The Future Imperfect
AN – Ah so here is the first main chapter. I hope it answers so questions as to where the firsts have gone. Thank you for the reception so far!
Chapter One
Cloud Strife itched underneath the heavy dress he was wearing. He didn't dare scratch it, worried that he might accidentally damage the appearance of the outfit prepared for him by Andrea and his dancers at the Honeybee Inn. As it was, he was trying to keep his fidgeting to a minimum but it was making him increasingly uncomfortable.
"Would you stop doing that? You look fine." Obviously not enough then, if Aerith's hissed warning was anything to go by. Cloud straightened, taking a deep breath, and strode towards Don Corneo's mansion.
"Hey, watch the way you walk!" Aerith called. Cloud glared at her but did try to soften his stride into something more feminine. The dark blue and black dress swished uncomfortably around his ankles with every step he took, something that would soon drive him to distraction. Everything about this situation was uncomfortable for him, from the fact that he felt monumentally stupid with a blond wig and make up on, of all things, to the heavy dress with a tight corset that he could barely breathe in let alone walk in…
And then, there were the other inhabitants of Wall Market. Home to the desperate and the depraved, ruled with an iron fist by Don Corneo and his crooked band of lackeys, it was a place Cloud would quite happily never return to and one that he really didn't want to be trapped in this outfit as he tried to navigate. Unfortunately, this was what was required to enter Don Corneo's mansion for the night and his only chance to save his childhood friend Tifa from the don's clutches.
One bold cat-caller got too close, actually putting out a hand to pluck at Cloud's arm, and Cloud's gaze turned murderous.
"Hey," Aerith's hand on his arm reminded him of where he was. "It's ok, just ignore it."
"If I get called a 'Lil Lady' one more time…" Cloud muttered, turning away from the lowlife who backed away slowly as he came to the realisation that this particular little lady was probably not quite all she seemed.
Aerith tucked her hand into his arm. "Now you know how I feel." She smiled wanly up at him, her tense form belying her calm words. Cloud swept his eyes over her. She was dressed in a beautiful red gown that Madam M, one of the scariest women Cloud had ever met and that was saying something, had procured for her. Aerith's hair was elaborately braided and hung down her back, bright red silken flowers decorating her chestnut curls. Her makeup was light, just accentuating her natural beauty, but overall it made her glow amongst the gaudiness and fakery of the Wall Market streets.
"Madam M did a good job." He told her as he turned his gaze back to the path in front of them.
"Was that a compliment?" She asked with humour in her voice. "Wow, I wasn't sure I'd see the day."
Cloud huffed at her but didn't deign to reply.
"Andrea did a pretty amazing job too." Aerith told him. "I know you aren't comfortable, but you look gorgeous. That dress does incredible things for your figure and the make up… I mean, sure you were cute anyway but now you are beautiful."
"Just what every man wants to hear." Cloud remarked dryly. It didn't mean she was wrong though. Cloud's blue-green eyes and blond hair were striking anyway but Andrea and his girls had done something that took his natural beauty and turned him into something feminine and soft.
"Oh hush, you." They were approaching the mansion now at the top of the Wall Market, a monstrosity of faux Wutaian architecture in elaborate reds and golds. Lanterns hung from the wooden carvings below the roof and large Wutaian symbols decorated the walls.
Don Corneo was a man shrouded in mystery and fear. He lorded it over his kingdom, making all the inhabitants of Wall Market dance to his tune. He revelled in his luxuries and disposed of anything and anyone in his way, his ties with the all-powerful Shinra corporation meaning that he was all but untouchable here in the Midgar slums.
Cloud hesitated on the wooden bridge leading to the outer gates. "Come on," Aerith encouraged, tugging his arm. "This is all part of the plan to rescue Tifa, right?"
The plan, yes. The plan to infiltrate Don Corneo's mansion during his routine 'bride' auditions that occurred most nights, to support his friend Tifa Lockhart and to try to understand why she was putting herself through this. The plan that had, almost inexplicably, led to Aerith getting dolled up in support of a woman she had never met and that culminated in he himself, Cloud Strife, ex-SOLDIER First Class, dressed as a woman so that he could be up for selection alongside them both as one of the potential brides.
Although brides was putting it loosely as to the best of his knowledge, which wasn't really a lot, Don Corneo had never actually married despite choosing a 'bride' almost every evening for the past couple of years.
Cloud approached the large and imposing wooden doors that led to the mansion grounds, pushing them aside with ease. Aerith followed, tottering behind on heels she was obviously uncomfortable with.
There was a trio of men standing by the door to the building itself. In the centre was Leslie, a young man with short silver hair who appeared to be the Don's spokesperson. The other two looked more like brawn over brains, a fact confirmed when Cloud approached.
"No way." Leslie stated, looking Cloud over with an eyebrow raised. This was it, they'd already been rumbled. Cloud couldn't think of any way that they might get out of this.
"Here you are - letters from Andrea Rhodea and Madam M. That ought to do the trick, right?" Aerith chirped, leaning forwards to pass the documents to Leslie. The endorsements had been hard won, but no woman would be able to stand in front of the Don without one.
"You serious?" Leslie quirked a brow, an incredulous expression on his face as he gestured to Cloud.
"Is there a problem?" Aerith asked, a picture of innocence. Leslie rolled his eyes and moved to open the door.
"I hope you know what you are in for."
"Oh, we'll be fine."
"If you say so. Come on." Leslie waved them through the door behind him, letting them pass through into Corneo's house. It took Cloud a moment to adjust his eyes to the lighting inside, warm lights reflecting off large amounts of gilt in the red and gold décor.
Another of Corneo's men met them, directing them into a room with warnings not to get too nosy. Usually Cloud would ignore a threat like that, but in his current attire and without his trusty sword he felt more than a little helpless. The leers directed towards both him and Aerith by Corneo's men didn't help matters. The comments were even harder to ignore, as they made their way to the second floor and into the room they had been directed into.
Aerith gripped his arm again and gave him a reassuring squeeze, even as the voice of one of the men floated up. "That's Andrea's girl? I'd let her do things to me."
Cloud threw open the doors of the room with more force that was strictly necessary, before pulling up abruptly. Compared to the opulence in the rest of the mansion, the room they had been directed to was little more than a closet. A storage closet, if the bookcases and boxes were anything to go by. He stepped into it tentatively, Aerith moving away as she also looked around. A small sound had him spinning back, just in time to see the doors slam shut behind them. Almost immediately a soft hissing sound filled the room.
"What's that weird, sweet smell?" Aerith asked, confused. "And why do I feel so dizzy?"
"Gas." Cloud crouched down, cursing that he hadn't realised immediately. He moved to the doors but couldn't shift them, eventually just hitting it ineffectually. "Dammit."
"Cloud…" Aerith's voice was weak, and she had fallen onto her hands and knees. Even putting his arm over his mouth, Cloud could only take a couple of steps towards her before falling himself.
Now the doors opened, and two large men wearing gas masks entered chuckling. One stopped to speak but Cloud couldn't make out what they were saying through the mask. They strutted and posed as Cloud clambered to his feet, using an old desk as a prop, but just as the men approached everything went black.
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Cloud blinked his eyes open, taking a moment to realise that he was looking at a face. Dark brown hair, red brown eyes and a soft, kind expression. Tifa.
"Hey, can you hear me?" Tifa asked with concern.
Cloud sat bolt upright, surprising the young woman who tipped over backwards from where she was kneeling over him, her hands up in a placating gesture. "Tifa?"
"Yes…" she replied, obviously unsure.
"You okay?"
Tifa made a sound that could be taken as agreement, so Cloud sat back. "Good."
"Wait a minute…" Tifa said, eyes widening as she realised who she was talking to. "Cloud? Is that you?" Her eyes swept over him. "Oh my god! That make up! And that dress!"
"Nailed it, I know. Thank you, moving on." Cloud shifted away in embarrassment, scrambling to his feet as Aerith started to come around. He hurried over to her.
"You good?" He asked, supporting her elbow as she stood.
"Yeah, bit woozy but I'll manage."
Aerith quickly shook Cloud's hand away. "Hey Tifa! How you doing?"
Tifa was obviously still trying to process what was going on. "O-okay…"
Aerith introduced herself as Cloud's friend while Cloud just watched, making sure that they were really both ok. But they seemed none the worse for being drugged, so he began to look around the room they were in. It was a dark room, obviously underground and seeping with damp. There was also a few items that looked very like fixtures in a torture chamber. Not somewhere Cloud wanted to stay in – or have Tifa and Aerith stay in – for any longer than they had to.
"Cut the chatter," Cloud told them curtly as the girls were still getting to know each other. "We need to leave."
"No!" Tifa grabbed his arm to stop him heading up the stairs he could see through an archway. "Not until we get what I came here for." She proceeded to explain that some of Corneo's thugs had been asking around about the eco-terrorism group Avalanche in the sector seven slums near her bar.
Cloud could feel a headache coming on, but it also wasn't surprising. Avalanche had been blowing up mako reactors, the power supply that the Shinra corporation used to buy the world. Two of the eight reactors that surrounded the city of Midgar had been taken out by Avalanche in recent days so it was no wonder Shinra were trying to track down those responsible. It wouldn't surprise him if Corneo had close links with Shinra – in fact, he was too powerful not to have shady dealings with them on the side. The fact that his lackeys were sniffing around Tifa's bar asking questions was concerning though – not in the least because Tifa's bar was actually the Avalanche headquarters.
Whether Tifa realised that Corneo must have links to Shinra or not remained to be seen, but she was here to find out what Corneo's thugs wanted with Avalanche. Her great solution though was to come and ask Don Corneo himself.
"Seriously?" Cloud asked, exasperated.
"I thought if I could find my way in and get some one-on-one time… but then I realised I'd only be one of three candidates. And that if he didn't pick me then it would all be for nothing." Tifa clenched her fist in disappointment.
"Then your worries are over, aren't they!" Aerith pipped up. "Because the other candidates are right here, right?"
"Right." Cloud grumbled, turning away and fidgeting again in the dress that was slowly curtailing his ability to breathe.
Cloud focussed as Tifa was telling Aerith she shouldn't be getting involved.
"Don't even try to talk her out of it." He shook his head with a resigned sigh.
"Aww! Cloud gets me! Took you long enough." Aerith accompanied her words with a rap on his arm. Cloud sighed and looked heavenwards.
A few moments later, a tannoy was telling them that the audition was about to begin, in possibly the most creepy voice Cloud had heard. He was beginning to really feel sympathetic to the whole of womankind if the examples of male behaviour he had had to put up with over the last couple of hours was representative.
"Alright guys, lets do this." He headed towards the stairs out of the room.
"Do you want to do this?" Tifa asked with a laugh in her voice as she followed. Cloud replied with a flat stare. She shrugged unapologetically. "You never know, I haven't seen you for a while. This could be your kinda thing, now."
Aerith just giggled at his unimpressed look. Rolling his eyes but secretly pleased that both the girls seemed a bit happier, Cloud climbed the stairs. It was a long way up, confirming his suspicions that they had been held underground. Eventually they exited through a doorway into a colourful room.
"Okay my beautiful ladies! Time to line up for the don!" The man sounded like an announcer, Cloud vaguely remembered him doing just that at the coliseum in Wall Market where fighters competed for prizes. The announcer, Kotch, gestured to a red carpet with some ornate Wutain symbols on it. The three of them lined up, Tifa on one end and Cloud the other.
The announcer checked them all over, then gave an overblown introduction for 'the one, the only Don Corneo!'.
Cloud kept his face impassive as a short, pot bellied man peered out from an archway they were facing. He was wearing a fur trimmed red coat and white shirt with gold edging that was only buttoned up partway, leaving a hairy chest visible beneath a huge medallion. His blond hair looked like a wig and was swept sideways into a quiff with the sides shaved completely. To complete the look he had a thin moustache and just enough facial hair on his chin to be noticeable.
In short, he was grotesque.
"Nice. Very nice." He was giggling to himself as he crept around the three 'candidates', looking them up and down. Cloud managed not to flinch as Corneo reached out and grabbed his upper arms, squeezing them and patting them.
Corneo took a stance in front of them. "Oh yeah, I got it! I got it. Today's bride to be is…"
"Today's?" Aerith asked, not quite managing to keep the disgust out of her tone.
"And tomorrow's or the day after's, if the don takes a shine to you." The announcer helpfully added.
"Pathetic." Cloud muttered.
"Hey, which one of you said that?" Corneo's giggling tone vanished to something more serious as he stalked over to Cloud. "Was it you?" Cloud just stared at him, allowing some of the distaste he felt to seep into his expression. "Ohhh, you got a mouth on you! I'm gonna enjoy breaking it in. Today's lucky lady is the big-boned girl." He grabbed hold of Cloud's wrist and tugged, surprised by the level of resistance he felt. "Still playing hard to get? I can dig it, oh yeah." He tossed his head to the side, his quiff bouncing unattractively. "The leftovers are all yours."
He towed Cloud away towards the arch. Cloud looked back over his shoulder at Tifa and Aerith to check they were ok. He received a reassuring smile from Tifa to his unspoken request to look after Aerith even as the lackeys in the room crowed about how much fun they were going to have. Cloud almost felt sorry for them, they had no idea what they were getting into with those particular girls.
The Don led Cloud through another door and into a room where the main feature was one huge bed, a four poster with garish fabrics draped over it and a bright red coverlet. The rest of the room was decorated in a similar manner to the rest of the mansion, all red and golds with Wutaian scripts and symbols. Cloud highly doubted that the Don had ever been anywhere near Wutai, but instead used his money and power to create the illusion that he was a well travelled sophisticate.
An illusion that was completely ruined when Corneo threw himself onto the bed, giggling. "Don't be shy little kitten, shimmy on over and give daddy some sugar." Cloud sat stiffly on the edge of the bed, wishing he was anywhere else.
"No need to play coy. That's not what you are here for."
Cloud couldn't help the groan that escaped. Corneo was suddenly in his face. "You're even prettier than I thought."
"Back off," Cloud muttered, bringing a hand up to block Corneo's advances. Corneo grabbed the hand tightly.
"That's right sugar, tell me off. Ooh the things I could do to that mouth of yours."
"I said back off." Cloud replied, jerking his arm forwards away from the don. Surprised by Cloud's strength, Corneo jerked forwards and fell face first off the bed. He came up snarling.
"You stupid bitch!" Using a considerable amount of force, he slapped Cloud's face. If Cloud hadn't been a mako-enhanced SOLDIER it was a blow that would have knocked him backwards. As it was, it still took him by surprise. Surprised enough that Corneo had managed to clamber back onto the bed by the time he reacted.
Cloud stood and turned to face the don. Pulling his strength so he didn't accidentally kill Corneo, he punched the sleaze in the nose and sent him flying backwards across the bed.
Corneo looked up at him, dazed momentarily. He touched his nose gingerly with one hand, looking in astonishment at the red that bloomed there. But astonishment quickly made way for anger. "You'll pay for that, bitch."
"I doubt it." Cloud replied dryly. "Why are your lackeys asking about Avalanche in Sector Seven?"
Corneo curled a lip back. "Why would I tell you anything?"
Cloud leaned forwards, grabbing Corneo's wrist and mimicking the way he had been held earlier. "Because if you don't…" He twisted it backwards, applying just enough pressure to the wrist to cause pain. Any more and it would break.
To Corneo's credit, he didn't cry out even as sweat beaded on his forehead and his breath became uneven. "And what do you think Shinra would do to me if I told you all their secrets, hm?"
"Shinra aren't here. But I am." The bone cracked and Corneo yowled with pain.
"You are too late! Shinra are going to drop the sector seven plate onto the slums, your friends are as good as dead."
Cloud reeled back. Midgar was made up of two levels, the plate and the slums. Those on the plate lived in fresh (ish) air and with a view of the skies. Those below the plate looked up at the city above, artificial lights in the place of the sun and smog pervading throughout. If a plate was dropped, though, it would cause huge destruction both above and below the plate. Would Shinra really go so far as to kill tens of thousands for the sake of a small terrorist cell of a few individuals?
It didn't take long for Cloud to reach an answer. Yes. Yes they would.
Cloud's shock meant that Corneo was able to wrestle away and scurry up the bed, cradling his wounded hand. "They what?"
"You heard." Corneo looked at him derisively. "But here is a question for you – why would I divulge all my secrets to you? Is it because I have nothing to lose…"
Cloud started towards him and Corneo yanked at a pull by the headboard. The floor dropped away underneath the former SOLDIER as he fell with yelp into the sewers below.
"On second thought," Corneo giggled to himself. "Never mind. You were beginning to bore me anyway."
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Tifa and Aerith were led out of Corneo's private apartments and into the room next to it, full of men who were lounging about on the broken furniture. They all stood as the girls entered, leering and circling them like they were prey. Kotch made some ridiculous comments that led to the men praising their boss before bowing out. One of the men in the room immediately approached them both.
"So, ladies. Ready to get to it?"
Tifa watched as Aerith uncrossed her arms and looked him straight in the eyes. "Yeah, I guess I'm good to go whenever. How about you, Tifa?"
"Mmm…" Tifa cast an eye over all the men in the room, most of whom were looking unstable on their feet. Beer bottles scattered around the floor were a good indication as to why. "Four guys between us… okay. Let's not keep Cloud waiting."
"Right!" Aerith agreed with a sunny smile, just before aiming a well placed knee at the crotch of the guy right in front of her. Tifa followed up with a kick to his head that sent him down. There were exclamations from the rest of the men, though Tifa was mentally tallying up how many were left and didn't pay much attention to them. One down, three to go.
Another man was taken out by a spinning kick to his stomach. Tifa then aimed a couple of punches at a third and turned to the remaining lackey to see Aerith knocking him down with a folding chair. Dusting her hands off, she managed a high five with Aerith before the doors creaked opened again.
Both fell into a fighting stance when they saw Leslie, the silver haired guard from the main doors. He held his hands up in supplication, hands that were carrying some familiar items.
"Andrea filled me in on the situation. I come bearing gifts – your gear." He carefully put it on the floor and backed away.
Shouting could be heard in the corridor behind him. The man half turned with a grimace. "You don't have much time, your friend has already fallen foul of Corneo. He's been dropped into the sewer. If he survived the fall, he's going to need this as a matter of urgency." Leslie said, nudging the Buster Sword with his toe. "It's dangerous down there." He moved to one of the walls of the room and moved a screen to reveal a staircase. "Down here is one of the back ways to the sewer – you'll need to pull on the second wall bracket once you're in the basement. Be careful, it's slippery. I'll do what I can to clean up out here."
"Thank you." Aerith told him as she grabbed the bundle of clothes. Tifa took the huge sword, just about able to lift it. Tifa nodded once to Leslie who disappeared back into the mansion, closing the doors behind him.
She turned to Aerith. "Ready?" Aerith nodded in reply.
"Let's go save Cloud."
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Cloud sat up, rubbing his head gingerly. He had fallen some distance, and was lucky not to have broken any bones. He was in a large, cavern-like area which smelt as though it must be part of the sewer network that ran underneath Midgar.
He stood carefully, cursing the tightness of the dress but not able to do much about it. Looking around the space, he could see deep channels of water running along the edges. He was standing on a large rectangular platform between the channels, roughly thirty metres across. The ceiling was a network of pipes and flickering lights that cast everything with a greenish hue. One of the end walls was completely plain, but on the other were three giant pipe openings. Two had gratings across and were dripping water but the central and largest one was clear.
"Guess that's the way out of here." Cloud murmured, frowning down at the dress. The standing pools of water were beginning to drag it down. Still, mako enhancements meant that he shouldn't have any trouble.
The loud growling noise that was coming from the pipe though, that was a concern. Especially as it was getting closer. Much, much closer. Looks like the Don had arranged a welcoming committee for him after all.
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Tifa led down the slippery steps, cautiously picking her way down with one hand on the wall while holding onto the huge buster sword with her other. To begin with, they were in a small tunnel but soon it widened with a channel of water trickling to either side, causing Tifa to lose her wall handhold and be forced to try to balance the huge sword whilst tottering precariously down in her heels. It was dark, a green tinged glow from sporadic lamps the only illumination. The stench was almost unbearable.
"Well, this is pleasant." Aerith commented behind her. She tried to keep her voice upbeat, but Tifa could hear the worried undertones. The brunette was still wearing her red dress and heels, she had tied the bag of their clothes around her waist to free up her hands, which were held out either side like a tight rope walker. Tifa gritted her teeth and tried to hurry, hampered by the uneven footing and the algae making it treacherous underfoot.
"I can see why Leslie told us there was no time to lose." Tifa huffed out. "Heels or boots, this would take just as long." She looked down at the water trickling past, frowning at the sight as she could have sworn it was getting higher. "Aerith, do you think that's…"
A distant roar cut off anything else Tifa had to say. Both girls turned to stare back up the passage they had come down. "Run!" Tifa gasped, grabbing one of Aerith's hands and trying to make her way down the steps as quickly as possible, her eyes darting from side to side as she looked for somewhere to shelter. But it wasn't enough, the roaring increased until suddenly a wall of water hit them, sweeping them both along with it. Despite her best efforts her hold on Aerith was broken almost immediately. She clawed to the surface, taking in one big, gulping breath before something solid connected with the back of her head and the world went black.
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Aerith fought to get on top of the stream. One of the advantages of growing up where she had, in the neat little house next to the waterfall in sector five, is that despite living in the Midgar slums she did actually learn to swim at a young age and still swam regularly. But the current was fast and the water murky, the red dress heavy and dragging her down. She fought on, despite the burning lungs and the dizziness. Even as her vision began to go black, she finally broke through the surface and took in gulps of air.
"Tifa!" She shouted, as soon as she was able to. Paddling to keep herself on the top of the current she tried to look around. The lights were somehow just about clear of the deluge, but she was moving too quickly to see anything. "Tifa!"
Looking ahead down the tunnel, Aerith saw something that dropped her stomach into her toes. She was reaching an intersection where the water split into three channels. Moving very quickly towards those channels was a flash of purple. Tifa's dress. "Tifa! Hold on, I'm coming!" Aerith tried to swim over to her, but the water was too strong. She cried out as she saw the purple flash disappear down the channel on the far side of the tunnel just as she was pulled into a different one.
Aerith was swept down the new channel, tumbling through the water as it churned past bends and drops. Then, there was a feeling of weightlessness as she suddenly found herself flying through the air alongside a torrent of water. She braced herself for the impact of hitting at the bottom, only to find that it never came.
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Cloud lay panting on the sewer floor, having just rolled out of the way of a deluge of water his opponent had called up. He was still dizzy from an earlier knock, when the large creature had pounded the ground in front of him and caused a rippling shockwave that knocked Cloud backwards off his feet. He was weaponless, materialess and wearing clothes he could barely move in. He couldn't even try to assess the creature in front of him to work out its weaknesses, to see if there was anything he could do to save himself.
In short, Cloud was in a lot of trouble.
The creature, a great hulking beast with two horns, huge body and flying spittle, jumped back onto the floor from where it had somehow been clinging to the side of the room and lowered its head. Cloud could see it was going to charge before it had even started moving, but there was nothing he could do to avoid it. He frantically ripped down one side of the dress to give himself some freedom of movement, before scrabbling to his feet and beginning to run. Unluckily for him, he slipped on a patch of water left over from the flood that had torn through a minute earlier. As if that wasn't enough, he skidded into one of the many patches of poison that were covering the floor from an earlier attack. Dazed, he fell back to the ground, able to feel the vibrations as the monster careered back towards him. He closed his eyes so he didn't have to see the impending impact, only to have them fly open wide again as instead of the expected collision, the sound of the creature's horns hitting hardened steel rang out loudly around the cavern.
Cloud looked up at his unexpected saviour and immediately wished that he hadn't.