Chapter 32
Elena landed the helicopter about a mile north of the fishing village, and they explained to her how the Temple had been transformed into the Black Materia--how Sephiroth had taken it and planned to use it.
"Are you really telling me the world's doomed?" Elena asked, meeting Tifa's gaze with a grim disbelief.
Tifa shook her head. "Not yet. We're going after him, to stop him before he can use it. If Shinra's smart, you'll stay out of our way."
"You know where he's headed?"
"We have an idea."
"Then you should tell me! You think Shinra wants the world to end? We have a lot more resources than your little rag-tag band, you should let us handle Sephiroth."
"Shinra created Sephiroth," Jessie pointed out skeptically. "And I think our rag-tag band is doing pretty well compared to Shinra."
Elena glanced at the unconscious Tseng, and then she stuck her chin out. "It would never have happened this way if Aeris had just cooperated with us."
Tifa looked to Aeris, who had scarcely said a word since they'd left the Temple. "Yeah, well... That was never going to happen. Thanks for the ride, but this is where we part ways."
"Fine," Elena said grudgingly. She'd never once thanked them for helping Tseng or for the information, but Tifa didn't need gratitude from Shinra. As they got moving, she heard the helicopter blades whirring into motion again, and when she glanced back, she saw it disappearing to the north.
Except for the occasional mumbling of the clones, no one talked on the way back to the fishing village. Tifa had told herself that their earlier silence was because of Elena, because no one wanted to say anything in the presence of an enemy. But now, she knew that one thing weighed too heavily on her mind to leave space for anything else. She didn't want to say it aloud, and only now did she allow herself to think it.
Were they not strong enough?
They hadn't been able to stop Sephiroth from getting the Black Materia. How were they going to defeat him?
She looked at all of her friends, walking ahead of her as she brought up the rear. How many of them wondered the same thing? Thinking back over that brief fight at the Temple, trying to figure out what they'd done wrong, how their smallest misstep had contributed to their failure...
No, she couldn't think like that. They'd held their own, hadn't they? They hadn't lost; Sephiroth had run away. He had been hoping they would be crushed inside the Temple; now that he had no more use for Aeris, they were a threat that he wanted gone. If they could just meet him, head-on, in a real fight... Surely they could win, couldn't they?
If she couldn't believe that, then everything fell to Aeris, and Tifa couldn't do that to her.
On reaching the village, they tracked down Bugah's friend, who was understandably surprised to see them, but they explained about their other ride. They had checked in with Bugenhagen, and instead asked her if she'd do them a different favor: looking after their three sick friends until someone from Cosmo Canyon could come to get them. It might be best if they were locked up, Tifa advised; she didn't know if they were dangerous, but they kept trying to go north, after Sephiroth.
Tifa wanted to press on, too, sure that Sephiroth was wasting no time with rest, but she looked at her team... Jessie and Yuffie were all right, but the fatigue was clear in everyone who had gone into that Temple, even through Vincent's stoicism and Zack's SOLDIER training. Aeris especially looked exhausted, though Tifa couldn't say whether it was more from the magic she'd expended, or the gravity of their situation.
"We've still got some daylight," said Zack, noticing her look. "Bet we could cover a little more distance today."
"I could probably drive for a while," Jessie offered. "There's not exactly gonna be a lot of traffic around here, so it'll be good for practice."
"All right," Tifa decided. "We'll press on for a few more hours and then we'll all get some rest."
Zack insisted he was in better shape than Vincent, which may have been true after the blast Vincent had taken, but she thought Zack was trying to make up for his earlier helplessness. Still, it didn't hurt anything to let him, and he knew the area. Vincent rode instead with Jessie to give her some pointers.
Tifa settled into the back of the military truck beside Aeris, studying her face. How heavy did the task of summoning Holy weigh on her now? Tifa put her arm around her, pulling her close.
"You think we can call Wedge?" Aeris spoke up at last. "I know it's getting late for them, but... Mom must be worried. I'd like to let her know we're all right."
Barret nodded. "Sure. We can do that."
Marlene had already gone to bed, and in their brief conversation with Wedge and Elmyra, for once they were open about their situation. It was obvious Wedge wanted to do something more to help, and though Tifa couldn't think of anything, she promised they'd keep him posted.
They made camp about an hour after sundown, and most everyone turned in early, or tried to. Aeris seemed reluctant to sleep, her eyes on the horizon. Tifa made their bedrolls side-by-side, the way Aeris had done outside of Nibelheim, and she coaxed Aeris into lying down with her.
"Sorry," Aeris murmured. "I just... feel like I need to keep moving."
"I get it," said Tifa. "But we're on our way, aren't we?"
"I know. That pull is just so strong right now..."
"Like when you led us to the Temple?"
"Stronger," said Aeris, and the answer worried her.
"You can't keep going without rest," said Tifa.
"I know that, too." Aeris shifted closer, tucking her head beneath Tifa's chin. "Hold me tight, would you? I feel I could get lost in it, if you don't."
So Tifa held her tight, and lay awake a while longer, staring up at the stars. She wished the Planet could hear her, so she could ask it not to rely so heavily on the last Cetra. Aeris said it watched them, but did it understand how hard they were all fighting for it, not just Aeris?
It was a relief when she woke in the morning to find Aeris still with her, not vanished in the night, called by the Planet. Barret snored nearby, and Tifa could pick out the softer breathing of several of the others.
Aeris was already already awake, though, and sat up when Tifa found her gaze. Tifa rose with her. It was a grey morning; a fog sat on the water, obscuring any view out to sea.
Jessie was up, too, and apparently sorting through every last thing that she owned.
"What are you looking for?" Tifa wondered.
"I was hoping I still had the ticket from that tour bus," Jessie answered without looking up. "It might have the number on it."
"You want to call the tour company?"
"Yeah. They oughtta know the boat schedules out of Costa del Sol. I figured you and Aeris might feel better if you knew exactly when we could head north. And... it'd let us know how much time we have," she added, glancing at Barret.
The prison, Tifa recalled.
"You're right," she said. "I'll help you look."
Aeris joined in, and eventually they located the ticket caught inside the helmet of Jessie's pilfered Shinra uniform. Jessie stepped away from camp to make the call; more of the others were awake now, but Zack and Cloud slumbered on, and there was no reason to wake them yet.
Tifa got breakfast ready, finding some comfort in going through the motions of routine. Aeris stayed close, as though she didn't quite trust herself.
After Jessie had checked back in and everyone had eaten, Tifa sat them all down. "You all know we're headed north. But, the next ship out of Costa del Sol doesn't leave until three days from now. Since we have the time, we're making a slight detour to Corel Prison."
"What?" said Yuffie. "A prison?"
"We doing some kinda prison break?" Zack wondered.
Tifa glanced at Barret, who explained, "There's a friend o' mine from a while back, Dyne, who's in there. Dunno that he'll be too keen to have anythin' to do with us... but I owe it to 'im to check up on 'im."
"So that's what you guys were talking about," said Yuffie.
"I assume we hope to make an ally of him," said Nanaki, "but what exactly is he in prison for?"
"Murderin' Shinra soldiers," Barret answered. "It's a shorter rap sheet than some of us've got. We just ain't been caught for long."
Vincent spoke up, unexpectedly. "Do you need me for this?" he asked.
"I... guess not," Tifa said. "Did you want to sit this one out?"
He was quiet for a moment, considering something. Then he said, "Do you know the crater lake, southeast of Nibelheim?"
"I know of it."
"Lucrecia and I used to go there sometimes. If she has no grave, then... I would like to pay my respects there."
Looking for closure, Tifa guessed. They weren't far from one of the rivers fed by that lake, and she estimated the distance in her mind. "And you'll rendezvous with us back in Costa del Sol?" she asked.
"Yes. I believe we have the time."
Tifa nodded. "I think so. But I don't want you going on your own."
"I could accompany you," Nanaki offered, "if that's all right. I can't imagine I will be of any help infiltrating a prison."
Jessie glanced between Vincent and Barret, looking torn. Tifa could see her doing the math, trying to determine where she was most needed. "I can go, too," she decided at last. "If... that's all right with you, Barret. I figure..."
"It's all right, Jess," he interrupted. "Tifa'll have my back."
Jessie nodded. "Well... at least I can give you this," she said, passing him her rifle; he was still out of ammo for his gun arm. "In case you run into any trouble finding him. But I hope it goes well. I'd like to meet an old friend of yours."
Barret took the rifle, not looking at all hopeful. "We'll see," he said.
As they prepared to leave, loading up their gear, Jessie pulled Tifa aside. "Do you think it's really okay?" she wondered. "I mean, I do feel Vincent should have someone with him who knows him a bit better, but... I wasn't there for you all at the Temple. I wish I'd been more help back there."
Tifa shook her head. "We all did what we could," she said. "And it helped, knowing that if we didn't make it out, there'd still be someone out there."
Jessie's brow furrowed, and she looked uneasy at the thought. "You really think I could've gone on, without you all?"
Maybe Tifa shouldn't have said it. She thought of Sector 7, of having to go on, without Biggs. But she couldn't take it back now. "I know you would've thought of something," she said. "You and Yuffie are pretty resourceful."
"Well... I'm glad we didn't have to. I like the original plan: we go north, Aeris summons Holy, and then, even if Sephiroth does summon Meteor, the Planet will be safe."
"...yeah," Tifa said. They both knew it wasn't going to be that simple, but Tifa liked the way she put it, like there was no chance of failure.
Jessie managed a smile and put a hand on her arm. "We'll see you in Costa del Sol in a day or two," she said. "You'll probably get there before us, but maybe you and Aeris can find time for another one of your 'swimming lessons.'"
"What're you saying it like that for?" Tifa asked, but Jessie just laughed.
It was good to hear a little laughter.
They parted ways just after the river crossing, Vincent taking the old truck westward, while the rest of them continued north. They reached the edge of the desert in under an hour, and not long after that, Zack brought the truck to a stop.
"Uhh, think I might need some direction," he called back through the window. "It didn't used to be this bad here."
They climbed out of the truck to have a look, and Tifa could feel the heat radiating from the engine as they passed it. The road had vanished a while back, and ahead, the dry earth had split, forming a long fissure that stretched in either direction.
"Heard that it was nothin' but this desert guardin' the prison," Barret remarked. "Guess we're startin' to see why."
"Oh, come on," said Yuffie, "this is nothing. We could jump across, easy."
"The truck couldn't," said Zack.
"We don't want to cross the whole thing on foot," said Tifa. "We're not prepared for that." She looked to Barret with a frown, but before either one of them could say anything, Zack spoke up again.
"You know if there's still wild chocobos around here?"
Barret scratched his head. "Might be. You think they could handle the desert?"
"Yeah," said Zack, and he grinned. "And it just so happens we've got ourselves an expert chocobo-wrangler."
Tifa regarded him quizzically until she realized that it was Cloud he was grinning at.
"...you're kidding," said Cloud.
"Come on, I've seen you with them. They totally just accept you as one of their own."
Tifa found herself biting back a laugh, and she saw Aeris smile.
"Well, uh," said Tifa, "we can all give it a try, I guess." But Zack definitely had a point about that hair.
Zack turned the truck east, and they drove around for a while until Yuffie spotted a flock of chocobos in the distance, and they all got out to approach on foot.
Tifa had never caught a wild chocobo before, and it had been a while since she'd handled one at all. You saw them sometimes in Midgar, but they weren't common. Luckily, Cloud did have a knack for approaching them without causing alarm, while Yuffie was pretty good at sneaking up on them, and in the end, they managed to get their hands on three birds before the rest of the flock bolted.
"Can we really ride these things?" Barret wondered as Cloud and Aeris did their best to soothe the flighty animals.
"Sure," said Yuffie, who stood knotting rope into makeshift bridles. "Most of 'em are pretty chill with it once they figure out you're not gonna eat 'em."
"You've ridden wild ones before?" Tifa asked her.
"Yeah. Beats driving by a long shot."
"Somebody oughtta stay with the truck though," said Barret.
"Zack, you mind?" Tifa asked him.
Zack scratched his head. "You sure? I mean, maybe the desert's the only security, but these're still criminals you're dealing with."
"We're criminals," Tifa pointed out. "Actually, you're the one who used to be law enforcement."
"But... I've gone rogue now!" Zack protested. "Doesn't that count for something?"
"Sure. But... this whole thing is kind of personal anyway," she said, glancing at Barret.
"All right, I get it. I'll keep an eye on the truck."
"...I'm staying too," said Aeris. Her back was to them as she stroked one of the chocobos.
"Aeris?" said Tifa.
"I'm... still having a hard time focusing," Aeris admitted. "I don't want to be a liability in there."
Tifa stepped up beside her, trying to get a look at her face. "You sure you'll be okay, staying put?"
Aeris offered her a smile, tired but genuine. "Don't worry, I won't run off. Besides, Zack will be with me."
Tifa nodded, and touched her hand briefly. "We'll make this as quick as we can." She turned to Zack. "I'm trusting you to look after her."
"Yes, ma'am," said Zack, saluting her. "You can count on me."
She pulled out the phone she'd taken off Jessie and handed it to him. "In case we need to coordinate anything. Barret's number is in there."
"Along with half of Shinra," Zack observed, raising his eyebrows.
"Don't prank call anyone," said Cloud.
"Wouldn't dream of it," said Zack, unconvincingly.
They changed into whatever they had that would best protect them from the sun, borrowing from each other, even pulling the cowls from the Shinra uniforms to shield their faces from the dust. No one anticipated a pleasant journey.
The chocobos weren't keen on obeying anyone at first, but Yuffie managed to bribe them with bits of apple in lieu of greens. Once they'd been coaxed into accepting riders, Tifa and the others took all the water they could and headed for the desert.
As it turned out, Barret had never ridden a chocobo before; though he had some experience with them, the miners of Corel had mostly used them as beasts of burden. Yuffie, easily the lightest of them and the most experienced rider, graciously (for Yuffie) agreed to help him out. That left Tifa and Cloud with the other birds, and one of them, she supposed, might be riding back with Dyne.
The chocobos balked at entering the more difficult terrain, but Cloud persuaded his across the fissure, and the others followed, not wanting to be separated.
Tifa managed to maneuver her bird up alongside him, watching him. He carried himself a little differently since yesterday, head a little higher, shoulders looser. "You've been doing a lot better these past few days," she remarked at last.
"It's... good to have Zack back," he said. "And I know it's probably because of him that I was okay at the Temple, but even so..."
"What do you mean?" Tifa wondered. She'd assumed it was thanks to Zack's presence that he'd been able to fight it, but Cloud seemed to mean it differently.
"...Sephiroth went after him instead of me," he clarified. "He knows I'm no match for him anyway."
"You did wound him, Zack said."
Cloud shook his head. "If I stabbed him in the back, then it was mostly luck. Still... Maybe you're right. Maybe I can get lucky again." He glanced over at her and cautiously added, "We fought pretty well together... didn't we?"
Tifa met his gaze. "Yeah. Nibelheim's a mistake Sephiroth's going to come to regret."
As the chocobos grew more accustomed to their riders and to the terrain, they were able to pick up the pace. Tifa couldn't help but wonder, though, if they were getting anywhere. The sun had risen to its zenith, the mountains of Corel were still out of sight, and the earth stretched flat in every direction. The dust and the heat were suffocating, worse than the hottest summer day beneath the Midgar smog.
"Do we even know where we're going?" Yuffie asked finally, as they stopped again to water the chocobos.
"We're headed for that," said Barret, pointing to a glint in the distance that shimmered in and out of sight through the heat haze. It wasn't until they got moving again that Tifa began to make out the tiered structure of Gold Saucer.
"It's sitting on top of the prison?" she asked incredulously.
"Almost too obvious, ain't it?"
Tifa nodded. She didn't know what this prison population looked like, but knowing Shinra, she could imagine too many of them didn't belong there. They were just poor or unlucky, or both. Like Midgar, at extremes. The rich on vacation high above the people they'd trampled to get there.
Gold Saucer grew slowly closer, and when they finally came in sight of the so-called prison beneath, Tifa's heart sank at the realization of exactly what it was, and why Barret knew the way with such certainty. The desert had swallowed any smaller debris, but the burnt-out shells of some buildings remained, forming a scene closer to what Tifa had imagined Nibelheim would look like.
"Barret..."
He glanced at her. "I know."
They dismounted, and all eyes were on them as they entered the prison. Sweat made their clothes stick to their bodies, and grime to their skin, and no one here looked any better.
"Oh, man," said Yuffie. "This place looks rough."
"We've dealt with tougher," said Tifa. She shook some of the dust out of her hair as she swept her eyes over their audience, sizing them up. "You got an idea where we might find Dyne," she asked Barret, "or do we need to ask directions?"
"Couldn't hurt," said Barret. "His house... ain't here no more."
Tifa nodded, handed her chocobo off to Cloud, and approached one of the men. "We're looking for a man named Dyne," she said. "Any idea where we could find him?"
The man laughed. "You waltz in here with that name, and you don't got any idea who the boss is around here, do you?"
"Care to enlighten me?"
"Maybe. What're you offerin' in exchange, sweetheart?"
She'd been right; he was too distracted by the way her sweaty shirt clung to her chest to realize he was outmatched. He'd be easy to intimidate, and she wouldn't even have to feel bad about it.
"How 'bout I don't break your arm?" she offered, and he laughed again, but she cut it short by grabbing his arm and twisting it behind his back, forcing him onto his knees.
"Ow! What the fuck?"
"We're a little short on time," Tifa said, "so I'd appreciate you just telling me."
"The junkyard!" he said, gesturing sharply with his other arm. "Try the junkyard! Gods!"
Tifa let him go and turned to her friends. "All right then. Let's go."
They made their way through the town-turned-prison, the base of the Gold Saucer looming over them, and soon enough came across a place piled with old, rusted-out cars. Most of them were in terrible shape, frames bent and windows shattered, guts stripped for anything useful. One was more in tact, and looked as though someone may have been living in it, but it was empty now.
Ahead, the junkyard opened up, and Barret held out a hand to halt them. Tifa could just make out the silhouette of a man standing with his back to them.
"Is it him?" Tifa asked softly.
"Think so." Barret looked to Yuffie and Cloud. "You two stay here with the chocobos."
They didn't argue. Earlier in their friendship, Tifa thought Barret would have asked her to stay out of it, too, but now he met her gaze and nodded, and they approached the man together.
He was a big man, like Barret, though a little more slender and not quite as tall. He stood overlooking a deep crevasse, before which were planted two grave markers, and he didn't turn at the sound of their approach. In place of his left hand was the long barrel of a gun.
"Dyne..." said Barret.
"Now that's a voice I haven't heard in years..." said Dyne. "Was startin' to think I never would."
"I heard you might be alive, but I didn't know where to look for you."
Dyne turned, his face dark with a cold resentment. "Where to look for me?" he repeated. "I didn't go anywhere, Barret. I been here the whole time. You're the one went off to see the world, made himself some new friends." He nodded at Tifa.
"It ain't like that... We've been fightin' the Shinra, tryin' to make sure what happened to Corel doesn't happen to anybody else."
"An' hows' that been goin'?"
Barret hung his head.
"We were hoping maybe you could help," Tifa stepped in. "We heard about your arrest a few days ago. We came to get you out."
Dyne snorted. "Ain't interested in gettin' out. 'specially not to fight the damn Shinra with Barret, like it's gonna make up for him takin' their side instead o' mine way back when."
"I know I fucked up," said Barret. "Worst mistake I ever made, and I ain't askin' your forgiveness. I just couldn't live with that, too, knowin' you were here an' doin' nothin.'"
"Well, I don't want your help. You can turn around an' leave."
Barret shook his head slowly. "There's one more thing," he said. "I get it. I get wantin' to stay... I mighta done the same, if I hadn't found her. All I wanted was to be with Myrna. But then, I found Marlene... That little girl, s'obvious she wanted to live, an' this weren't no place for that. So I took her with me."
For a moment, the harshness of Dyne's expression eased. "Marlene... You sayin' she's alive?"
Barret looked up at him and nodded. "You wanna talk to 'er? She's stayin' with a friend, we could call 'em up. You could hear her voice."
"Does she even know who I am? Did you tell her?"
"Not yet... Didn't think she'd be old enough to understand. But she's real bright, Dyne. We could go an' see her together. We could tell her together."
Dyne half-turned, looking at the grave markers. One for his wife, and one for his daughter, only she wasn't dead. If he hadn't realized, had there even been anything left to bury? "You should've left her," he said.
"What?" said Barret. "Dyne, she woulda died."
"Yeah," said Dyne, and a cold feeling settled in Tifa's stomach. "An' then she'd be with her mom, instead o' livin' in this messed up world. The hell do you think you're doin,' Barret, raisin' my daughter in this world?"
Barret shook his head vehemently. "I know things're messed up, but I'm tryin' to make it better, for her. Don't you want that?"
"There ain't no place anymore for a light like hers. There's nothin' but death an' rot."
"That ain't true," Barret insisted. "Might be hard to see it sometimes, 'specially if you've spent the past four years in this place, but... Dyne, there's still plenty in this world worth savin.' Worth fightin' for."
"Not for me."
Barret was quiet for a moment. He glanced around. "Then... What're you still doin' here? What've you been holdin' onto all this time?"
Dyne shook his head slowly. "I couldn't leave... I couldn't leave this place."
"Dyne..." Barret took a step forward. "We gotta find a way to move forward."
"Stayin' with a friend, huh... Man like you's probably only got so many friends."
"...what're you gettin' at?"
Dyne looked back at him. "Marlene oughtta be with her mom."
Barret froze, and Tifa felt something seize in her chest. This was worse than anything they could have imagined.
"You're crazy!" she exclaimed against the horror of it, stepping forward to join Barret. "She's your daughter."
"Yeah. She's my daughter. Makes it my decision."
"No," said Barret. "Not for this."
"You gonna stand in the way then?" Dyne asked, and he raised his gun arm.
Barret shook his head sharply. "Dyne, we don't wanna fight you!"
"Thought I already established, I don't give a damn 'bout what you want."
"Barret, move!" Tifa grabbed him by the arm and pulled him with her, and they dove for cover behind one of the junked cars as Dyne opened fire.
Barret hunkered down, flinching with the sound of bullets striking the rusted metal at their backs. Blood ran down his arm, but Tifa thought it was only a graze. "Fuck," he whispered. "I didn't think it'd be like this..."
"No one could," Tifa said. The gunfire paused, and she risked a glance over the side of the car. Dyne wasn't following them, just reloading. She looked back at Barret. "I know he was your friend... but he's obviously not himself anymore. He wants to kill his own daughter."
Barret's hand went to the strap of the rifle slung over his shoulder, but he shook his head. "I can't... I know I gotta protect Marlene, but..."
Tifa swallowed. She'd promised to have his back, however this went down. "I'll do it," she said. "If you'll let me."
Barret met her gaze, but before he could say anything, Dyne shouted in alarm, and they both looked up over their cover.
An ice spell had encased Dyne's gun arm, preventing him from firing. He limped back a step, closer to the edge of the crevasse, and tried to smash the ice free.
Tifa looked back, and noticed Yuffie, crouching behind a junker on the other side of the path. She must have heard the gunfire and come to help. Catching Tifa's glance, Yuffie flashed her a thumbs up.
"Dyne!" Barret shouted, leaping over the junker. He grabbed Dyne's shirt and steadied him, pulling him back from the crevasse.
Dyne pushed him away. "Get the fuck off of me!"
Barret had left the rifle behind. He still wanted to believe there was another way out of this. Tifa looked at it, then grabbed it and ran after him. She hadn't known Dyne before, and she didn't know whether Barret saw evidence of the man he'd been, or if it was just wishful thinking. Dyne had gotten his arm free of the ice, and Tifa trained the rifle on him as she approached.
"Dyne, c'mon, man, you gotta come to your senses," Barret was saying.
"You want some kinda faerie tale, Barret, after what we went through."
Tifa's jaw set. A faerie tale? "You know, you're not the only one who lost everything," she said. "I thought you'd be like us... but you've got no idea how hard it's been, to get anything back."
"You can't get it back," Dyne said.
"You could've had your daughter," she said. "She's an amazing kid, but you just threw that chance away."
"Tifa..." said Barret, but she didn't look at him.
Dyne nodded to the rifle in her hands. "You really got the guts, to pull that trigger?"
Did she? He'd threatened her family, but he wasn't Shinra, and he wasn't Sephiroth. He was a man entirely at her mercy in this moment. Tifa hefted the rifle and swung it instead to strike his head with the butt, knocking him to the ground.
"I dunno what to do, Teef," said Barret, looking down at Dyne. "If he made it up to the Gold Saucer to kill those guys, means he could get outta this place, so we can't leave 'im. But we can't let 'im near Marlene."
"I know," said Tifa. So what did they do with him? Take him with them until they could find some other place to lock him up? Be constantly on their guard?
Yuffie walked up to join them. "What was that about? I thought this guy was supposed to be on our side."
"...he's lost his way," said Barret.
Tifa knelt down beside Dyne and ran her fingers over his gun arm, searching for the catch to disconnect it from its port. Dyne's eyes snapped open and his arm slammed into her, knocking her onto her back. He raised it to fire, Barret grabbed Yuffie and twisted to shield her with his body, and Tifa kicked at Dyne, throwing off his aim just enough that his first shot missed. He shifted himself out of her reach, and she scrabbled for the rifle at her side, found the trigger, fired.
It wasn't a fatal shot, not immediately. He lay gasping, and if Yuffie were to use her healing magic, he might survive. But Tifa looked up at Barret, still braced for Dyne's attack, and she wondered: how many more times? How many more times would he put himself at risk like this, for a man who maybe couldn't be saved, and didn't want to be? How many more times before it got him killed?
Tifa adjusted her aim, and fired again.
Silence settled in the wake of the shot. Barret didn't move, as though by not looking, he could prevent it from being real. Yuffie struggled out of his grip and turned.
"Oh, gods, is he dead?"
Tifa swallowed, and slowly set the rifle down on the ground beside her, letting her fingers unwind from the trigger. There didn't seem to be much point to it, but she checked for a pulse anyway.
"He's dead," she said hoarsely.
Barret's shoulders shook, and Tifa didn't know if she could go to him. He hadn't agreed to this.
The nervous warble of chocobos drew her attention, and she looked up as Cloud approached, all three of them in tow. "Are you guys okay?" he asked anxiously.
Yuffie looked between them uncertainly, and Barret turned away from Cloud. Tears had made tracks in the dust on his face. He met Tifa's gaze, and she let out a breath, finding no anger there.
"We'll live," Barret managed.
Tifa carefully got to her feet, and looked down at Dyne's body. She glanced at the grave markers, only paces away. "He'd... probably want to be buried here. Right?"
Barret nodded, saying nothing else.
"Yuffie? Let's go check the junkyard to see if there's anything we could use for a shovel."
Yuffie went on ahead of her without protest, and Tifa paused to catch Cloud's eye on the way. "Keep an eye on him?" she said softly. Much as she wanted to give Barret a moment alone, grief could make a person do rash things.
Cloud nodded, and Tifa went after Yuffie.
She wished there was something more to occupy her thoughts than searching for a shovel, more than digging a grave for a man she'd killed. It wasn't the first life she'd taken, but it weighed heavier than the others. Shinra soldiers, they'd made their choice. The innocent people who'd died in the reactor blast, she'd never seen. This man had been Barret's friend, Marlene's father.
Tifa froze, makeshift shovel wedged in the earth.
She'd killed Marlene's father.
She felt a hand on her arm. Cloud. "I can take over," he offered, and she let him, stepping away. She scrubbed a hand across her eyes, but the grime made them sting worse.
Dyne's body lay where he'd fallen, where she'd left him. The blood staining his shirt was still wet, sticky, it caught the light of the hot sun overhead and had seeped into the ground beneath him.
And the rifle still lay nearby. Jaw clenching, Tifa walked over and kicked it into the crevasse. She didn't want to touch it again, and she knew Jessie wouldn't want it back, once she'd learned what it had been used for.
The others all glanced at her.
"You know," said Yuffie, "he was trying to kill us all."
"Yeah," Barret agreed gruffly. "Don't blame you, Teef. Man I knew... died a long time ago, anyway."
Tifa swallowed and nodded.
They buried Dyne beside the grave marker where he'd etched his wife's name, and Tifa hoped that at least now he could be with her, somewhere in the Lifestream, however that worked. Barret jammed a piece of scrap down into the dirt to mark it and stepped back.
"I wish you coulda seen your daughter, Dyne," said Barret. "Wish you coulda held onto the man you used to be. But... maybe you can be at peace now. An' maybe one day you'll forgive me."
Standing close beside him, Tifa cautiously touched his back, and when he made no protest, she put her arm around him, and they stood there for a while, until one of the chocobos warked impatiently, and they decided it was time to go.