesitant.
“I’m looking for a certain group. One that…disagrees with Shinra.” I say carefully.
“…go on?” she says. I can see her genuine smile slip and turn into a false smile that hides uncertainty.
“…While I was in Kalm, I trained myself by fighting the monsters in that area. Kalm Fangs, Hell Rides, Custom Sweepers, that kind of thing. I did this for almost a year strait.” I say quietly and then pause. “This group. I’d like to meet it’s leader.” I immediately regretted my words. The way I said it, one would think I had trained so I could have some kind of confrontation with this ‘leader’ (AKA: Barret).
I noticed her brows narrowing ever so slightly. “You’re a bit young for that, don’t you think?”
“I think I’m old enough to fight for the planet.” I answer, hoping this statement would bring about some clarity as to my intentions.
“Fight for the planet?” Tifa says, pretending she doesn’t understand what I’m saying.
I nod, “Yeah. Mako reactors drain the life from the planet. The reactors are made by a group that exploits others for money. Those who are exploited are often left without dreams or have their lives damaged in one way or another. When those lives are damaged, it affects the people around them. These people, who live in a dying planet. It dies because of the reactors. I’m rambling now though and kind of lost my train of thought.” I explain nervously.
I wasn’t lying with what I said. When I played the game, I hated the Shinra. When I lived here and heard the stories from others, I detested them beyond belief. I want to destroy the Shinra, not only because it’s a part of the game, but because they are assholes.
Tifa’s expression softens. I see her eyes flicker behind me. I turn around, expecting to see Biggs and Wedge staring at me. But standing right there is Barret. From the look on his face, I’d say he heard it al. He looks pleased, I’d say.
“Uhhh….” I manage.
“Make a difference? What would you do, kid?” he says in his deep and gravelly voice.
I’ll be honest. He disturbs me right now. He’s huge, his muscles are…explosive (good word), and that gun on his arm is freaky.
“I’d…” I stutter before my voice firms up. “I’d do what I can. That’s all I can do, right?”
“Heheheh…” Barret chuckles before bursting into full laugher. “I like you kid.” He says, slapping me on the back. The force plus my bruise sent me forward and onto the ground.
“Ow.” I groan.
“Come on out back kid. I need to make sure you know how to fight. Can’t have a liability with us, ya know!” Barret shouts.
“So you’re….” I stammer, faking surprise.
“Yep.”
“Barret…he’s only 15…” Tifa starts to protest.
“It’s fine.” I assure her.
“But you’re hurt, aren’t you?”
“Yeah.” I answer as I walk out.
The back? I wasn’t aware the bar had one. I follow him and Biggs outside and we walk around the bar until we’re behind it. There’s a wide open space with junk around it forming a square shape. I step into the junk square and watch Biggs stand on the opposite side of me. I’m guessing I have to fight him. At least it isn’t Barret. But I have no idea how strong or weak Biggs is, really. I haven’t seen him do much.
“Awright, boy.” Barret says, “Let’s see how you do against Biggs. But throw your weapon and armlet away. I don’t want you two killin’ each other.” He orders.
I nod and toss my scythe and armlet off to the side along with my items pouch. The crew glances at my weapon for a moment before turning their attention back to Biggs and I.
“Awright, git to it.” I hear Barret say.
I took a loose fighter stance with my hands brought up. I didn’t have materia or a weapon, but neither did he. And I still had my techniques. He’s already seen my Shadow Imitation, so he’s probably expecting that. As for Shadow Replication, I’d have to divide my energy in half for that. Let’s see…about 90 before fighting the house. I made 2 replications, so that leaves 22.5. Plus energy I spent actually fighting it. Yep, this isn’t looking good. If I use it, I’ll probably pass out or do so like a minute after using the technique. I really hope Biggs is a pansy.
Biggs runs forward towards me and I follow, doing the same. I need to end it quickly. Dragging this out is a bad idea in my current state.
Biggs threw a right punch at my face, but I moved my head to the side and he hit air. I threw a punch of my own at his gut but he spun around and elbowed me in the back of the head. I lost my balance and fell forward, but used my hands to spring back up and throw a kick at his body. He caught the kick and used my momentum to throw me away. I turn the fall into a roll and jump back up to face him.
Barret wasn’t looking too impressed. Seeing that look upset me. I’d trained hard and I wasn’t impressing him in the least. I blame that damn house.
Biggs runs forward again and I place my hands together in a seal. “Shadow Imitation!” I shout as my shadow shoots forward. He stops immediately and starts running away from the shadow. I continue to stretch it until it finally stops, unable to move forward anymore.
“I guess there’s a limit to how far you can move it?” he asks.
“Yeah.” I confirm for him. Aren’t I nice?
Barret looked a little surprised, at least. “Hm. Tha’s pretty neat.”
I retract my shadow back to avoid wasting anymore energy. Then there were two Biggs ahead. Shit, double vision. I’m really feeling shitty.
I see two Tifa’s take their place next to Barret.
“How’s he doing?” she asked him.
“Meh. Not terrible.” He answers.
“He’s still hurt. He had a few run ins in the Sector 6 slums.” She says, biting her lip with worry.
Since Tifa is a martial artist, she can probably tell from my stance just how fucked up I am.
“Bah.” He grunts.
Shit, what do I have to do to impress him? Alright, I realize I’ll have like 30 seconds tops to win after this technique, but if I lose this, I’ll fail to enter the story. Or my entering will be delayed. Both are bad. So even if I pass out, that’s fine.
I clasp my hands together. Biggs gets ready, expecting another Shadow Imitation, but I surprise him. “Shadow Replication!” I shout. I make not one but TWO copies placing me at the point where passing out was a certainty and one that would come to pass in under half a minute’s time.
“What da fuck?” Barret gapes.
Not wasting anytime, I spring forward with my clones. Biggs panics and swings at the middle once, which is me, but I duck. My clones send punches at him, and they each hit one side of his face before I give a strong uppercut to his chin. As strong as I could manage anyways. My clones and I give one last kick each before Biggs faints, I pass out, and my clones pop out of existence. I didn’t win, but I didn’t lose either.
I woke up on a metal floor. There was a blanket beneath me and a pillow, but no bed. Sleeping on the floor…what a pain. I grumble and stand, looking around. I see a tom boy kind of woman typing away at the computer. Must be Jessie. Barret’s hitting the punching bag with his daughter watching him. No sign of Biggs or Wedge.
It doesn’t take long for Barret to notice me. He stops attacking the bag and faces me.
“Finally up, eh?”
“Finally? How long was I sleeping?”
“Almost a day.” He replies.
Oh. That wasn’t that bad. I definitely over did it though. I need to stop sleeping so much just because I’m tired. It’s not something I’ll be able to do once I’m actually journeying.
“Sorry.” I say to him. “I shouldn’t have slept so long.”
Barret rubbed his hand along his beard. “’s fine.”
“So uh…did I make it?” I say nervously, rubbing the back of my head.
“Yeah, ya made it. All things considered, you did good. You’re probably better with that big ass scythe of yours. Having you with us makes you the only guy with materia and knowin how to use it. You also have them crazy ass shadow things you do. Plus, you were already injured. Yeah, and you wanta protect da planet with us too. So yer a good kid, I think. Jus don’t go aroun’ being a smart ass or nothin’.”
I smile. I made it. I’m in the story now. “Thanks.”
I’m guessing Cloud isn’t with us yet. He had materia equipped and Barret said I was the only member with materia at this point. Which reminds me…
“Oh yeah. I brought some things to help out the group.” I said.
“What kind of things?”
I place my money pouch on the table and dump it’s contents. I also slide 3 Mythril Armlets forward and my Fire materia.
“These armlets, this materia, 8000 gil, and my own mad skills.” I grin.
Barret snorts and turns back to his bag, resuming his punching. “We can use them armlets and materia if you don’t want em’. Keep the money though. We find ways to fund ourselves. Don’t need to be takin’ donations from a kid.”
Since operations would proceed either way, I decided not to argue. I shrugged and took the pouch back but left the other items on the table.
“So what are we going now?”
“Nothin’” He answers. “We have some stuff goin down in 13 days. Til then, we’re preparing.”
“Gotcha.” I say. I approach the pinball machine and smack it, making it bring me to the upper level.
When I step off, everything is EXACTLY the same as it had been the day before. Wedge and Biggs drinking, Tifa at the counter.
“Good morning!” she says cheerfully. “Felling better?”
I smile back, “Yep. I just needed a good rest.”
“Up to eating? I make good omelets, I’m told.” She offered.
“No thanks.” I say. I walk up to Biggs and rub my hands nervously. “Hey Biggs…do you think you could teach me how to fight better?”
You see, even though I was tired, from what I can tell, Biggs had better hand to hand then I did. I don’t know how much better, but there was a noticeable difference. I figure if I can get my hand to hand down, it would help my overall combat ability. Plus I’m really not that great with my bare hands. Once Cloud is here, maybe he can teach me to use my scythe better or something.
Biggs smiled confidently, proud that I am acknowledging his superiority. At least with bare first, anyways.
“Sure thing.”
We head out to the back, and the training begins.