Congratulations to kagura-ness for winning the last chapter's contest. The answer was Las Vegas, Nevada. And no, this contest is no longer valid!
"Are you sure we that we should be here?" Vincent asked.
It's okay," Yuffie replied. "Cid, Reno, and Barret are at the Bellagio, Cloud and Tifa went to Treasure Island...I don't know where Rude is, but we're at the Ventian. Relax, why doncha?"
Vincent gave out a heavy sigh.
"Look, Vincent!" Yuffie grabbed her fiancé's arm and pointed to a small, man-made river. On the river, a strange boat floated peacefully, with the help of a man rowing it.
"Men rowing boats on a man-made river in a mall!" Vincent murmured quietly. "Talk about impractical..."
"I think it's cute," Yuffie said. "Let's get on one!"
"Remember, Yuffie, we are on a ..."
"Mission, schission! Let's go!"
Yuffie walked behind Vincent and forcibly pushed him forward.
Meanwhile, Cloud and Tifa had entered the Treasure Island.
"Wow," Tifa cooed. "Everything's so tropical."
"I'm going to the front desk," Cloud said. "Wait for me."
Cloud walked over the concierge.
"Excuse me, can I have a map of this hotel?"
"Want a map for all of the hotels, sir," the receptionist asked.
"Sure, that would be great."
"Dammit, I lost again!"
Reno had been defeated once again by the infamous slot machine.
"Cut it out, Reno!" Barret yelled.
"Yeah," Cid chimed in. "You'll waste all our money!"
Reno turned from the money eating machine with a look of disgust.
"This freaking hotel is the most expensive one in the city. The least this joint could do is put more money in people's pockets..."
"I can't believe that they have a small zoo in here," Cloud said to Tifa.
"That tiger really resembles Red X III, don't you think so, Cloud?"
Cloud turned his attention to the orange and black striped beast.
"Yeah, it actually does."
"You did it, Cloud," Tifa suddenly said.
"What?"
"You smiled without even trying."
Cloud looked puzzled for a moment, but then he began to laugh.
"What's so funny?" Tifa asked.
"You...snicker...notice so many things...that's all..."
"No one's ever told me that," Tifa declared.
Cloud smiled again.
"Let's get something to eat," Cloud finally said. "I'm starved."
"You know, riding on this boat while this guy sings for us is kinda romantic," Yuffie whispered.
"It is," Vincent agreed.
Yuffie stared deeply in Vincent's eyes until he became very nervous. Then, she closed her eyes and puckered her lips.
"Uh, Yuffie?"
"Kiss me, Vinnie."
"K...Kiss you!" Vincent stammered. "Here? Now?"
"If you love you me, you'll kiss me anywhere," Yuffie said.
Vincent gave out a sigh and succumbed.
Cloud and Tifa sat around a coffee table in the lobby lounge of the tropical hotel, looking over brochures and maps of the city.
"Look at all of these hotels," Cloud whispered.
"How in the world are we going to find the materia if there are so many hotels in the area?" Tifa asked.
Cloud came across a brochure for the MGM hotel.
"There's going to be a comic and video game convention at this hotel," Cloud said.
"Well, read it out loud."
"Okay then." Cloud cleared his throat and began to read.
"This year's 'VegasCon' will be held in the convention center in the MGM Grand hotel. This year will feature comic and manga artists of today's hottest books, DDR tournaments, and other various contests. Among these contests, there will be a 'Final Fantasy VII judging contest on creating realistic weaponry, cosplay, and other items from the video game. Hope to see you there."
"What the heck is Final Fantasy VII?" Tifa asked.
"What do you mean 'what the heck is Final Fantasy VII'!"
Cloud and Tifa turned to see a thirteen-year-old, Caucasian girl run over to them.
"I can't believe you don't know what FFVII is," the girl said.
"Well," Cloud replied, "we don't."
"It's only the best video game of all time!" the girl screamed. "Here's a pamphlet to get you up to speed."
The girl handed Cloud the piece of paper. Cloud scanned the paper, and then, a look of horror appeared on his face.
"Tifa, look at this."
Tifa snatched the paper out of Cloud's hands and looked as well. She gave out a frightened squeal.
"These people...on the paper..."
"Is something wrong?" the girl asked.
"Umm, no...nothing's wrong," Cloud lied.
"Excuse me," Tifa summoned the girl.
"Yes, m'am?"
"Can you tell me the name of this blonde guy?"
"Sure, that's Cloud Strife!"
Tifa turned pale and stared at Cloud.
"I love Cloud most of all," the girl squealed. "He's so hot..."
Cloud turned beat red in the face.
"You look almost exactly like him too," the girl said to Cloud.
"Thanks for the information," Tifa said quietly.
"No problem," the girl said triumphantly. "As a gamer, I'm all about educating non-gamers. See ya!"
As soon as the girl left, Tifa fell on the floor and fainted, and Cloud quickly came to her aid.
Reno walked alone through the casino, prohibited from gambling by his companions. He spotted a bar and quickly seated himself for a drink.
"This totally sucks," he mumbled to himself. "No slots, no poker, no nothing..."
"What's got you down, cutie?"
Reno turned to a see a pretty, blonde woman. His eyes immediately followed her voluptuous curves and her shapely legs.
"Hi there," he said.
"Hi yourself," she said. "The name's Veronica."
"I go by Reno."
"Nice to meet you, Reno," Veronica said in a sultry manner. "Since you're so down, your drink's on me..."
"That was wonderful," Yuffie whispered.
"I feel so relaxed," Vincent replied.
"See? Didn't I tell you needed to loosen up?"
Vincent walked with his fiancée into the hotel gardens of Bellagio . He was a step behind her, protectively at her back.
"We really should be on target with our mission," Vincent reminded her. "We piddled around for three hours straight..."
At the time, the gardens were virtually empty. At least, so they thought. Up ahead, behind a bird of paradise plant, Reno casually flirted with Veronica. Vincent shrugged, not surprised at what he was seeing, while Yuffie's jaw dropped in awe and disgust. Veronica, who was sitting down on a bench, got up, wrapped her arms around Reno, and planted him on the cheek with her red painted lips.
"Vincent, what are we going to do?"
And this is where we will stop today...