Disclaimer: The usual. I do not own any characters. Ha ha… yawn… hmm…

FINAL FANTASY VII – THE REMIX

Chapter 2 – Meeting the Flower Girl

"Are you okay?"

Cloud groaned. Something cracked.

"Ow…" he clutched his ribs.

"You're lucky you're not dead! You fell over a hundred feet!"

Cloud felt a slight warmth as a spell was cast. He sat up. He was in the middle of a flowerbed. Some flowers had been crushed by his fall. He looked at his healer. It was the flower girl.

"Geez!" He shouted as he jumped up, crushing more flowers. "I'm so sorry!"

One of the girl's eyes twitched involuntarily. "That's alright…"

"What's your name?" He asked as he jumped onto the wooden flooring of the chapel.

"I'm Aeris."

"I'm Cloud. You were the one I bumped into yesterday huh?"

"Yeah."

"You're a mercenary right?"

"How'd you know that!" Cloud asked in bewilderment.

"You were muttering, 'I'm a mercenary! I will kill you all!' in your sleep."

"Oh… What do you need?"

"A bodyguard."

"What for?"

"HEY! THERE'S THAT GIRL WE WERE LOOKING FOR!"

"Ahh!" Aeris screamed. "They're trying to kidnap me!"

"Who are they! Gang members!

"No you idiot. They're the Turks."

Cloud drew his sword.

"Are you crazy or stupid! They have sub-machine guns! RUN!" Aeris dragged Cloud away. "Don't step on the flowers!" She shouted as they ran off.

Tseng ran after them, unwittingly stepping on the flowers.

"Oops." He said before a steel staff knocked him back fully five feet.

Aeris ran back to join Cloud

"Wow. You really are stupid, commander." One of the soldiers said to Tseng.

"Shut up and get after them!"

"Yes sir!" The soldiers ran off.

Cloud and Aeris ran up into the rafters as the soldiers rush into the room. The soldiers fire as Aeris jumped on the fallen pillar.

"AHH!" She cried as she slid down the pillar.

Of course, the smarter thing to do here would have been to follow Aeris down the pillar and help her fight off the soldiers, but nooo… Squaresoft ® has to make you push barrels on them. Well, guess what. I'm not going to follow that. Ha ha.

Anyway, Cloud and Aeris fight their way back up and gain more experience than if you push stupid barrels on them.

"There's an opening!"

"That leads to the roof!" Aeris said.

"Oh well. Let's go!"

Aeris and Cloud run off. After a while Aeris slowed to a stop.

"What are you doing!" Cloud shouted back at her. "We need to get out of here!"

"I can't run anymore!" She called back.

Sighing, Cloud ran back and lifted her onto his back.

"What! Put me down!"

" 'A bodyguard must protect his charge at all costs.' We're gonna get caught if we don't hurry."

After a while they reached Aeris's house.

"Can you put me down now? If mom sees me like this, she'll think I'm lazy."

They walked inside. Aeris's stepmother thanks Cloud and tells him about Aeris's past.

"I can't bear to lose her again, so could you leave in the night?"

"Sure." Cloud went upstairs.

Later that night, Cloud sneaked outside and left the small house.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?"

Aeris was standing near the hole in the wall that lead to Sector 6.

"Um, uh…

She laughed.

"Scared ya didn't I? I'm not really angry, but I'm not going home either."

"Aeris, it's too dangerous."

"Oh? Are you trying to skirt your job as a bodyguard?"

"N-no."

"Let's go then."

They set off into sector six.

"Wow. Doesn't anyone ever clean up this place?" Cloud was lost in the rubble again.

"Hurry up! This way." Aeris lead him out.

Later, after getting to the small playground, they stopped and rested a while.

"Hey, isn't that Tifa?" Cloud asked.

"How should I know? Is she your girlfriend?"

"Not really, she's a childhood friend."

"I see. Well, it looks like she's headed towards Wall Market."

"Let's go."

They reached the fabled Wall Market.

"I think she went that way." Aeris pointed to a side street.

Following this path lead to the Honey Bee Inn.

"A tall brunette?" The door attendant asked. "I think she came here to find Don Corneo. She left a while ago."

"One question." Cloud said. "Is this some kind of strip bar or a hotel for prostitutes?"

"SHH SHHHHH!" The doorman made wild waving gestures with his arms. "Squaresoft ® doesn't want you to know that!"

"Cloud let's go."

They reached the mansion of the pimp, Don Corneo. A guard at the door stopped them.

"Sorry, girls only."

"What the hell!" Cloud drew his sword.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. I'm sorry. Company policy."

"What company!" Aeris asked?

"Well, this young lady can come in."

"Stop changing the subject!" Cloud shouted.

"Let's go Cloud."

Aeris dragged Cloud away as he continued to shout and flail his sword.

"Let's get you a dress."

"WHAT!"

"We got to get into the mansion."

"But…"

"Excuse me, can I get a dress here?"

They were in a clothing shop.

"I'm sorry, the owner of this shop is getting drunk. Try the bar."

"Thanks."

"Hey! Where are we going!"

Aeris dragged Cloud to the bar.

"Wait! Why are we…"

"Excuse me? Are you the owner of the clothing shop?"

"Yeah hic whaddya want?"

"We need a dress for him." Aeris pointed at Cloud.

"Him! BWAH HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The drunkard fell over laughing.

"I hate this…" Cloud muttered as the man rolled around on the floor catching many strange looks from the people at the tables.

"S-SURE! Ha ha… What do you want."

"Something that's soft and shimmers." Aeris said.

"Alright." He dashed out of the bar, still laughing.

They waited around a while and the dress was finished.

"Well, put it on!"

"I feel like a crossdresser…" Cloud muttered as he went in an put on the garment.

"Wow! You look pretty!"

"Whatever…" Cloud grumbled.

He took the dress off.

"You know, an easier way to do this would be…" Cloud rushed back to the mansion.

"Wait!" Aeris ran after him.

Cloud tried to kill the guard but Aeris dragged him back again.

"Is your friend stoned or something?"

"GAH! Let me at him! I'll kill him!"

Aeris whacked him with her staff and dragged him off.

"We have to sneak in!" Aeris scolded.

"Psh… fine…"

They went around and got the necessary items that Cloud needed.

"If anyone I know sees me like this, I'll kill myself."

"Well, Tifa will."

"GAH!"

They went back to the mansion.

"Can my friend and I come in?"

"S-sure! Wow! She's hot."

(A little bit of Cloud shrivels up inside…)

"Ouch…my pride…" he mumbled.

They met Tifa down in the basement and she explained that she was here to find out what Don was going to do to Avalanche. Like the game, if you did it right, Cloud is picked by Cornero.

"Heh, you look tasty…" He said.

Cloud inched back a bit. Corneo jumped on him and tried to rip off his dress.

"What the hell! Get the hell off me!" He knocked Corneo aside with his sword. "GOD! F-ing PERVERT!" He tried to kill Corneo.

"Cloud! Stop!" Tifa and Aeris burst into the room as Cloud was about to rip Corneo's heart out.

"What!"

"We need to ask him some questions!"

"What were you going to do to Avalanche."

The fat man trembled and then giggled

"You'll never save them! Heh heh… The plate will crush them all!"

"WHAT!" Tifa yelled.

"Let's go." Cloud said.

"Wait. I can't let you interfere."

"Oh yeah what are you going to do about it?"

"This."

He pressed a button and the three fell into the trap.

"Now you'll never stop the plate from crushing the slums! HAHAHA!"

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Well, this one wasn't as funny. Oh well. Read and Review!