BOOK ONE: MIDGAR

ELEVEN

It was about half an hour later when Aerith and I returned to Don Corneo's estate, much more prepared now to infiltrate the place. Just as I had earlier, I stood with her behind one of the stalls out of sight of the doorman. I sighed, trying without much success not to think too much about what I was wearing. A purple ankle-length satin dress which the half-drunk owner of a nearby clothing shop had made for me. And on my head sat a blond wig with a pair of long braids hanging from it. The wig had been a prize for winning a squats contest over in the gym, and somehow I'd managed to get my hair inside it.

Aerith had barely been able to keep a straight face when I had first put on my disguise, as I preferred to think of it. And she had just loved putting that makeup on me. Aerith had been giggling at me practically the whole time, and I just knew she was enjoying this immensely. From my shoulder hung a matching purple handbag with my regular clothes inside it, and I had leaned Buster against the stall for the moment, still not sure what to do with it.

I glanced at Aerith, trying to keep my heartbeat in check and not quite succeeding. She had changed her outfit as well, and now she wore a long, alluring dress of dark red silk which left her shoulders bare and nicely accentuated her feminine curves. She had also done up her hair, and it hung loose now in a wide fan down her back, still tied at the top with those two bright pink ribbons and that strange materia nestled in between them. Like me, Aerith had a handbag with her regular clothes stashed inside it slung over one slender shoulder, and she held her staff loosely in her hands.

As incredibly beautiful as Aerith certainly was, I wondered for just a moment how Jessie would look all dressed up like that. I didn't think she would go with red—it didn't really seem to be her color apart from the headband—but whatever Jessie wore, I was sure that she'd look just as beautiful as Aerith. My heart hammered at the thought of it. Maybe, after all this craziness was over and we took that ride together, I'd bring Jess back here and get her a dress of her own.

Shaking off my thoughts, I turned to Aerith. "Ready?"

"Yeah," she answered. "What about you?"

"I'm all set. What about our weapons, though? It'll look suspicious for us to be carrying them."

She frowned, pursing her lips in thought for a moment. "We could probably pass them off as gifts for the Don, then go and get them back after we find out where Tifa is. His men don't look too bright, so I don't think they'll question it."

I didn't like the idea of letting someone else touch my sword, but I supposed it couldn't be helped. We had to get into the mansion and not be discovered at least until we had rescued Tifa. After that, I would cut our way out of there if I had to. I nodded to Aerith, and we walked out from behind the stall toward the entrance of the estate. I did my best to walk the way Aerith had shown me, that graceful stride of hers that she always moved along with, as if she weren't so much walking as floating across the ground like some lovely mirage.

Apparently it was working, because as soon as the doorman caught sight of us, he grinned and let out a low whistle. "Damn! Your friend's hot, too! Come in, come in!"

He opened up the doors and called to someone inside. "Two ladies coming through!"

We went in, and I found that the Don's taste in décor was no better in here than outside. The walls were adorned in garish yellow and red, with bright red carpet upon the floors and a set of stairs off to the right leading up to the second level, where three pairs of double doors stood closed, all made of the same polished red wood. The middle doors also had a large golden circle imprinted on them with writing of some kind. I couldn't make it out from here, but I figured it led to the Don's rooms. I wasn't sure I wanted to know where the others went.

A man in a dark gray suit greeted us. "Hey, ladies. Welcome to the house of Don Corneo. Uh, what are those?"

"Oh, these?" Aerith asked innocently, indicating our weapons. "We brought them for the Don. He has quite a collection, so we've heard, so we thought he'd like these."

He grinned, as dim-witted as we'd hoped. "I'm sure he will, ladies."

"Can we see him now?"

"Oh, sure," the man answered. "I'll go and let the Don know about you. Wait here and don't wander around."

He disappeared into an open doorway behind his desk, leaning our weapons up against the wall next to it as he did so. As much as I would have liked to have taken Buster back, I knew it wasn't time yet. We had to find Tifa first. Aerith led me to the middle of the room and glanced furtively over her shoulder to make sure there was no one else around, then turned back to me.

"Now's our chance," she whispered. "Let's find Tifa."

We had no way to know how long we would be alone, so I hurried up the stairs with Aerith not far behind me. The first room was locked, so we moved on to the next one. That one, as I had guessed, did indeed lead into Corneo's private chambers. The seal on the doors proclaimed as much. We went on, checking the last room, and its doors opened up easily. Inside, a long set of stone steps led down into a thicket of murky shadows. What could be in here?

I hurried down the stairs, worry for Tifa filling my mind, and in a cramped basement at the bottom, I found her. She stood on the far side of an empty torture rack that lay in the middle of the room, and whips and other implements of abuse hung on the stone walls here and there amongst shelves full of assorted implements used for the application of pain. Corneo, it seemed, was an even more sick and demented maniac than I had originally thought.

Tifa stood by herself, her arms folded in front of her, but looked up at me when I started to approach. Suddenly very much aware of how I looked and what I was wearing, I swallowed hard and turned away in a hurry, not wanting Tifa to see me like this. Aerith was there a moment later, however, brushing past me and walking over to Tifa, who looked at both of us in confusion. My cheeks burned in embarrassment, and I couldn't bring myself to even look at her at first. I knew I'd had to wear this thing to get in here, but still…

"Tifa?" Aerith asked. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Aerith. Cloud's told me a lot about you."

Tifa smiled, then blinked suddenly in recognition. "Hey, you're the one who was with Cloud in the park…"

"Right, with Cloud."

"Oh…" Tifa said.

She sighed and looked down at the floor for a moment, apparently disappointed about something. But what that might have been, I didn't know. I was just happy to see her again. I still didn't know what she was doing here, but at least she was safe and unharmed. I intended for it to stay that way. Although I knew better than anyone how well Tifa could take care of herself, I still intended to protect her and get her out of this hellish place as soon as I could.

Aerith shook her head. "Don't worry. We just met. It's nothing."

"What do you mean by that?" Tifa wondered, confused. She shook her head. "No, don't misunderstand me. Cloud and I grew up together. Nothing more."

"Poor Cloud, having to stand here and listen to both of us call him nothing," Aerith giggled. "Right, Cloud?"

"Cloud?" Tifa's eyes widened as she looked at me

Swallowing heavily, I turned to face her fully and let her get a good long look at me. She walked over, hesitantly at first, as if she wasn't sure it was really me. But when she drew closer, Tifa's eyes widened and she gasped. First in astonishment, then in relief. And then before I knew it, she had thrown her arms around me, squeezing me so tightly I thought I would break in two, her head laying upon my shoulder for a moment before she finally let go.

Tifa gazed at me in stunned disbelief, her reddish-brown eyes wide as she saw for the first time what I was wearing. "Why are you dressed like that!? And what are you doing here!? Oh, forget about that! What happened to you after the fall!? Are you hurt!?"

"Slow down, let me answer!" I said, holding my hands out in front of me to halt her avalanche of questions.

"Sorry about that…" she smiled sheepishly at me.

I shrugged, bringing my hands down. "It's alright, Tifa. I'm dressed like this, in this getup, because there was no other way for me to get in here. And I'm fine. Aerith helped me out."

"Oh, I see…" Tifa began.

"She's been great," I nodded. "Anyway, Tifa, what are you doing in a place like this?"

Tifa looked away and sighed. "Yeah, um, about that…"

Taking the hint, Aerith nodded. "Ahem! I'll just plug my ears."

Although I didn't know what was bothering Tifa so much that she wanted to keep it private, I knew she had her reasons. As I walked with Tifa over to one corner of the room, Aerith waited for us at the base of the stairs, her hands covering her ears. I hadn't actually expected her to take what she had said so literally, but then again, Aerith was anything but predictable. That was something else I liked about her. I shook my head in amusement and looked back at Tifa.

"I'm so glad you're okay," she breathed, relief flooding her voice.

"Thanks, Tif," I replied. "I'm glad you are, too. So what happened? Did everyone get back alright?"

She smiled. "Everyone's fine, Cloud. They're all worried about you, even Barret, although he won't admit it. I was going to go with Jessie to look for you, but then something happened that forced me to come out here to Wall Market instead."

"What happened?" I asked, glad to know that Jessie and the others were safe but worried about what Tifa had to say.

Tifa went on. "When we got back to Sector 7, one of the Don's men was there asking people a lot of questions about us. A real creep by the name of Scotch. He was also trying to put the moves on me and Jessie, and even Marlene if you can believe it! I put him in his place, though, and gave him an ass-kicking he's not going to forget."

I grinned at her last statement. "I don't doubt that, Tif. You're even better at it than I am."

"Thanks, Cloud. You're not so bad yourself, you know."

"Well, I try," I teased, and we both laughed.

Tifa stood close to me in her dark blue silk dress, the hem reaching down to just a little above her knees to show off her long and very nice legs. The close-fitting fabric enhanced her more than generous curves, and her long brown hair spilled over her shoulders and down her back like a silken waterfall. For the first time since we had reunited about a month or so ago, I realized how beautiful she was. Why hadn't I seen it sooner? I wanted to tell her, but the words just wouldn't come.

Instead, I just swallowed and went on with our original discussion. "So what happened next?"

Tifa continued. "Barret caught him and managed to squeeze some information from him before we finally drove him off. He didn't tell us much, but what he did say was enough."

"That's when the Don's name popped up," I surmised.

"Right, Don Corneo. Barret told me to leave that lech alone, but… something's been bothering me."

Now I was starting to understand. "I see. So you came here hoping to get some answers out of Corneo."

She nodded, running a hand through her hair and sliding her eyes away from me as she grew strangely self-conscious again. "Well, I made it here, but now I'm stuck. Corneo is looking for a bride. Every day, he gets three girls, chooses one of them, and then… well… anyway, I have to be the… girl for tonight."

So that was how she planned to get Corneo to talk. No wonder she was so nervous. "Tifa, are you sure…?

Before she could answer, though, Aerith spoke up from behind us. Somehow I wasn't the least bit surprised. "Sorry, but I overheard. If you know the three girls, there's no problem, right?"

Tifa shrugged. "I guess so, but…"

"We have two here, right?" Aerith indicated herself and Tifa.

My eyes widened. "No, Aerith! I can't involve you!"

"Oh?" she glared at me, her hands flying to her hips. "So it's alright for Tifa to be in danger? But not me? I thought by now you'd have seen that I can take care of myself, Cloud."

"No, I don't want Tifa in—"

"Is it alright?" Tifa asked, cutting me off as she went to her.

Aerith nodded with a smile. "I grew up in the slums, Tifa. I'm used to danger. Do you trust me?"

"Yes, I do. Thank you, Aerith."

"Heeey!" a voice from up near the top of the stairs suddenly called out. It was the man from earlier. "It's time, ladies. The Don is waiting. I told ya not to wander around. I tell ya, women nowadays… Hurry up, will ya? We ain't got all night!"

As Tifa and Aerith both waited for me at the bottom of the stairs, I sighed, not liking Aerith's plan at all but knowing that we didn't have a choice if we wanted to find out what Corneo was hiding. I glanced over at the girls, a sinking feeling in my stomach as I understood the rest of what Aerith had in mind. "I guess I don't really need to ask this, but… the other girl is… me… right?"

Tifa smirked at me. "You're right, you didn't need…"

"… to ask," Aerith finished, a matching grin on her face.

Just a few minutes later, we entered Don Corneo's spacious office. I stood with Cloud and Aerith before the man's huge desk, a long, finely woven rug showing two intertwined green dragons adorning the floor beneath our feet. It stretched all the way from the door to the polished wooden desk. Behind it, the door to the Don's bedchamber stood open. I swallowed, still a little nervous about all this, but a reassuring glance from Cloud helped me to steady myself.

Behind the desk sat Don Corneo himself. He was a bit shorter than I had expected, wearing a long red coat over a white buttoned shirt and faded jeans. A golden belt buckle shone at his waist, and a narrow strip of blond hair with a few streaks of gray sat on his otherwise bald head. He also wore a pair of studded earrings and a golden medallion around his neck, and a wisp of smoke drifted up from the cigar tucked into the corner of his wide mouth. A small tattoo of a pink heart with the word "love" just above it was etched into the left side of his head, and a thin, curling mustache covered his upper lip.

On either side of Corneo stood his two lieutenants. Scotch, whose unpleasant acquaintance I had already made back in the slums, was on his left. He didn't seem to have recognized me, however, and I was glad for that. The last thing that we needed was for my cover to be blown if he remembered who I was. The other goon, the one on Corneo's right, was a dark-skinned young man in blue jeans and a sleeveless red jacket with his hair done in a bleached blond mohawk. Kotch was his name, I remembered. He had taken me down to Corneo's dungeon to wait after I had first arrived here.

"Alright, ladies!" Kotch ordered. "Line up in front of the Don!"

We did as he had instructed, Aerith on the far left side with Cloud in the middle and myself on the right. Corneo practically jumped over the top of his desk to reach us, and he walked back and forth across the room, ogling us every step of the way and looking us over one by one as if we were items on a store shelf instead of people. It was disgusting, and I had to force myself to smile seductively instead of knocking him to the floor right then and there. I nearly gagged when his gaze roamed all over me and he started undressing me with those beady eyes of his. It makes me sick just thinking about it.

"Good! Splendid!" he said, leering hungrily at us. "Now, let's see… Which girl should I choose?"

He looked at us each in turn again, mumbling to himself as he did. I noticed that Cloud wouldn't look him directly in the eye, and I had to stifle a laugh. His outfit was actually pretty convincing, and I thought it was so sweet that he'd been willing to suffer through something I knew was incredibly uncomfortable and embarrassing for him just to rescue me. Even though I could protect myself well enough, I still appreciated it and was glad he was here. I couldn't help wondering what Barret and the others would think if they saw him, though.

Aerith seemed a lot more composed and sure of herself than I had thought she would be, given the circumstances, but then again, she had told me that she'd grown up in the slums, and I knew that couldn't have been easy. Although I couldn't quite suppress a small ember of jealousy over the time she had spent alone with Cloud, I was also grateful to her and hoped that we could become friends.

She had come in here with him to help me, someone she had never met before. How many people would do that, let alone for a stranger? I knew it couldn't have been many, and I wanted to help her in return if I could. Aerith smiled invitingly at the Don as he looked her over again, and she played her part so well and so convincingly I almost thought for a moment that she really did want him.

Apparently, so did he. Don Corneo grinned eagerly, stood in front of Aerith, and spread his arms out wide. "Woo-hoo! I've made up my mind! My choice for tonight is this slender little girl!"

"Don, you've got great taste," Aerith purred.

"You can have the rest!" he said to Kotch and Scotch. Their faces lit up with undisguised greed and lust, and I shuddered in spite of myself. How many women had they preyed upon like this?

They both saluted. "Yes, sir! Thank you, sir!"

"Shall we go, my pretty?" Corneo leered at Aerith. She smiled coyly and followed him into his room.

When they were gone, Kotch and Scotch led Cloud and I out of the office and back into the hall. While Scotch took Cloud to the room on the right, Kotch beckoned me towards the basement. I did as he asked, heading back down the dank stone steps until we reached the bottom. I tensed, knowing exactly what was coming next, but with a plan already in my mind. I turned around to face him as we neared the torture rack standing in the middle of the room. With my heart pounding, I braced myself for what I had to do.

Kotch let his dark eyes rove over me, and while he did, I slid closer to him, weaving sinuously until I was standing almost right up against his lean body. I tugged at the diamond-shaped opening on the front of my dress, pulling on the sides to give him a better look at my cleavage. When he bent his head down to take in the view, his lips parting into a hungry grin, I let go, clasped both of my hands together above me, and slammed my joined fists down right onto the back of Kotch's skull. He dropped to the floor like a deadweight, out cold.

I knelt for a moment and flashed him a grin of my own. "Sorry, but what I have isn't for you."

Kicking off my high heels, I ran up the stairs to find Cloud.

"Hey, guys!" Scotch called out as I went with him inside the room. "We've got a guest!"

There were five or six thugs in here, and they all looked greedily at me, their hunger unmistakable. I shivered, not liking it one bit. I'd had a few whistles and stares turned my way since I'd put on this getup, and I found my respect for both Aerith and Tifa growing considerably now that I understood firsthand what they had always had to put up with as women. It was definitely a learning experience.

I walked into the middle of the broad L-shaped room, not meeting anyone's gaze yet. The place had a couple of tables and chairs, assorted pillows and papers scattered everywhere, and a television set sitting in one corner. Another door on the opposite wall stood open and led to a bathroom. An idea came to mind then as I remembered the handbag I was holding. It would be hard to fight in this outfit, and I knew I wasn't going to get out of here any other way.

Scotch grinned at me. "We'll take real good care of you!"

"I'm sure," I told him in the most feminine voice I could manage. It seemed to work well enough. "But I'd like to freshen up first. And then we can start. How does that sound?"

"Sure, just don't take too long. So, uh… you got a name?"

I thought for a moment. "Claire."

Scotch ran his hand along my arm, and I had to remind myself not to grab it and see how much of a knot I could twist it into. "I kinda like that, Claire. I like it a lot, ya know?"

"Well, if you'll just excuse me for a minute…"

I hurried into the bathroom before Scotch could say anything else, then closed the door behind me and locked it. Opening my handbag, I grabbed my SOLDIER uniform, took off the wig, and changed clothes as fast as I could. I knew I couldn't take long, otherwise Scotch and his buddies would start getting suspicious. I was just washing the makeup off my face when there was a loud bang on the door.

It was Scotch, annoyed now. "Hey, what's wrong, Claire? You want me to keep you company?"

"I'm flattered," I replied, still using that feminine voice as I quickly wiped myself dry with a towel, "but no thanks."

"Why not?" he demanded, banging on the door again.

Unlocking it, I threw it open and hurled the dress at him. "Because I ain't interested in a bunch of scrubs like you!"

Scotch's eyes widened as he caught it, trembling in rage and staring at me in disbelief. "Wha… a man!? Goddamn it! Don't think you'll get outta this! Get him! Beat the shit out of him!"

The thugs charged at me, but I was ready for them. I did a forward somersault, flipping right over them to land on top of one of the tables, and brought up my fists as they spun around and charged toward me. I kicked one of them in the face, and he flew across the room, sprawling onto his back. Martial arts wasn't my specialty the way it was for Tifa, but I had some experience from my fights in Nibelheim, so I went at it, catching another of the goons with a backhand punch to the jaw and a third with a left hook that spun him around almost in a complete circle before he collapsed to the floor.

"C'mon, what's the hell's the matter with you!?" Scotch snarled. "I'll show you how it's done!"

Before he could, though, the double doors leading into the hallway suddenly flew open with a bang and Tifa raced in, Buster in her hands. She tossed it to me, and I caught it easily, spinning it in a circle over my head before bringing it down into a ready position in both hands while Tifa raised her fists. She smirked at Scotch and the two thugs on either side of him as they quickly stumbled away from us. "I thought I'd crash the party, boys. Mind if I join you?"

One of the goons took one look at us, raced past Tifa out the door, and dove over the railing. After landing with a loud thump, he hobbled outside, slamming the front door behind him. The other goon brought up a lead pipe and swung it wildly at Tifa, but she dodged it easily and slammed his side with a quick string of jabs and punches that sent him staggering backwards. Scotch turned in my direction and slashed with a bladed gunsword almost like a bayonet, slashing madly. I parried the attack, metal clanging on metal, and kicked him in the stomach before jumping off the table after him.

He fired his weapon, but I whipped up Buster just in time to block the shots, and the bullets clattered harmlessly onto the floor. I glanced over as Tifa dropped the other thug with a low sweep kick that took his feet out from under him, then when he stood up, she backhanded him across the face, dropping him down to the floor yet again. This time he stayed down. As she was finishing him, Scotch turned his gunsword to aim it at her, but I was faster. I sliced Buster across the barrel and drove him back, slamming him against the wall as Tifa came over to join me, her fists up and more than ready.

She flicked one of them in a twisting motion and smiled darkly at Scotch. "Remember me?"

"Oh, shit…" he breathed.

He tried to stab her with the long, narrow blade of his weapon, but that was a mistake. His last, I might add. As Tifa spun out of the way, I sliced him with a sidelong slash that tore open his midsection, and his gunsword clattered harmlessly to the floor. As he stood there gaping at her, Tifa slammed her foot squarely into the middle of his chest before he could fall and sent him flying through the window behind him into the alley below along with a shower of broken glass.

I glanced at her. "Nice kick. You okay?"

"Of course!" Tifa grinned at me, pumping her fist. "If you take me lightly, you're gonna pay for it!"

"He obviously did."

Tifa nodded, finally relaxing a bit. "I just can't stand men like him. But enough about that. Give me a minute to get changed and then we'll help Aerith. I know we don't have a lot of time, but I've gotta get out of this thing. Who knows where we'll end up next?"

Stepping into the hall, Tifa retrieved her handbag, then came back inside and entered the bathroom, closing the door behind her. It didn't take long. A moment later, she opened the door again and walked back out in her normal clothes, the sleeveless white shirt and black miniskirt with her black boots and red leather fighting gloves. We hurried out of the room, picking up Aerith's slender mythril staff from where Tifa had left it near the door, and raced into Don Corneo's office.