The Cry of the Planet
Chapter 35
The Honey Bee Inn was painted pink and gold with the floor in covered in gold tile displaying the large shadowed profile of a pretty girl. The lobby had six doors: two to the left, two to the right, the one he came in through, and one directly in front of him at the end of the lobby. A pretty young woman in a Honey Bee outfit approached Cloud hastily.
The Honey Bee sighed, "Poo... I uh mean, Sir... Hurry... Please just choose a room."
"Gosh he's so weird," The Honey Bee muttered under her breath. "Then again they all are..."
Cloud cocked an eyebrow and bee-lined towards the middle room, opened the door and stepped in. Several Honey Bees were doing their make up, changing clothes and gabbing to each other. The conversation was mostly about who had the freakiest customer today.
One Honey Bee was looking at herself in the mirror very carefully, "Hmm... I just can't seem to lose any weight."
The Honey Bee saw Cloud's reflection in the mirror and jumped, "Sir! You can't come in here!"
"Yuck, a pervert," The Honey Bee muttered.
Cloud noticed a Honey Bee a few seats down looking at him and trying not to look at him while she did her make-up. She seemed to be talking to the girl next to her, but Cloud couldn't make out what she was saying.
"Oh God," The Honey Bee muttered. "Here's another one of those guys. You know, the delicate type. Just ignore him..."
The other girl glanced at Cloud and nodded.
"Hmm..." The first girl said. "I guess he doesn't realize his position. I feel sorry for him... Just ignore him. Ugh, he's still here. God, what a pest. I wish he would leave. What a dog."
The girl smiled a bit.
"That's it, I'll name him Pooch. He's still there, is he following me? What if he follows me home? Yep, just like a dog. Poochy will do it, I'm sure. Ugh, this guy makes me sick... and his eyes are weird too."
"He's a paying customer," The second girl said. "Let's at least say 'hi' to him."
The first girl looked at Cloud in disgust, "Uh... Hel... Hello."
Cloud just shook his head, turned around, and closed the door behind him. The Honey Bee who had greeted him had disappeared and Cloud was on his own to find any info on Tifa. He went to the first door and the sign on the door read, "The Lover's Room."
He tried the doorknob, but it wouldn't turn. Cloud kneeled and looked through the keyhole. He saw an elderly couple relaxing in a large suite. He could hear the muffled sound of them speaking though the door and listened carefully.
The woman looked at the man, "What's wrong, Grandpa? You keep sighing."
"You know..." The man looked around.
Grandma followed his eyes, "You talking about this room?"
Grandpa nodded, "I know our son rented this for us and all, but it's too nice for us. Big round bed, gorgeous tub... I just can't get comfortable."
Grandma laughed, "Don't worry about it. You keep complainin' and we'll get thrown out."
Cloud stood and walked over to the second door on the right and read the sign, "The Queen's Room." Cloud tried the doorknob and like the other one, it wouldn't budge. He kneeled and looked through the keyhole, "What the...?"
Inside were a few men in business suits operating several pieces of equipment making wind noises, lightning flashes, and thunder sounds. There was a man in the center on a pedestal dressed in a king's robe with a business suit on underneath.
The King held out his arms as though he was making a speech, "The wind's calm now... It's the curse of the resurrected Satan. Our beloved Queen does not awaken... The time is ripe. A legend has been passed on through generations."
One man working the wind sounds whispered to the man next to him working the lightning, "Psst! Hey, should we stop him soon? We have a luncheon with President Shinra..."
The second man nodded and whispered back, "You tell him."
The first man shook his head, "I can't tell him."
The second man whispered louder, "Come on!... Oh well. Hopefully this will be over soon."
The King spoke again, "A legend has been passed on through generations... The sought after Promised Land... The One with Teal Eyes and a Great White Sword on his back will not lead to the Promised Land."
The first man rubbed his eyes and whispered back to the second, "It's like this every time we have a business trip to Midgar... We come all the way just for this."
Cloud watched thoughtfully for a moment and stood up, "I'm wasting too much time."
He walked to the other side of the lobby and looked at the remaining two doors, "The Group Room" and "The Fucking Room." Both doors were unlocked.
Cloud went to the latter and beckoned a Honey Bee from across the lobby, "I'll take this room."
The Honey Bee rolled her eyes, "You're not going to have a change of heart, are you?"
Cloud was getting irritated with her attitude, "Don't make me repeat myself."
The Honey Bee scoffed and opened the door, "Oh, don't be angry with me. All right, please go in."
Cloud entered the room and as soon as the Honey Bee shut the door behind him, a white light flashed in his mind and he fell to the floor. He got to his elbows and looked at the washtub on the other side of the room. His vision was dark and blurred. What he saw by the tub was a faint image of... himself. His image was polishing his sword and stopped to look at Cloud.
"Hmm...? You...?" His image asked using Cloud's voice. "What are you doing in a place like this?"
Cloud grabbed his head as a sharp pain tore through his mind and fell to the floor again.
His image stood still, "That's what I want to ask you. Should you be foolin' around here? You know she's not here... You think problems will go away just thinkin' about them?"
Cloud's image held his sword above his head and began to rise off the ground. It floated soundlessly towards Cloud and then sank until Cloud and his image became one... And all Cloud saw was black.
Shortly after Cloud's "own" Honey Bee entered the room and tripped over him lying down by the door.
The girl called out the door, "Help! Someone...! Hurry!"
"You can't change anything just by sitting back and looking at it," Cloud's voice told him.
"What are you saying?" Cloud asked back.
"It's started moving..." Cloud's voice replied.
Cloud didn't understand, "What has?"
Cloud's voice came back, but a thousand miles away, "Wake up..."
A loud deep voice called, "Wake up!"
Right after Cloud heard the voice that wasn't his, he felt a flat pain on the side of his face. He opened his eyes and a large, well-built man wearing nothing but spandex underpants was hovering over Cloud and was preparing to slap him again. The man stopped when he saw Cloud's eyes open.
"Phew! I'm so relieved," The man said sitting next to Cloud on the bed. "Bubby! I heard you collapsed."
Cloud sat up, "Ugh?"
"I'm Mukki," The man introduced, "and your time is up here. Bye, buddy. Don't get depressed over a thing like this... Believe it or not, it happens all the time."
Cloud looked at "his" Honey Bee and she spoke, "I'm so sorry... There are a lot of adult things going on. For your inconvenience, please take this, okay?"
The girl handed Cloud a slinky piece of black lingerie and Cloud held it in confusion, "For me? I don't get it."
Both Mukki and the Honey Bee motioned to the door and Cloud left still carrying his new piece of lingerie. He turned to the exit and stopped dead and smirked to himself. Cloud turned around heading back towards the Honey Bee dressing room and went in with the smirk still on his face.
Cloud opened the door and scanned the dressing room until he saw what he wanted. He walked pass a few half-dressed Honey Bees and sat next to one doing her make up.
"Hey there," Cloud said trying not to sound like a creep. "Could you do me a favor?"
"Uh?" The Honey Bee looked at him wide-eyed.
"Could you put some make up on me, too?" Cloud asked giving his best innocent look.
The Honey Bee looked at him, looked around at the other Honey Bees who didn't seem to be paying any attention, and then looked at Cloud again. She blinked a few times and then dabbed in her powder and started to apply it to Cloud's face.
"No, no," The Honey Bee frowned. "This isn't your shade at all..."
The girl picked a new powder and pasted Cloud's face in a tasteful manner. She did the same with blush, eye shadow, and mascara, carefully choosing the right shades and colors for Cloud's complexion.
After finishing she pointed to the mirror and snickered as Cloud gawked at himself.
Cloud stood up now feeling like a complete idiot, "Uh... Thanks."
The Honey Bee just eyed him curiously as he left, "Oh... my..."
As soon as Cloud stepped out of the dressing room, a Honey Bee grabbed his arm and ushered him towards the door.
"Sir," She said impatiently. "It's almost closing time... Please remember any personal belongings."
She nudged him out of the main entrance then closed and locked the door behind him. Cloud was now standing outside around a crowd men surrounding one woman. They all looked a shade of pink as the fluorescent Honey Bee Inn sign buzzed loudly. The men were all pushing and shoving to bet he next to talk to the woman in the middle. One man got pushed back and stumbled beside Cloud.
The man looked at Cloud and pouted, "Awww! I want flowers, too! But, I get so nervous in front of cute girls...It just seems more natural to get cautious."
The man looked at Cloud's face and gave him a weird look. Cloud quickly turned his head away and pushed through the crowd of guys. Aeris seemed to be making a nice Gil selling the few flowers she still had on her to the men who wanted a bit more from here then just flowers...
Aeris looked up after completing a sale and smiled at Cloud, "Hey! You're back. Oh... And look at your face! You're so... pretty! We should have no problem getting into the mansion now!"
Cloud grumbled and handed Aeris the lingerie.
"Ohh, soft," Aeris giggled and put it in her pocket. "Maybe I can try this..."
"What?" Cloud said rubbing his face.
"Oh! Nothing..." Aeris blushed and grabbed Cloud's wrist. "Don't touch your face! You're going to smear it and then you're just going to look cheap."
"Har har," Cloud said as they walked though Wall Market. "I just wanna get this over with."
As Aeris and Cloud walked in the clothing store, the bell chimed above the door.
"Are you going to change?" Aeris said pointing to the dressing room.
"Yeah..." Cloud hastily grabbed the dress, stepped in the dressing room, and closed the curtain behind him.
Cloud spent almost a good ten minutes in the room trying the dress on, adjusting, itching and scratching. Aeris was looking through the store for something for herself and turned abruptly when she heard the curtain open. She gawked not blinking and dropped the dress she was looking at.
"Oh... my..." Aeris giggled.
Cloud was dressed in the blue dress with broad lace trim and wore it quite well. His spiky hair looked a bit awkward shoved under the blonde wig with two braided pigtails and his eye shadow seemed to match his dress perfectly.
"Wow!" The store manager gawked.
The owner's daughter adjusted Cloud's collar, "Thanks for showing us something new. My father's got his motivation back now, so the dress is on the house."
"Yay," Cloud said with no emotion and walked over by Aeris.
Aeris shook her head, "Walk more nicely like this, Miss Cloud."
Aeris walked primly around the store with her head straight and arms swinging loosely at her side.
Cloud scratched his head, "What do you mean 'nicely?'"
He walked his manly SOLDIER walk and Aeris shook her head and showed her walk again. Cloud put his hands to his side and walks with his palms facing the floor and moved with a light step.
Aeris snickered, "Oh, you're so cute, Miss Cloud. I want a dress, too!" She looked at the owner's daughter. "Do you have one that'll look good on me?"
The daughter nodded and held up a green strapless dress, "How's this?"
The owner picked a yellow sundress and held it up as well, "How about this one?"
The daughter scoffed, "Father, what are you talking about? This one's much better."
"No, what are you saying?" The owner said shaking the yellow sundress. "This one."
Aeris walked by both the father and daughter and picked a red dress with thin straps, "I want THIS one."
The owner looked at his daughter and shrugged and then sighed. Aeris went into the dressing room and began to change.
"No peeking!" Aeris called from the dressing room and the owner winked at Cloud.
A few moments later, Aeris stepped out and Cloud's mouth went dry. The dress was a perfect fit and showed off her petite body very well. Her hair was still pulled back, but not in her twisted braid. Her thick brown hair flowed loosely down her back and never seemed to end.
"So?" Aeris asked turning around. "How do I look?"
Cloud couldn't manage to utter a word and could only shake his head.
"Oh, you're no fun!" Aeris laughed and began to pack their original clothes in clothing store bag. The two said their goodbyes to the owner and his daughter and left with Aeris carrying the bag of Clothes and Cloud carrying his sword.
They made their way to the Don's mansion again, but this time was much more difficult. Every other step, they were being hounded by guys on the street and all of them begging for their phone numbers. They politely shooed the guys away and Aeris almost fell on the ground when a man commented on how nice and firm Cloud was.
As they reached the entrance to the mansion, the bouncer again hung up his PHS and inspected the girls, "Damn! You were right! Your friend's hot, too! Come in, come in!"
The bouncer opened the door and called in, "Two ladies coming through!"
Aeris and Cloud stepped by the bouncer who seemed to be inspecting Cloud's behind as he walked. Aeris had to bite her tongue from rolling into a fit of laughter. The door closed loudly behind them and the loud sound of the lock clicking echoed through the foyer.
A male in an expensive suit approached the two looking excited, "Hey ladies! I'll go and let the Don know you're here. Just wait there. Don't go wandering around."
Aeris watched as the man went up the large rounded marble staircase. As soon as he was out of sight, she looked at Cloud, "Now's our chance! Let's find Tifa!"
Chapter 35
The Honey Bee Inn was painted pink and gold with the floor in covered in gold tile displaying the large shadowed profile of a pretty girl. The lobby had six doors: two to the left, two to the right, the one he came in through, and one directly in front of him at the end of the lobby. A pretty young woman in a Honey Bee outfit approached Cloud hastily.
The Honey Bee sighed, "Poo... I uh mean, Sir... Hurry... Please just choose a room."
"Gosh he's so weird," The Honey Bee muttered under her breath. "Then again they all are..."
Cloud cocked an eyebrow and bee-lined towards the middle room, opened the door and stepped in. Several Honey Bees were doing their make up, changing clothes and gabbing to each other. The conversation was mostly about who had the freakiest customer today.
One Honey Bee was looking at herself in the mirror very carefully, "Hmm... I just can't seem to lose any weight."
The Honey Bee saw Cloud's reflection in the mirror and jumped, "Sir! You can't come in here!"
"Yuck, a pervert," The Honey Bee muttered.
Cloud noticed a Honey Bee a few seats down looking at him and trying not to look at him while she did her make-up. She seemed to be talking to the girl next to her, but Cloud couldn't make out what she was saying.
"Oh God," The Honey Bee muttered. "Here's another one of those guys. You know, the delicate type. Just ignore him..."
The other girl glanced at Cloud and nodded.
"Hmm..." The first girl said. "I guess he doesn't realize his position. I feel sorry for him... Just ignore him. Ugh, he's still here. God, what a pest. I wish he would leave. What a dog."
The girl smiled a bit.
"That's it, I'll name him Pooch. He's still there, is he following me? What if he follows me home? Yep, just like a dog. Poochy will do it, I'm sure. Ugh, this guy makes me sick... and his eyes are weird too."
"He's a paying customer," The second girl said. "Let's at least say 'hi' to him."
The first girl looked at Cloud in disgust, "Uh... Hel... Hello."
Cloud just shook his head, turned around, and closed the door behind him. The Honey Bee who had greeted him had disappeared and Cloud was on his own to find any info on Tifa. He went to the first door and the sign on the door read, "The Lover's Room."
He tried the doorknob, but it wouldn't turn. Cloud kneeled and looked through the keyhole. He saw an elderly couple relaxing in a large suite. He could hear the muffled sound of them speaking though the door and listened carefully.
The woman looked at the man, "What's wrong, Grandpa? You keep sighing."
"You know..." The man looked around.
Grandma followed his eyes, "You talking about this room?"
Grandpa nodded, "I know our son rented this for us and all, but it's too nice for us. Big round bed, gorgeous tub... I just can't get comfortable."
Grandma laughed, "Don't worry about it. You keep complainin' and we'll get thrown out."
Cloud stood and walked over to the second door on the right and read the sign, "The Queen's Room." Cloud tried the doorknob and like the other one, it wouldn't budge. He kneeled and looked through the keyhole, "What the...?"
Inside were a few men in business suits operating several pieces of equipment making wind noises, lightning flashes, and thunder sounds. There was a man in the center on a pedestal dressed in a king's robe with a business suit on underneath.
The King held out his arms as though he was making a speech, "The wind's calm now... It's the curse of the resurrected Satan. Our beloved Queen does not awaken... The time is ripe. A legend has been passed on through generations."
One man working the wind sounds whispered to the man next to him working the lightning, "Psst! Hey, should we stop him soon? We have a luncheon with President Shinra..."
The second man nodded and whispered back, "You tell him."
The first man shook his head, "I can't tell him."
The second man whispered louder, "Come on!... Oh well. Hopefully this will be over soon."
The King spoke again, "A legend has been passed on through generations... The sought after Promised Land... The One with Teal Eyes and a Great White Sword on his back will not lead to the Promised Land."
The first man rubbed his eyes and whispered back to the second, "It's like this every time we have a business trip to Midgar... We come all the way just for this."
Cloud watched thoughtfully for a moment and stood up, "I'm wasting too much time."
He walked to the other side of the lobby and looked at the remaining two doors, "The Group Room" and "The Fucking Room." Both doors were unlocked.
Cloud went to the latter and beckoned a Honey Bee from across the lobby, "I'll take this room."
The Honey Bee rolled her eyes, "You're not going to have a change of heart, are you?"
Cloud was getting irritated with her attitude, "Don't make me repeat myself."
The Honey Bee scoffed and opened the door, "Oh, don't be angry with me. All right, please go in."
Cloud entered the room and as soon as the Honey Bee shut the door behind him, a white light flashed in his mind and he fell to the floor. He got to his elbows and looked at the washtub on the other side of the room. His vision was dark and blurred. What he saw by the tub was a faint image of... himself. His image was polishing his sword and stopped to look at Cloud.
"Hmm...? You...?" His image asked using Cloud's voice. "What are you doing in a place like this?"
Cloud grabbed his head as a sharp pain tore through his mind and fell to the floor again.
His image stood still, "That's what I want to ask you. Should you be foolin' around here? You know she's not here... You think problems will go away just thinkin' about them?"
Cloud's image held his sword above his head and began to rise off the ground. It floated soundlessly towards Cloud and then sank until Cloud and his image became one... And all Cloud saw was black.
Shortly after Cloud's "own" Honey Bee entered the room and tripped over him lying down by the door.
The girl called out the door, "Help! Someone...! Hurry!"
"You can't change anything just by sitting back and looking at it," Cloud's voice told him.
"What are you saying?" Cloud asked back.
"It's started moving..." Cloud's voice replied.
Cloud didn't understand, "What has?"
Cloud's voice came back, but a thousand miles away, "Wake up..."
A loud deep voice called, "Wake up!"
Right after Cloud heard the voice that wasn't his, he felt a flat pain on the side of his face. He opened his eyes and a large, well-built man wearing nothing but spandex underpants was hovering over Cloud and was preparing to slap him again. The man stopped when he saw Cloud's eyes open.
"Phew! I'm so relieved," The man said sitting next to Cloud on the bed. "Bubby! I heard you collapsed."
Cloud sat up, "Ugh?"
"I'm Mukki," The man introduced, "and your time is up here. Bye, buddy. Don't get depressed over a thing like this... Believe it or not, it happens all the time."
Cloud looked at "his" Honey Bee and she spoke, "I'm so sorry... There are a lot of adult things going on. For your inconvenience, please take this, okay?"
The girl handed Cloud a slinky piece of black lingerie and Cloud held it in confusion, "For me? I don't get it."
Both Mukki and the Honey Bee motioned to the door and Cloud left still carrying his new piece of lingerie. He turned to the exit and stopped dead and smirked to himself. Cloud turned around heading back towards the Honey Bee dressing room and went in with the smirk still on his face.
Cloud opened the door and scanned the dressing room until he saw what he wanted. He walked pass a few half-dressed Honey Bees and sat next to one doing her make up.
"Hey there," Cloud said trying not to sound like a creep. "Could you do me a favor?"
"Uh?" The Honey Bee looked at him wide-eyed.
"Could you put some make up on me, too?" Cloud asked giving his best innocent look.
The Honey Bee looked at him, looked around at the other Honey Bees who didn't seem to be paying any attention, and then looked at Cloud again. She blinked a few times and then dabbed in her powder and started to apply it to Cloud's face.
"No, no," The Honey Bee frowned. "This isn't your shade at all..."
The girl picked a new powder and pasted Cloud's face in a tasteful manner. She did the same with blush, eye shadow, and mascara, carefully choosing the right shades and colors for Cloud's complexion.
After finishing she pointed to the mirror and snickered as Cloud gawked at himself.
Cloud stood up now feeling like a complete idiot, "Uh... Thanks."
The Honey Bee just eyed him curiously as he left, "Oh... my..."
As soon as Cloud stepped out of the dressing room, a Honey Bee grabbed his arm and ushered him towards the door.
"Sir," She said impatiently. "It's almost closing time... Please remember any personal belongings."
She nudged him out of the main entrance then closed and locked the door behind him. Cloud was now standing outside around a crowd men surrounding one woman. They all looked a shade of pink as the fluorescent Honey Bee Inn sign buzzed loudly. The men were all pushing and shoving to bet he next to talk to the woman in the middle. One man got pushed back and stumbled beside Cloud.
The man looked at Cloud and pouted, "Awww! I want flowers, too! But, I get so nervous in front of cute girls...It just seems more natural to get cautious."
The man looked at Cloud's face and gave him a weird look. Cloud quickly turned his head away and pushed through the crowd of guys. Aeris seemed to be making a nice Gil selling the few flowers she still had on her to the men who wanted a bit more from here then just flowers...
Aeris looked up after completing a sale and smiled at Cloud, "Hey! You're back. Oh... And look at your face! You're so... pretty! We should have no problem getting into the mansion now!"
Cloud grumbled and handed Aeris the lingerie.
"Ohh, soft," Aeris giggled and put it in her pocket. "Maybe I can try this..."
"What?" Cloud said rubbing his face.
"Oh! Nothing..." Aeris blushed and grabbed Cloud's wrist. "Don't touch your face! You're going to smear it and then you're just going to look cheap."
"Har har," Cloud said as they walked though Wall Market. "I just wanna get this over with."
As Aeris and Cloud walked in the clothing store, the bell chimed above the door.
"Are you going to change?" Aeris said pointing to the dressing room.
"Yeah..." Cloud hastily grabbed the dress, stepped in the dressing room, and closed the curtain behind him.
Cloud spent almost a good ten minutes in the room trying the dress on, adjusting, itching and scratching. Aeris was looking through the store for something for herself and turned abruptly when she heard the curtain open. She gawked not blinking and dropped the dress she was looking at.
"Oh... my..." Aeris giggled.
Cloud was dressed in the blue dress with broad lace trim and wore it quite well. His spiky hair looked a bit awkward shoved under the blonde wig with two braided pigtails and his eye shadow seemed to match his dress perfectly.
"Wow!" The store manager gawked.
The owner's daughter adjusted Cloud's collar, "Thanks for showing us something new. My father's got his motivation back now, so the dress is on the house."
"Yay," Cloud said with no emotion and walked over by Aeris.
Aeris shook her head, "Walk more nicely like this, Miss Cloud."
Aeris walked primly around the store with her head straight and arms swinging loosely at her side.
Cloud scratched his head, "What do you mean 'nicely?'"
He walked his manly SOLDIER walk and Aeris shook her head and showed her walk again. Cloud put his hands to his side and walks with his palms facing the floor and moved with a light step.
Aeris snickered, "Oh, you're so cute, Miss Cloud. I want a dress, too!" She looked at the owner's daughter. "Do you have one that'll look good on me?"
The daughter nodded and held up a green strapless dress, "How's this?"
The owner picked a yellow sundress and held it up as well, "How about this one?"
The daughter scoffed, "Father, what are you talking about? This one's much better."
"No, what are you saying?" The owner said shaking the yellow sundress. "This one."
Aeris walked by both the father and daughter and picked a red dress with thin straps, "I want THIS one."
The owner looked at his daughter and shrugged and then sighed. Aeris went into the dressing room and began to change.
"No peeking!" Aeris called from the dressing room and the owner winked at Cloud.
A few moments later, Aeris stepped out and Cloud's mouth went dry. The dress was a perfect fit and showed off her petite body very well. Her hair was still pulled back, but not in her twisted braid. Her thick brown hair flowed loosely down her back and never seemed to end.
"So?" Aeris asked turning around. "How do I look?"
Cloud couldn't manage to utter a word and could only shake his head.
"Oh, you're no fun!" Aeris laughed and began to pack their original clothes in clothing store bag. The two said their goodbyes to the owner and his daughter and left with Aeris carrying the bag of Clothes and Cloud carrying his sword.
They made their way to the Don's mansion again, but this time was much more difficult. Every other step, they were being hounded by guys on the street and all of them begging for their phone numbers. They politely shooed the guys away and Aeris almost fell on the ground when a man commented on how nice and firm Cloud was.
As they reached the entrance to the mansion, the bouncer again hung up his PHS and inspected the girls, "Damn! You were right! Your friend's hot, too! Come in, come in!"
The bouncer opened the door and called in, "Two ladies coming through!"
Aeris and Cloud stepped by the bouncer who seemed to be inspecting Cloud's behind as he walked. Aeris had to bite her tongue from rolling into a fit of laughter. The door closed loudly behind them and the loud sound of the lock clicking echoed through the foyer.
A male in an expensive suit approached the two looking excited, "Hey ladies! I'll go and let the Don know you're here. Just wait there. Don't go wandering around."
Aeris watched as the man went up the large rounded marble staircase. As soon as he was out of sight, she looked at Cloud, "Now's our chance! Let's find Tifa!"