Cloud's room in Seventh Heaven was silent, except for the occassional sob and whimper of her name. He wanted to maintain his strong exterior, but it was becoming impossible as he thought more and more about Red XIII and Aeris. 'My Aeris...my beautiful Aeris. How did I let this happen? I should have spent more time with Aeris instead of Tifa. But Tifa really needed the company and asked for it. Aeris just spent her time alone after she came back from death. How could something that isn't even human take her away from me so easily? I have saved her life more than once and been nothing but good to her. Yet she goes for Red!' His sadness was beginning a conversion into vengeance.
The door creaked open so softly that Cloud didn't hear it. Barret watched his friend who was so strong usually sobbing his eyes out. 'This is over Aeris and Red. That catdog has brung our leader to tears! He's gonna pay for 'dis!' Barret couldn't bear seeing Cloud, the man who had been there for him and sympathized when no one else had, sobbing like a small child. He left without Cloud knowing and stomped downstairs.
"Red better hope I don't find 'im! 'Cause if I do, there won't be much left for Aeris to love!"
At Nigel's Place, Aeris looked frantically for Red. "Nanaki!" She yelled his name several times before pushing her way through the bustling crowd to the counter. "Have you seen a...ummmm...red creature that looks like a cross between a cat and dog about four feet high anywhere around here recently? I can't seem to find him."
"Wait a moment...hey Nigel, we've got another drunk one here. She's mighty pretty, too." The cashier said aside to the manager of the tavern.
A very built-up man grabbed Aeris from behind, and she cried out. "What are you doing?!?"
"We need to have a word with you in the back." He pulled her behind the counter and into a store room.
"Stop this! Leave me alone!" Aeris was beginning to get scared. She hadn't brought her rod with her so she was nearly defenseless.
"Shut up already!" The man covered her mouth with his hand.
She tried to scream, kick and bite him with no avail. He threw her into a dimly lit, musty storage room, closing and locking the door behind him. There were several men inside of similar build. They all wore grins that she knew could only indicate one thing. She was trembling despite her efforts not to.
"What do we have here?" One of the men stepped forward to look at her. "Why it's a pretty little lady. We've scared her, though. Nothing to be scared of, darlin'. You won't even remember this tomorrow."
She was jerked up to her feet by a man behind her. He pulled her around and began kissing her. While trying to fight him off, she yelled, "Please don't do this!"
The men began laughing hysterically at her attempts to break free. "She's a fiesty one, ain't she?"
"I think we're gonna need some help to make her be a good girl."
The man who had been kissing her lifted her to a corner where there was a wide long metal slat slightly off the floor. He threw her down on it and two other men tied her limbs to it. She was now shaking so hard it caused the slat to clink against the wall behind it.
"Here we go, darlin'," the man who had first spoken to her laughed as he reached behind her and began to unzip her sea foam green dress.
Red awoke to hear Barret saying from upstairs, "Red better hope I don't find 'im! 'Cause if I do, there won't be much left for Aeris to love!"
He jumped up to his feet and scanned the room for a means of escape that did not involve going upstairs. There was a small window at the top the basement, opened for ventilation on hot days. 'It will be a very tight fit. I might be able to fit through.' Red jumped as high as he could and clung to the ledge of the window. He used one of his claws to carefully unlock the window and opened it by head butting it. He began to wriggle through it, but became stuck about halfway through. He continued to kick his hind legs and pull forward with his front legs.
"I see yo' Red!" he heard Barret say from inside before feeling the wall shake as bullets hit the area around his hind quarters.
Tifa wrapped her jacket around herself tighter as she walked quickly down the street. Late nights made her very uncomfortable and paranoid for some reason. She began humming to keep herself company before she reached Nigel's Place. The tavern was, as usual, crowded. 'I'm sure going to have a time finding her in this crowd.'
She saw a couple sitting at a table near the door and tapped the woman on the shoulder. "Have you seen a girl about my height with brown hair and really green eyes here? She was probably wearing a pastel dress."
"Sorry, we haven't," the woman said.
"Thank you anyway."
Tifa continued her search until she asked a man at the bar if he had seen Aeris.
"Yeah, I saw a girl that looked like that. The manager took her to the back for some reason. But I think she might have left." He took another drink from his mug.
"Thank you very much. You don't know how much this means to me."
"You're welcome." He hiccupped and almost knocked his mug over.
'I really hope that isn't just the beer and that he really did see Aeris. I should probably check in back,' Tifa thought as she walked behind the counter.
"What do you think you're doing?!" the woman tending the bar asked her. "This area is for staff memebers only!"
"One of my friends was taken back here, and I have the right to know what happened to her." Tifa pushed past the woman and headed towards the doors.
"No you don't! I'm going to have to ask you to leave if you go any futher!" The woman followed her.
"I am going to find my friend! And you can't stop me!" Tifa turned around to face the woman.
The woman tried to punch Tifa, but her aim was horrible so she ended up tripping. Tifa belted the woman square in the eye and sent her to the floor easily. She put her mind back onto the task of finding Aeris and tried to open the door. It was locked. "Damn," she muttered under her breath as she began banging on the door.
A man eventually opened the door, and Tifa caught a glimpse of Aeris almost undressed and restrained in the corner. Her jaw dropped, and she looked at the man standing at the door.
"What do you want?" He stepped outside of the room.
"I want you to leave my friend alone!" Tifa was so angry at the men she forgot she was outnumbered. Two of the men stepped outside and grabbed her. "Leave me alone! Let go of me!"
Even with her attempts to escape, they managed to disarm her and drag her into the room...
The door creaked open so softly that Cloud didn't hear it. Barret watched his friend who was so strong usually sobbing his eyes out. 'This is over Aeris and Red. That catdog has brung our leader to tears! He's gonna pay for 'dis!' Barret couldn't bear seeing Cloud, the man who had been there for him and sympathized when no one else had, sobbing like a small child. He left without Cloud knowing and stomped downstairs.
"Red better hope I don't find 'im! 'Cause if I do, there won't be much left for Aeris to love!"
At Nigel's Place, Aeris looked frantically for Red. "Nanaki!" She yelled his name several times before pushing her way through the bustling crowd to the counter. "Have you seen a...ummmm...red creature that looks like a cross between a cat and dog about four feet high anywhere around here recently? I can't seem to find him."
"Wait a moment...hey Nigel, we've got another drunk one here. She's mighty pretty, too." The cashier said aside to the manager of the tavern.
A very built-up man grabbed Aeris from behind, and she cried out. "What are you doing?!?"
"We need to have a word with you in the back." He pulled her behind the counter and into a store room.
"Stop this! Leave me alone!" Aeris was beginning to get scared. She hadn't brought her rod with her so she was nearly defenseless.
"Shut up already!" The man covered her mouth with his hand.
She tried to scream, kick and bite him with no avail. He threw her into a dimly lit, musty storage room, closing and locking the door behind him. There were several men inside of similar build. They all wore grins that she knew could only indicate one thing. She was trembling despite her efforts not to.
"What do we have here?" One of the men stepped forward to look at her. "Why it's a pretty little lady. We've scared her, though. Nothing to be scared of, darlin'. You won't even remember this tomorrow."
She was jerked up to her feet by a man behind her. He pulled her around and began kissing her. While trying to fight him off, she yelled, "Please don't do this!"
The men began laughing hysterically at her attempts to break free. "She's a fiesty one, ain't she?"
"I think we're gonna need some help to make her be a good girl."
The man who had been kissing her lifted her to a corner where there was a wide long metal slat slightly off the floor. He threw her down on it and two other men tied her limbs to it. She was now shaking so hard it caused the slat to clink against the wall behind it.
"Here we go, darlin'," the man who had first spoken to her laughed as he reached behind her and began to unzip her sea foam green dress.
Red awoke to hear Barret saying from upstairs, "Red better hope I don't find 'im! 'Cause if I do, there won't be much left for Aeris to love!"
He jumped up to his feet and scanned the room for a means of escape that did not involve going upstairs. There was a small window at the top the basement, opened for ventilation on hot days. 'It will be a very tight fit. I might be able to fit through.' Red jumped as high as he could and clung to the ledge of the window. He used one of his claws to carefully unlock the window and opened it by head butting it. He began to wriggle through it, but became stuck about halfway through. He continued to kick his hind legs and pull forward with his front legs.
"I see yo' Red!" he heard Barret say from inside before feeling the wall shake as bullets hit the area around his hind quarters.
Tifa wrapped her jacket around herself tighter as she walked quickly down the street. Late nights made her very uncomfortable and paranoid for some reason. She began humming to keep herself company before she reached Nigel's Place. The tavern was, as usual, crowded. 'I'm sure going to have a time finding her in this crowd.'
She saw a couple sitting at a table near the door and tapped the woman on the shoulder. "Have you seen a girl about my height with brown hair and really green eyes here? She was probably wearing a pastel dress."
"Sorry, we haven't," the woman said.
"Thank you anyway."
Tifa continued her search until she asked a man at the bar if he had seen Aeris.
"Yeah, I saw a girl that looked like that. The manager took her to the back for some reason. But I think she might have left." He took another drink from his mug.
"Thank you very much. You don't know how much this means to me."
"You're welcome." He hiccupped and almost knocked his mug over.
'I really hope that isn't just the beer and that he really did see Aeris. I should probably check in back,' Tifa thought as she walked behind the counter.
"What do you think you're doing?!" the woman tending the bar asked her. "This area is for staff memebers only!"
"One of my friends was taken back here, and I have the right to know what happened to her." Tifa pushed past the woman and headed towards the doors.
"No you don't! I'm going to have to ask you to leave if you go any futher!" The woman followed her.
"I am going to find my friend! And you can't stop me!" Tifa turned around to face the woman.
The woman tried to punch Tifa, but her aim was horrible so she ended up tripping. Tifa belted the woman square in the eye and sent her to the floor easily. She put her mind back onto the task of finding Aeris and tried to open the door. It was locked. "Damn," she muttered under her breath as she began banging on the door.
A man eventually opened the door, and Tifa caught a glimpse of Aeris almost undressed and restrained in the corner. Her jaw dropped, and she looked at the man standing at the door.
"What do you want?" He stepped outside of the room.
"I want you to leave my friend alone!" Tifa was so angry at the men she forgot she was outnumbered. Two of the men stepped outside and grabbed her. "Leave me alone! Let go of me!"
Even with her attempts to escape, they managed to disarm her and drag her into the room...