FINAL FANTASY VII

AUTHORS NOTE: THIS IS IT. THIS IS WHAT YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR (MAYBE). IN THIS FANFIC YOU WILL FIND NO LESS THAN SEVEN ALTERNATE SOLUTIONS TO THE FANFIC, 'A Countdown To Whodunnit'. LOTS OF PEOPLE HAD IT IN FOR AERIS THAT DAY, INCLUDING ME (HA, I LOVE HER REALLY!), SO ITS NO WONDER THAT THE POOR WOMAN WAS GUNNED DOWN AND LEFT FOR DEAD IN THE SLUMS OF MIDGAR CITY. I'VE SAID TOO MUCH. JUST SIT BACK AND ENJOY THESE CRAZY ALTERNATE SOLUTIONS.

AUTHORS NOTE II: A LOT OF PEOPLE THOUGHT THAT THE OIL MINERS MAY HAVE SHOT AERIS. THE THOUGHT HAD NEVER ENTERED MY MIND, BUT I GUESS IT COULD BE POSSIBLE. ANYHOW, THIS CHAPTER IS FOR THOSE SMALL MINORITY.

'A Countdown To Whodunnit: Alternative Solutions'

"Wait! Come back!", screamed Cloud, as Barrett, Cid, Yuffie and Cait Sith ran out of the room. "Geez, I think it's kinda weird that those guys all had new guns. Do you think they planned this?"

"Oh my! We have to stop them Cloud!", paniced Red XIII.

"Yes. Come on Tifa. Tifa?"

"Hey, wh-where's Tifa?", stuttered Red XIII. "Did she leave with the others?"

Cloud and Red XIII left Seventh Heaven to search for the mad mob of crazed killers. While elsewhere in Midgar...

Two shifty looking oil miners (Locko & Gerimo) wandered through the slums towards Sector 5. For the past week, they had been working on a newly found oil well which had been discovered by a local resident named Aeris Gainsborough. They'd paid the girl a sum of 50,000 gil for the well, but they were starting to regret ever striking a deal with the young woman.

"Locko, I'm getting pretty sick and tired with that damn oil well!", Gerimo complained. "At first I thought it would be cool to mine out oil in Midgar City, but its not. Its just annoying!"

"Ergh, I'm starting to agree with ya, Gerimo.", sighed Locko. "But what are ya gonna do?!"

"There's no way we could get back our money, is there?"

"I dunno. I doubt it. Maybe if we had a little chat with that girl who we bought it off, then maybe we could sorta... sell it back to her."

"Is that legal?"

"I dunno. I doubt it."

They suddenly looked up and spotted someone, or something, dash around the street corner and disappear into a nearby back alley.

"Oooh! Prostitute?", drooled Gerimo.

"I dunno. I doubt it. But lets check it out anyway.", replied Locko.

They hurried along into the alleyway. Together, they got rid of the trashcans and garbage bags blocking their path, until they found Aeris resting up against the wall.

"Well, whaddya know?! It's her! It's that lady we sold the oil well to!"

"...Oh, my! Please don't hurt me!", Aeris pleaded.

"Hurt you?!", exclaimed Locko. "Not in a million years! You're pretty damn hot, y'know?"

"T-Thank you.", replied Aeris. "...Y-You're not gonna do anything to me are you?"

"Wouldn't dream of it!", Gerimo laughed. "Locko, ask her."

"Ask me what?"

"Gerimo!", shouted Locko. "I was gonna be subtle! Argh, you've ruined it now! Ahem, uh, we were wondering if you would like to buy your oil well back off us?"

"WHAT?! Get outta here! I'm quite happy with the money I've already got, thankyouverymuch!"

"You're a tricky one.", Locko grumbled. "Gerimo... Get... the thing."

"The... thing? You mean, the *thing* thing?!"

"Yeah, that thing."

Gerimo reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny handgun. He passed it to Locko.

"Oh my God! Are you going to kill me?!", paniced Aeris.

"Yes. Yes, we are.", smiled Locko.

The oil miner gave Aeris a stomach full of lead as his associate looked on. Within moments, she fainted to the floor.

"Oh my God! You killed her! You beast!", yelled Gerimo.

"Shut up! This isn't South Park, y'know?!", Locko shouted as he turned and ran. "Just run, damn you!"

"W-Wait fer me!", Gerimo darted off to catch up with his workmate. "This place is scary!"

A few minutes later, Cloud and Red XIII appeared around the corner of the alley. Their hearts sank...

There was Aeris... She was lying next to a trash can, and she was covered in blood.

"Aeris! Who-who did this to you?!", Cloud cried.

"Cloud...", she slurred. "It was... it was..."

Aeris fainted, presumably dead, on the floor.

"Oh my God! They killed Aeris!", screamed Red XIII.

"But who? Who killed her?", muttered Cloud.

CHAPTER 7 SEPHIROTH

Please select the next chapter to view an alternative solution to 'Who Shot Ms. Gainsborough?', which reveals Sephiroth as the culprit.