Wall Market
Cloud woke early in the morning, remembering his promise to Mrs. Gainsborough. He silently equipped himself. Going through his pockets to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything, he came upon his Restore Materia that Aeris had used to heal him. He placed it in his Buster Sword next to his Ice Materia. From his other pocket, he pulled out none other than the flower that he had bought from Aeris upon their first meeting. It was looking pretty haggard at this point, having gone through a lot in the past few days, but it was still easily recognizable. As he left his room, on the way to the stairs he passed Aeris' room. Pausing for a moment, on a whim he bent down and placed the flower in front of her door. He wasn't sure how she would take that, and he didn't even know what he meant by it. But somehow he knew he couldn't just leave her without doing anything. Turning away, he sneaked down the stairs and out of the house.
The walk back into town was somewhat faster than the day before without Aeris with him. She may have magical skills, but she certainly didn't have the physical capabilities of a SOLDIER. He should have known that. But then why did her eyes..?
"Don't think about it. Don't think about her," he ordered himself, quickening his pace. He wanted to get as far away from here, as far away from her, as quickly as possible. He soon passed through the town center. This early in the morning few people were up, but he found one middle-aged man standing outside of his trailer, smoking a cigarette.
"Hey, how do you get from Sector 7 from here?" Cloud asked, approaching the man.
"Sector 7?" the man said in a raspy voice. "You don't. You go to Sector 6, and there should be a gateway that'll lead you ta Sector 7."
"Okay, how do I get to Sector 6?" Cloud asked, frustrated.
"You go outta town that way," the man said, pointing in the same direction Cloud had been traveling, "and you take a right when you get on a dirt road. You'll pass through a gateway carved into the wall, and that's the road to Sector 6." Cloud nodded his thanks and moved on. He left town, and soon found the dirt road the man had mentioned. Looking to his left, he saw the church where he had awoken the day before. There was now no sign of the ShinRa, thankfully, so he turned his right and started to make his way for the gateway, only to see-
"You're up bright and early," remarked Aeris, casually leaning against the wall of the arch.
Cloud sighed. "I didn't want you to get involved," he said.
"Didn't want me to get involved???" said Aeris incredulously. "That Turk was after me, not you! I'm already involved!"
"I have to take you home," persisted Cloud. "I promised your mother."
"Oh, so Mom had something to do with this. I should have known."
"Aeris, things aren't going to get any safer the way I'm going," said Cloud. "I'm your bodyguard and all, right? I have to look out for you."
"Oh, so THAT'S how you're playing it," said Aeris, smiling wryly. "Okay then, bodyguard, I think I'm going to do some shopping in Wall Market in Sector 6. The road there is terribly dangerous and I'm just awfully frightened. So if you're going to carry out your duties as my bodyguard and all, I guess you'll just have to follow me to Sector 6, won't you?"
Cloud sighed. "I see what your mother meant about never being able to dissuade you once you've set your mind on something."
Aeris grinned widely. "That's right! Besides, I never paid you back, did I?"
"Huh?" asked Cloud.
"For being my bodyguard. I owe you a date, right?"
Cloud felt a strange emotion stir at this, but immediately forced it out of his consciousness. "No, you don't owe--"
"Nope, that was the deal," said Aeris, crossing her arms. "You act as my bodyguard, and I go on a date with you. And you just admitted you were my bodyguard, so I just wouldn't feel right without keeping up my end of the bargain."
Cloud couldn't help but smile. "You seem pretty eager to pay up,"
Aeris shrugged, smiling. "Well, if we're finished negotiating, then let's get going, bodyguard!"
The road to Sector 6 wasn't so much a road as it was…actually, Cloud didn't really have a word in his vocabulary to describe what lay before him. Junkyard, perhaps, but that wasn't quite it. It was clear from the pavement that this had once been a road once, but that was about where the similarity to an actual road ended. The road paint, where it was visible at all, was faded, and the pavement was everywhere cracked and uneven, often with huge chunks missing altogether. No automobile could ever possible navigate it. As if this weren't enough, there were pieces of debris and wreckage of innumerable sorts strewn all over the road, often blocking all passage. Some of the pieces of trash were clearly from old cars, but there were also pieces of buildings, machinery, and some were altogether unidentifiable. Cloud was certain that he saw a giant metal hand at one point. "You call this a road?" he asked incredulously.
Aeris shrugged. "This is why we don't go shopping in Wall Market very often," she said.
"Not to mention that this would be the ideal place for an ambush," said Cloud, uneasily placing his hand on the sword on his back.
"Well, that's why I've got you here, isn't it?" said Aeris.
"Strictly speaking, it's me who's got you here. You insisted on following me, remember?"
"I don't know what you're talking about!" protested Aeris, mock-offended. "I'm just going shopping in Wall Market, and you, being my bodyguard, are escorting me!"
"Whatever," sighed Cloud. "Let's just get through this."
They carefully made their way along the road, climbing over the trash when the road became totally impassable. Cloud kept a careful lookout for any potential attackers, but the road seemed to be deserted aside from them. He thought he saw an old trashed house by the side of the road move once, but decided it was just his imagination. It was a long, slow process, but the two eventually navigated the much-obstructed road, only to have it end suddenly. "That's it?" said Cloud. "Where's the market or whatever?"
"No way!" said Aeris. "I can't believe it's still here!" she said, running forward. Cloud looked to where she was headed. There were a few pieces of children's play equipment, the remnants of a now-joyless playground in the middle of a desolate field of dirt. Beyond the playground, Cloud could see to the left a huge metal wall with a door in the middle. "Must be the door to Sector 7," thought Cloud. But Aeris stopped before reaching there, instead climbing up a small slide made to look like a cute cartoon animal. She reached the top and sat down, then gestured to him. "Come here! Sit with me!" Cloud complied, walking over and climbing up atop the slide as well.
"Does that door lead to Sector 7?" asked Cloud, pointing to the large sheet of metal.
"Yep, that's it," said Aeris.
"Well, thanks for guiding me here," said Cloud. "I guess I have to take you home."
"Isn't that a little out of your way?" asked Aeris, staring straight ahead.
"…Guess so," replied Cloud.
"As in the exact opposite direction?" she persisted.
"Look, I can't let you go back through all that alone! Especially not when the Turks are after you."
Aeris sighed, then turned to look at him. "Before I left this morning, I wrote a note for Mom and left it on the table. I don't remember exactly what it said, but something along the lines of 'I'm sorry for doing this all the sudden, but you know me; you know why I had to do it." There was silence for a moment. "I'm not going back, Cloud," she said.
"So…you're coming with me?" he asked.
She shrugged. "I'll go wherever I feel called. I didn't belong there."
"No, you didn't," said Cloud, surprising himself. "What the hell?" he thought. He didn't believe in this shit about callings and 'belonging' anywhere! You go where you can get good pay, and that was it. He shook his head. What was going on with him recently?
"Are you all right?" asked Aeris, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm fine!" snapped Cloud, throwing her hand off and leaping down from the slide to pace back and forth. He could feel Aeris' stunned silence behind him, and he didn't care. He was sick of his mind being screwed with. He was fine before he had taken that damn mission for AVALANCHE, but ever since then he had been unable to keep his thoughts straights. It was like there was another presence in his head, whispering unwelcome ideas to him. And who knew, maybe it was someone else? He did have that voice talking to him more insistently now. Or maybe he was just crazy. Or maybe it was--
His head jerked up as he heard metal grinding on metal. The door to Sector 7 was opening to reveal a chocobo-drawn carriage, a rare sight in the slums. The carriage passed by the playground down another path leading off into the slums of Sector 6, but as it passed Cloud caught a glimpse of a sad-looking girl in a blue dress. A familiar-looking sad girl in a blue dress…
"Tifa?!?" he exclaimed, but it was too late. The carriage was well out of range of hearing.
"Tifa? That friend of yours? Where was she going?" asked Aeris, jumping down to join him on the ground.
"I don't know," said Cloud. "I didn't even know if she'd made it away from the bombing." He felt a mixture of relief and anxiety. At least he knew now that she had survived the bombing mission, but where was she going? She hadn't look too overjoyed at whatever she was involved in. "I have to follow her," he said.
"Sure you do," said Aeris. "And I'm coming with you."
"What? You can't!" said Cloud.
"Oh? And why not?" asked Aeris, hands on her hips.
"I don't know what I'm going to be getting into! I can't ask you to come along!"
"Well, you're not asking me. But I'm coming nonetheless," said Aeris.
"Aeris, you can't! For your own good!" said Cloud, wearying of this constant argument. Why couldn't she just stay away from him? Things would be so much easier…
Aeris sighed and sat down on the ground. "Look, if you don't want me along, then just say so, and I'll go my own way," she said quietly. But don't do this "for your own good" stuff. I know what's for my own good. Don't ask me how, but I just know. And I know," she continued, looking up into his eyes, "that I'm supposed to be with you."
Cloud froze. What???
"So what do you say, bodyguard?" she asked.
"What…what do you mean, 'supposed to be with me'?" Cloud stammered finally.
"I don't know," said Aeris. "I just know that I shouldn't let you go on without me."
Cloud was silent, struggling to digest all this. He looked at her, staring up at him earnestly with those striking emerald eyes, and knew that he couldn't turn her away. "If you feel so strongly, then you can come," he said. She nodded, smiling slightly and rising to her feet. "Thanks," she said. Cloud nodded and turned away, but she took his hand, causing him to look back. She stared deeply into his eyes. "I mean it. Thank you."
Cloud felt a chill run through him at this. This was getting way too personal for him. He tore away from her and without another word started walking off in the direction of the carriage. Aeris stared after him for a moment, smiling, then silently followed him.
They soon found the nexus of the Sector 6 slums: the Wall Market. A stark contrast to the utter squalor of the previous and the next Sectors, the Wall Market actually looked habitable by human beings. While it was still nothing compared to a real village such as Cloud's home of Nibelheim, it possessed real buildings instead of trailers or piled-together heaps of trash. The people were dressed in decent clothing, and seemed to have decent standards of cleanliness, unlike most of the inhabitants of the other sectors. However, despite the much more pleasant environment, Cloud could see no sign of either Tifa or the carriage which had borne her. He went up to an older man pacing back and forth along the dirt road, deep in thought. "I just can't make up my mind…" he muttered to himself.
"About what?" asked Aeris brightly. His head snapped up to observe the two newcomers, and he looked down again abashedly. "Don't make me say it," he said
"What?" asked Cloud.
"The shop down there to the right," he muttered. Aeris ran along the right hand path to see what he was talking about, then returned to Cloud, blushing slightly. She leaned in close and whispered in his ear. "It's a…um… 'gentleman's club'," she said. The old man coughed loudly, avoiding their gazes. "Cloud, let's leave him alone," urged Aeris. Cloud nodded and walked down the path. Around the corner, there it was. A large, garishly decorated near-mansion, complete with tacky neon lights and a velvet-suited bouncer at the door. "The Honeybee Inn," advertised the sign above the door. Cloud shook his head and went to one of the several men standing outside, a lanky, red-haired man about his own age clad in black jeans and shirt. As he approached, the man turned to face him. Cloud was about to speak, but he realized that the man looked extremely familiar. The man, too, seemed to recognize Cloud, as his face screwed up in a gesture of concentration, then suddenly brightened. "Hey, I know you!" he said. "You're from Nibelheim, right?"
"That's right," said Cloud coolly.
"What're the odds?" remarked the man. "Yeah, you were that kid who kinda kept to himself, right? Who kinda had a thing for Tifa Lockheart?"
"What???" demanded Cloud. He glanced sidelong at Aeris. She had wandered off a small distance, and he couldn't help being glad. "Why?" he wondered. But this guy obviously had it all wrong. His childhood was nothing like that. He was one of the popular kids, and while Tifa was his best friend, he definitely never "had a thing" for her.
"Hey, sorry," said the man, putting his hands up apologetically. "Didn't mean to offend ya or anything. The name's Johnny," he said, extending his hand.
"Cloud," he replied, firmly shaking Johnny's hand.
"Cloud, that's what I thought. But I could've sworn…anyway, it doesn't matter now, at any rate." He glanced up at the sign of the "Inn", and grinned sheepishly. "Kind of an odd place for childhood pals to meet, eh?" he remarked. "So, I guess you're here for…ya know…"
"What??? No!" exclaimed Cloud violently. "Don't bring me down to your level!"
"Yeah, I hear ya," said Johnny. "I don't usually go for stuff like this either. It's just that I'm leaving Midgar soon, so I wanted my last memories of the big city to be, well…" he trailed off. Cloud laughed humorlessly. "Anyway, so what are ya doing here?" Johnny asked.
"Well, actually I'm looking for Tifa," replied Cloud.
"Tifa?!? She works here?" exclaimed Johnny incredulously.
"No, no," said Cloud quickly. "But I just saw her in a chocobo-drawn carriage headed for the Market, and I didn't see where she went. I guess you haven't seen her?"
"Hmm…" said Johnny, thinking. "I haven't seen her, no…but a chocobo-drawn carriage, I'd say it'd have to be The Don."
"The Don?" said Cloud, clueless.
"Guess you haven't been here for long, huh?" said Johnny. "Or else you would've heard of him for sure."
"Well who is he?" said Cloud.
"The Don is Don Corneo. He's the big-shot around town. He's the one who brought this place up from another sector of shithole slums to what it is now."
"Big-shot? So what is he, some sort of crime lord?" asked Cloud.
Johnny grinned. "You might say that."
"So what would this Corneo want with Tifa?" Cloud asked.
Johnny's smile quickly faded. "No! No way!"
"What?" Cloud demanded.
"The Don's known for being a…well, frankly he's just sick," said Johnny. "He's lookin' around for a bride. Every week he gets a few of the prettiest girls around brought into his mansion and he…does his thing with them."
"With Tifa?!? No way!" exclaimed Cloud.
"Why is she even there, I wonder?" said Johnny. "Tifa would never agree to something like that without some really good reason."
"Either way, I'm not gonna let it happen!" said Cloud.
"What are you gonna do? Just bust in there and get her out?" Johnny said. "The Don's got about a hundred guards in there! You'd never even get to her."
Cloud cursed. He had to get into the mansion, but how?
"Um, excuse me. . ." Cloud whirled around to see Aeris standing behind him.
"Wow," said Johnny, staring at her. "There's your ticket in, Cloud. The Don would let her in in a heartbeat. Heh, I don't know about you, though. No offense, but you aren't quite the lady that your friend here is."
"We can change that," said Aeris.
"What?" said Cloud and Johnny simultaneously. She giggled, then spoke again. "Cloud, why don't you dress up as a girl?"
There was silence. "You cannot be serious," said Cloud, staring at her in disbelief. She shrugged, a mischievous smile on her face. "I think I could pretty you up enough to get you in." Cloud just stared.
"So you're gonna dress Cloud here up well enough to get The Don to want him? Heh, good luck, lady," said Johnny. "But seriously, good luck, Cloud. I can't imagine The Don with his filthy hands all over Ti…"
"Yeah," Cloud said quickly, not wanting to think about it. "But how the hell do you expect to pull this off?" he said, turning to Aeris.
"Hey, I know!" exclaimed Johnny. They turned to him. He grinned, blushing slightly. "We could get you in there, Cloud," he said, gesturing to the Honeybee Inn. "I'm sure they've got plenty of feminine costumes you could use."
"What? Cloud go in there?!?" said Aeris.
"No, I think Johnny here might be onto something," said Cloud seriously, pondering. "I'd need something unusual to disguise me enough to pass as a girl, and I'm guessing this is the place for unusual outfits."
"Oh sure, you'd be all too happy to go in," said Aeris angrily, turning her back.
"What the hell?" demanded Cloud, but Aeris didn't reply.
"Heh, women," Johnny whispered to him. "You should hold onto her, though. You really got something there."
"What are you talking about?" said Cloud. "It's not like that at all!"
Johnny just shook his head, laughing. "Whatever, Cloud. Anyway, here, you'll need this to get in," he said, pulling a card from his pocket and handing to him. "It's a membership card," he explained. "You'll need that for them to let you in, and I don't guess you'll be visiting enough to want one of your own. Course this means I'll have to wait to use it myself," he said with a mischievous grin, "but it's sure worth it if it's gonna help Tifa."
"Let's hope so," said Cloud. "Thanks."
"Good luck, Cloud," said Johnny, waving him off. Cloud turned and started walking towards the Inn. "I'll be back in a few, alright?" he said to Aeris.
"Oh, take your time," she said darkly. Cloud glanced at Johnny, who grinned. "Women," he mouthed silently. Cloud smiled to himself and nodded, turning to walk towards the suited bouncer.
"Hey, what are you doin'?" said the bouncer. "Get the…whoa whoa, is that a member's card I see shining in your hot little hand? Come in, come in!" he said, gesturing in the door. Cloud strode in.
He entered into a circular room, with several doors lining the walls. He started to walk forward, but was immediately accosted by a pretty girl in a bee suit. "Poo, uh, I mean sir, please hurry this way," she said in a squeaky voice, running over to the nearest door. Cloud raised an eyebrow but followed wordlessly. She opened the door and gestured for him to enter. "Listen, I'm not here for this, I need—" Cloud started, but the girl promptly shoved him in and closed the door behind him. Cloud muttered a curse at the freaky girl as he turned to survey his surroundings. The room had pale turquoise walls, and was dominated by a huge, beautiful bed. He prepared to leave the room.
What are you doing in a place like this?
"Huh? You again?" Cloud said.
You have a remarkable affinity for wasting time.
"But I have to save Tifa."
Ah yes, Tifa. You should keep her around.
"What do you want with Tifa?"
You can't escape the past by pretending it didn't happen.
"What the hell are you talking about? Of course it happened, I remember it!"
So does Tifa. Or she wants to.
"Why wouldn't she remember! She was there too!"
Certainly, she was there.
"Yeah, so what's your point?"
All in good time…
"Wake up!!!"
"OW!" said Cloud, sitting up. He was lying on the bed, and straddling him from above and slapping him repeatedly in the face was a large, sweaty man wearing nothing but entirely too skimpy underwear.
"Hey, bubby, you alright now?" asked the man.
"What…what happened?" asked Cloud, somewhat frightened for several reasons.
"You don't remember? Aw, I thought it was something special!" said the man.
"WHAT?!?" yelled Cloud.
The man laughed heartily. "Eh, I'm just kiddin' ya. Oops, looks like your time is up," he said, glancing over at the bee-suit clad girl waiting impatiently in the doorway. "Just give it your best shot next time. Bye, bubby!"
Cloud shuddered. He unsteadily got to his feet and lurched out the door, feeling very unclean. But suddenly, he remembered why he was here, and turned to the honeybee girl. "Hey, I need an outfit."
"Excuse me poo…I mean, sir?" she squeaked.
"An exotic outfit, but something not too revealing. Something that would hide the face, particularly."
"I'm sorry, poo, er, sir, but…"
"Will you stop calling me that?!" snapped Cloud.
"Certainly, poo. It's just that we can't just give our outfits away."
Cloud sighed exasperatedly. "I'll pay you for one," he said.
"Oh, now that's another matter! Just one moment, poo," she said, running away through another one of the doors. In a few moments she re-emerged, carrying a long, multicolored robe. Cloud examined it. The robe would cover his entire body, and came complete with a shawl to hide his hair and face. "This is perfect," he said. How much?"
"10,000 gil." Cloud just stared. The girl giggled. "I just kidding, poo. I asked the manager, he said 1,000 gil."
Cloud grimaced. That was half of his pay for the first reactor mission, and he had never gotten his pay for the second. "Well, maybe Tifa can lead me back to Barret so I can get my money," he thought to himself, and begrudgingly handed over the money. The girl smiled widely. "Thank you, come again!" she said, pocketing the money and running off. Cloud stared after her for a moment in bewilderment before turning to leave. This was not an episode of his life he would be particularly eager to relive.
He stepped out of the Inn and gaped. Every man in the area was swarming around a girl in a pink dress…
"Can you believe this?" asked the bouncer. "That damn girl's gonna take all our business away! I tried to hire her, but she said no, so now she's just struttin' her stuff right here on our doorstep! No respect for a decent business these days, I tell you!"
Cloud strode through the crowd, shoving people out of his way. There, indeed, was Aeris, standing in the middle of the crowd. "What the hell?!?" Cloud said.
She nonchalantly turned to face him. "Oh, Cloud! Did you have a good time?" she asked innocently.
"What are you doing?!?" demanded Cloud.
"Why Cloud, is that jealousy I detect in your voice?" Aeris said slyly. Cloud fumed.
"We don't have time for this! Come on!" he ordered, storming away.
"I never knew you cared!" teased Aeris from behind. Cloud growled and whirled around.
"Look, since it seems to be bothering you so freaking much, nothing happened. I walked in, got led into a room, left the room, talked to a girl, bought this robe, and left. That was it, nothing more. Okay???" He was leaving out the troubling dialogue with the voice and the equally troubling awakening to a big sweaty man on the bed with him, not to mention whatever had happened in between the two incidents, but those were details that she really didn't need to hear. She peered at him for a moment, then grinned and hugged him. "I knew you weren't that kind of guy, Cloud!" she said happily. "I wasn't doing anything either, if you want to know. Just selling a few flowers I had on me. The guys probably thought I was selling more than that, but too bad for them!" Cloud grinned despite himself. As he passed Johnny again, he flipped over the membership card. Johnny received it, gesturing towards Aeris, still hugging Cloud, and giving him a covert thumbs-up. Cloud promptly shook Aeris off.
"Come on, let's find our local godfather and get Tifa," he said.
Aeris nodded, but then stopped for a second, cocking her head and peering at Cloud. "Oh no, there's no way you're getting in like that." Cloud held up the robe he was carrying, but she shook her head. "Nope, we've still got one more stop to make before you're woman enough for The Don."
Cloud had a bad feeling about this.
Yeah, back to the trend of major changes, as in totally re-writing most of the dialogue as well as the course of events. I know I left out some important details (Cloud's rank in SOLDIER), but I'll get back to 'em. As for the transvestite chronicles, I didn't particularly care for it in the game, and I have a special loathing for the old RPG "do a favor for A so A will do a favor for B, so B will do a favor for C, so C will give you stuff that you need to progress," which was pretty much what the whole dress-search was. So I left out that endless search for girly items, but kept the basic idea. Figured that people might get kinda mad at such a major change, though some, like me, didn't care for the cross-dressing thing (Dark Ki a.k.a. Lee). But I made the dress one that would actually work (one with a shawl that would hide Cloud's face and hair. I'm sorry, but Aeris plus those 5 gay guys from that TV show put together couldn't make Cloud look like a girl, much less a pretty one.)
Clorith: Wow, if I didn't have a friend who was more active in the fanfic community, I'd have no clue what you were talking about. To all of you, remember, this is my first fanfic. I generally don't know the fanfic lingo and all, so speak in layman's terms. Anyway, as for Cleris or Cloti or whatever, you'll just have to wait and see… [twiddles fingers evilly a la Mr. Burns]