The Highwind
-The ship is called “Highwind.” (RIP Kain.)
-One of the engineers working on the plane met Cid after working under Heidegger, and Cid was a warm and kind as he’d heard. Huh? Which Cid did you meet? Cid convinced him to defect, leave the evil corporation, and save the world. Good pitch.
-Highwind has a chocobo on it. Best. Plane. Ever. (Granted, the Big Whale had a big chocobo on it and could fly to the moon, so maybe we’ll say “tied for best plane ever.”)
-We’re a bit short-staffed.
-Tifa misses Cloud. Barret reminds her (empathetically) how she doesn’t need him to get through this.
-Cloud may have gotten sucked into the lifestream, which Nanaki says bleeds into the ocean at times.
-We head to the operations room to adjust our party and get ready. Going with Nanaki, Barret, and Tifa.
-Cait Sith says it’s time to look for Cloud. I guess this means heading to the North Cave.
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Wutai
-AND YET! We have an airship now! It can fly all over! So I head back to Wutai, because this place bugs me.
-The town’s dialogue definitely has changed with the coming of the meteor. Some are terrified, some are philosophical.
-Still can’t get into the cat house, or change anything in the materia store.
-A guy near the temple tells me about the Water God’s scales, impervious to fire. Hm.
-The dog tells me, “Woof, woof!” Indeed, my friend. So say we all in these troubled times.
-Still can’t enter the main tower here. Only someone from Wutai, and none of my party members are yet from here.
-Given all this, I doubt the Da-chao statue/mountain will have anything new for me, but I try it anyway. No luck.
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Overworld
-Flew up north to see if there’s an easy entrance to the cave where we found Sephiroth.
-There’s a massive crater, and something blocked us from getting to it.
Not sure if it’s the force of the dome or a giant bumblebee.
-Can’t get to the ice town either. Or rather, can’t land on snow.
-Found a house that I could land near! With a purple dude who looks like a Cetra spirit. Calls himself “Chocobo Sage.”
-His pet chocobo vomited forth an “Enemy Skill” materia which I doubt I’ll use.
-Found a green place to land a little walk away from the ice town.
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Icicle Inn
-The barrier up north apparently made things colder.
-Everyone here warns me that the barrier stops anyone trying to get to the crater.
-JACKPOT! Someone here tells me I may have more luck at Mideel Island in the south. We’ve got ourselves a destination.
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Weapon Master’s House
-I stop in here to check it out. Not much going on, but the weapon maker says he hasn’t been able to get materials to make weapons.
-This could be nothing, but since it’s a Final Fantasy game, I’m keeping my eye out for either a Rat’s Tail or Adamant. If I find either, I’ll bring em here. (Though the Rat’s Tail has been out of commission for a few games.)
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Mideel
-It’s a quiet little “hot springs” town.
-Now THIS is what I’m talking about! The town’s place in my progression is usually signaled by its weapons and armor, and the weapons and armor here kick major ass. Weapon upgrades for Cloud, Nanaki, Tifa, and Barret, and I’m out of money before I can upgrade the bangles.
-The music in this weapon store is chocobo music. There’s a chocobo chick running around in here.
-Aw! Random Tifa/Cloud feels from her seeing a lone dog.
-We overhear a villager talking about having seen Cloud washed ashore recently. The dude with the “pokey hair.” LOL
-Where is he now?
-OH SHIT HE’S RIGHT IN TOWN AT THE CLINIC
-Cloud’s here, but super out of it. Suffering from “Mako poisoning” due to prolonged exposure. Quick, let’s go to the Antlion Cave to find a Sand Ruby to cure him! (Sorry. Habit.)
-Everyone walks out at Tifa’s request, leaving her alone with the convalescing Cloud.
TIFA: “I’ve made it this far believing in the memories we shared. This is too cruel.”
-Meanwhile, outside, Barret and the doctor speak.
-The doctor describes Mako poisoning in an interesting way. That Cloud had a tremendous amount of Mako-infused “knowledge” soaked into his brain. I KNEW he shouldn’t have opened the Door of Truth!
-Barret is hesitant about whether he even wants Cloud back. After all, we just learned that Cloud may basically be Sephiroth’s shadow. So glad they’re addressing this.
-Tifa’s going to stay behind with Cloud.
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Next time: Sans Tifa.
