Inheritance (Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth)

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A/N: I hope no one's disappointed that I decided to skip the mythril golem battle. I just really wanted to move the story along and didn't feel like writing a detailed recreation of it. Hope you all enjoy this next chapter! Love you all!!!
~✨Celestial✨~
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Once the mythril golem was defeated, Barret, Red, and Lailah left the cavern and soon were able to regroup with the others. Tifa and Aerith were visibly relieved to see their friends were safe.

"Hey!" Barret greeted them as he, Red, and Lailah joined them.

"What took you?" Cloud asked.

The brute threw out his arms. "Stumbled on a killer rock formation and couldn't tear ourselves away. Right?" He looked toward Red and Lailah.

The snowy-haired girl couldn't fight against the temptation to make a rock pun. "It was quite the rocky situation."

All of them were speechless when they heard her pun.

Barret was the first to react. He laughed heartily and patted her on the back. "Ha! That's a good one!"

Lailah glanced at Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith while pointing at the brute. "In my defense, Barret started it."

Tifa giggled. "I thought it was creative."

"Me too!" Aerith said. "It was pretty solid."

All eyes turned to the brunette, surprised that she also made a rock pun.

Lailah found herself laughing. "See? Even Aerith is making her own rock puns."

Cloud crossed his arms. "You're both bad at puns."

"Okay, okay," the shapeshifter continued to laugh. "We'll stop."

Red looked over to see just how in shambles the ground beneath them was. "The ground here could give way at any moment. We shouldn't linger."

"True, but don't forget-Shinra knows we're here now," Cloud stated, uncrossing his arms. "Might be more of 'em outside."

Barret's playful smirk vanished. "That doesn't make any difference to me. I ain't stoppin'-not for them or anyone. Not after Midgar. Not after what we saw. We all know what's at stake here-the fate of the world. So if they get in our way, that's on them."

"Right," Cloud agreed. "Let's get back to tailing the guys in robes. They're our best chance of finding Sephiroth."

Without wasting any more time, the reunited party headed up the only tunnel that lay before them. They encountered a few monsters, none of which were too difficult to dispose of.

After having taken down an ogre, Lailah came to a stop when she sensed a familiar presence quickly drawing closer. Her eyes widened as the smell of ash filled the air of the mine. "Everyone, press your backs against the tunnel!"

The others were confused but did as she said. They all pressed their backs against the rocky wall just in time to avoid being trampled over by a furious Hapheastus. The angry beast stormed out of the mine in a white and red blur, roaring angrily. Once the tiger was out of sight, the party pushed themselves off the walls of the tunnel.

"Th-That was..." Tifa's shaky voice trailed off.

"Hephaestus," Red finished the girl's sentence.

Lailah stared down the tunnel in the direction the ancestral beast disappeared in. "He is much more angry than I thought he was."

Aerith's eyes reflected her concern. "He wouldn't attack innocent people, would he?"

"I want to say no, but in his current state...I can't be certain. If he's truly blinded by anger, he will attack anyone who gets in his way."