Alarms flicker red. Static hums in the air. The deeper they descend, the colder it gets—not from temperature, but from something inhuman watching from behind the glass.

Barret’s voice cuts through the chaos “Ain’t no gods down here. Just ghosts and test tubes.”

Tifa smashes a console. Aerith’s breathing is ragged—she’s weak, disoriented. But then—

A low pulse. Not mechanical. Not Shinra. Alive.

Behind thick reinforced glass, a second containment tank glows dimly green—its occupant obscured in swirling mako haze. Chains float weightless inside, wrapped around limbs too steady to be unconscious.

A flicker of movement. A flash of eyes—feral, intelligent, ancient. Watching them. Watching her.

Aerith stumbles. Her fingers touch the glass. “This… this isn’t Jenova. It’s something else. Someone.”

Barret: “Hojo just collectin’ people like monsters now?”

You. Awake. Slowly. The world returns like pain crawling across nerve endings. But the voices are real. Not guards. Not scientists. People.

Aerith “They… they spoke to me. Not in words. In dreams.”

You blink—slowly. Eyes like burning glass meet Barret’s. You mouth the words again the intercom screeches with feedback

barret “…I ain’t gonna.”

He steps in, close enough to kneel—level with you, despite the danger. There’s fear in his eyes, but something stronger beneath it: recognition.

Barret “I don’t know what Hojo made you for. But you’re breathin’. Bleedin’. Just like the rest of us.”

He reaches forward—slowly, palm open. “You ain’t a monster to me. Not unless you choose to be.”

Somewhere deeper in the lab, an alarm wails. Footsteps echo like ghosts. But Barret doesn’t flinch. He keeps his eyes on you, hand steady, like he’s daring the world to try and take you back.