Chapter 10

Fagtron comes out with bongo drums and Sorceress Myst comes out holding a card, looking extremely irritated.

Fagtron: (Playing bongo) Say it, black mage woman.

Sorceress Myst: Why did I lose the bet? …(Ahem) Roses are red, Violets are blue, I do not own Final Fantasy VII, So please don't sue. (Fagtron snaps her fingers) …Uh, …thanks.

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"Radiance!" a large metal door glowed and fell to the ground from one kick. A young woman with shoulder length brown hair and emerald eyes dusted off her blue business suit and walked on the door to get out. She was followed by a strawberry blonde man about her age. The wind blew wildly at his white coat as he made his way on the ship's deck; his bright blue eyes were seething with anger when soldiers and sailors gathered around them.

"What happened?" he asked the nearest soldier. The soldier gulped, walked to the president and saluted.

"I-it was S-S-Sephiroth. H-he k-killed some of our s-soldiers and left th-this monster. A-AVALANCHE musta killed it b-b-because someone saw a m-man with spiky blonde hair. He-he was gone before a-anyone c-could c-c-catch him." Suddenly Rufus's cold stare was on Tarae.

"You knew all along didn't you!?" He took two steps in her direction so they were only a few inches apart. Now that she was in high heels, he didn't tower over her anymore, but was at an even eye level with her.

"You knew Heidegger was going to mess up." His voice rose as he circled her, "You could have prevented this, Miss Destine, but instead you choose to insult him. Do you realize that this is your fault?!" He stops in front of her, fingering his gun in agitation. Everyone gasped as Tarae did something no one had the guts to do. Instead of apologizing and backing off like everyone else, she took one more step closer and stared straight into his eyes.

"MY fault? That's not fair! Is it my fault that Heidegger didn't do a background check on every single soldier on this ship? If he did then they would have been found a long time ago." Her anger matched his. It was so silent on the ship now, people sworn they could hear her voice echoing off the waves.

"Well, that is true. I'm sorry for accusing you Miss Destine, it really is Heidegger's fault to begin with." He said as he turned away from her. A collective sigh was heard when everyone released their breath as they have been holding it the whole time. Rufus faced all of them.

"Well? What are you all doing here!? GET BACK TO WORK!!!!" Soldiers and sailors scattered and ran for their lives to the lower portion of the deck or down stairs. He kicked nearby boxes in blind rage and cursed under his breath. Tarae hadn't budged an inch, but her eyes followed him everywhere until he stopped and leaned against the railing. She approached him and placed her hand on his shoulder, causing him to jump.

"Don't worry. It's not the end of the world. I'm sure you can avenge your father's death by finding the Promised Land without the help of an Ancient." She said in a quiet voice, almost in a whisper.

"It's not about my father. He can rot in hell for all I care."

"What a horrible thing to say. At least you had a father. I had to raise myself for most of my life." She stood beside him staring out to sea now that she had his undivided attention, "I cry myself to sleep every night, knowing my parents will never see the special milestones in my life." She turned away so he wouldn't see the tears already forming in her eyes.

"I'm sorry. …There are a lot of things on my mind. Tell me the truth this time, why are you after Sephiroth?" he asked, completely forgetting his anger.

"He is special to me. …That's all." Her eyes widened for a moment as she remembered something then she frowned slightly.

"Dock workers –We will be docking in Costa del Sol in 5 minutes. Prepare for docking."

"Thank you for inviting me, Mr. Shinra. I must be going now… farewell."

"Are you mad at me? You tend to be formal when you're angry."

"I'm not mad at you. I just remembered something …well someone. …Was Hojo head of the Jenova Project?"

"Yeah, after Professor Gast disappeared. Why?"

"I gotta ask him something important. Bye Rufus." She descended the stairway to the lower deck only to hear Rufus faintly say, "I really envy you. Sometimes it's better not having a father, especially when they do unspeakable acts that you have to cover up."

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"Oh, too bad. I liked Barret's sailor suit. He looked so cute." Aeris said, smiling. They walked off the plank and gathered around on the dock. Barret hid the sailor suit behind his back.

"What'ya mean 'cute'?" he growled. Cloud looked absolutely horrified and repulsed at the thought of Barret and cute in the same sentence. Tifa and Aeris saw this and giggled uncontrollably.

"Right …well, uh. Barret, why don't you use that sailor suit for pajamas?" Tifa suggested while trying not to laugh again, "Right Cloud?"

"This isn't a vacation, we're here after Sephiroth. I'm going on ahead."

"I agree with Cloud, although he wasn't serious." Tarae had her arms crossed and was looking down so no one could see her eyes.

"What happened to you? You look absolutely… pissed." Tifa observed, Aeris suddenly had a knowing look on her face, "Did you have a fight with Rufus?"

"No …it's nothing. I'm better now." She flicked her hair, sending the beads of sweat that formed on her neck flying. Cloud had a mischievous grin on his face as he looked at Tifa and Aeris. They glanced back at him and soon got the same look.

"Oh really? When we were hiding, we heard from some soldiers that you and Rufus were stuck in the same room together and…" He couldn't finish the sentence as he, Tifa, and Aeris started laughing really hard.

"Huh?" She looked confused for a minute then it finally clicked, "HEY!!! I wouldn't try anything like that!"

"Don't worry 'bout them. Me an' Red know ya wouldn't do somethin' like that." Barret said while shaking a fist in their direction. Red XIII staggered up to her and covered his nose with his paw to protect it from the heat, "I'm sure they don't think you would do it either. They're probably just getting you back for all the times you said immature things about them."

"Well …can't argue with that logic." She crossed her arms as the laughter died down, "Wait a minute! I have blackmail on most of you."

"You don't have any on me." Aeris added with a bright smile. She backed away as Tarae shot an accusing finger at her, "Just you wait. Soon I'll have dirt on you too!"

"Would you kindly hurry? The heat here is drying up my nose." Red asked politely. Cloud glanced in his direction and said, "Okay, we're gonna find an inn and leave at dawn. How's that sound?"

"Great! Y'all be sure to mingle like regular folks 'round here." Barret declared before he started running to the entrance while still trying to hide the sailor suit from everyone's eyes.

"100 Gil says he'll lock himself in a bathroom to wear that thing." Tarae muttered dryly. Cloud stared after Barret, "200 Gil says that he'll be talking to the mirror when he does." Red limped away after saying something about finding a cool place to rest in and soon Tifa followed him. Aeris started to walk away, but stopped, "I think I'll head to the beach and get a healthy tan. What do you think Cloud?"

"I like fair complexions." He muttered while staring at Tifa. He walked off ignoring Aeris.

"Darn. There goes another plan to get Tifa and him together, I was thinking about taking Tifa with me. Thanks a lot Tarae, now I'm as obsessed as you are about getting them together. Actually …it's kinda fun." Tarae flicked her hair again before she trailed after Aeris. She stopped when she suddenly heard a clink. It sounded like a small chunk of metal hitting concrete. She shrugged it off and continued on her way.

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          Aeris closed her eyes against the gentle sea breeze as it blew the strands of light brown hair that escaped from her braid. Her hands were slightly squeezing the railing as she peered down at the beach below. The green-blue waves rolled in and out on the golden sand and seagulls were squawking nearby. She only saw a few people down there, but on the left side there was a group of women crowding around someone behind an umbrella.

"Hmm, probably some big shot muscle man." She uttered quietly while she turned away from the beach and sat on the railing. She scanned the town for her friends. Cloud was at the information booth staring at some travel guide, probably plotting on where to go to next. Aeris shook her head and watched her pink dress billow in the wind. Will Cloud ever learn to relax? He really needs a girlfriend, someone like Tifa.

"After all they're childhood friends, they look cute together, and not to mention they like each other." She dangled her feet before chuckling, those were the same reasons why Rufus and Tarae should go out. Suddenly, barking was heard across from her. Tarae came out of the inn, dressed in her normal attire, and accidentally stepped on Red XIII's tail as she was making her way to a bench so she could put on her boots. She watched Tarae apologize to Red until she spied Tifa talking to a man with spiky red hair. He was the same guy who bought a flower from her in Sector 6 near the Honey Bee Inn. What was his name? Johnny? At first Tifa was laughing with him, then she began to get a little annoyed when he kept trying to ask her out.

"Aeris to the rescue!" she quietly sang out as she quickly ran to the scene, grabbed her by the wrist, and shouted loud enough for Johnny to hear, "Come on Tifa! We have to talk."

"A-about what?" she asked, trying to catch up to Aeris's quick strides.

"Nothing. You just looked like you needed help."

"Oh. Thanks Aeris. Johnny's another childhood friend of mine. I thought he could tell me what happened to my other friends, but all he wanted was a date. Oof!" Aeris stopped abruptly causing her to almost crash into her. Because Red kept growling at her, Tarae had long since given up on apologizing and was tying her last boot.

"Hey Tifa. Let's go brighten Tarae's day." Aeris was already dragging her to the bench before she could answer.

          Tarae finished tying her boot and shook it around. Now that she has removed all the small items she stores in them, her boots felt huge. The wooden bench creaked, causing her to sit up once she realized two people were invading her personal space. On her right was Tifa, smiling like she always does, and on her left was Aeris with an evil looking grin plastered on her face.

"You know what Tarae? I've noticed you always hang around the guys so I think it's time we hung out and talk about girl things. Right Tifa?"

"…Uh, y-yeah." Stuttered Tifa, still unsure about what's going on. Tarae glances at Tifa, then back at Aeris, "Sounds like you're a step behind. You're supposed fill her in before you pull her into the mess." Aeris chose to ignore her.

"Now what should we talk about? How about …relationships?" Just as soon as Aeris said 'relationships', Tarae bolted up and was about to leave until Aeris also stood up and stopped her.

"Let's start with …Tifa." Tarae ceased with her struggling instantly. Tifa suddenly found the ground interesting. Seeing that no one was going to speak, Aeris decided to start the conversation, "Wouldn't you have an easier time telling Cloud if you already knew how he felt about you? Tarae, you're his friend, enlighten us." Tarae shook her head, "No way! That wouldn't be fair to Cloud. Just as it wouldn't be fair to Tifa if I told Cloud her feelings."

"That's it!" Aeris faced Tifa, "Tarae could tell Cloud and if he doesn't feel the same way, then you can just deny it!"

"Don't listen to this airhead!" Tarae slightly pushed Aeris aside, "That won't even work! All you can do is wait for the right moment and then seize the day. I know it will be hard, but close your eyes, take a deep breath, and let it out. Plus, even if I did tell, he wouldn't believe me." Tifa smiled, "Thanks Tarae, I sure your advice will work." Aeris stared at the ground with her arms crossed and still had that grin on her face, "Too bad she can't take her own advice and tell Rufus how she feels."

"YOU SHOULD TALK LIL' MISS I'M-IN-LOVE-WITH---" she sees Cloud walking towards them, "Hi Cloud! Now that there's a man in the group, we can stop this stupid 'girl talk'."

"Okay, we can do that." Aeris responded calmly. Cloud sat down next to Tifa, after remembering what they were talking about, turned away so he wouldn't see her blushing.

"So what were you talking about that got Tarae so pissed?" he asked.

"Nothing." Aeris and Tifa said quickly, but Tarae shouted, "Stupid girl stuff!"

"I …see." He looked at Tifa, then at Tarae, then back at Tifa, "Hey Tifa …umm."

"Yes?" she faced him. Tarae instantly knew that Cloud wanted to be alone with her.

"Aeris, you're going to the beach right? Let's go find a spot to catch some rays!" She grabbed Aeris's hand and they quickly ran towards the beach.

"They left in a hurry…" she commented while brushing a strand of chocolate colored hair behind her ear. She noticed him staring at her and found she couldn't turn away from his azure eyes.

"Yeah…" he whispered quietly. Tarae and Aeris were hiding at the entrance, listening in on them.

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"He's gonna ask her out!" Tarae whispered excitedly.

"Really?!?!" Aeris squealed.

"SHHH! They'll hear us!"

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"…Tonight there's gonna be a full moon and I was wondering if you'd like to take a walk with me on the beach." He held his breath as he waited for her answer.

"I'd love to."  Tifa couldn't help but smile. She was happy, excited, and nervous at the same time.

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"Go Cloud!" Aeris cheered before Tarae nudged her in the ribs to keep quiet.

"Okay buddy, you're doin' great so far. Don't mess up. Don't mess up." she crossed her fingers.

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"J-just the two of us?" she couldn't tell if this was a date or just a chance to hang out. Cloud wasn't expecting that question.

"Do you want to bring someone with us?"

"No!" Tifa answered, but then lost her courage, "…Well maybe we can ask Barret and the others if they want to come."

"NNOOOOOOO!!!!!" They both looked at the entrance with shocked faces.

"Was that Tarae?" Cloud asked as he stood up.

"I think so. We should go see what's wrong." Tifa blushed when Cloud helped her up. She hid her face as they walked to the beach.

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"Oh crap! They're heading this way! …Aeris?" Tarae looked back to find Aeris staring at someone on the beach, "AERIS!"

"Hm?" she sighed in agitation after discovering her friend was not even paying attention.

"Look, Cloud and Tifa are going to ask if we want to come with them tonight. Say 'no'."

"What were you screaming about Tarae?" Cloud inquired the moment he saw her. Tarae got an annoyed look on her face and placed her hands on her hips, "According to you, aren't I always screaming about something?"

"Hey guys, look over there." They looked to where Aeris was pointing. Gorgeous women in bikinis were surrounding a man in a white lab coat. It was kind of an unnatural sight seeing a man with thinning black hair and thick round glasses that magnified his green eyes sitting among beautiful women. Of course it could be possible if the women were paid to do this. Tifa squinted her eyes to make sure that was what she was actually seeing, "If that is who I think it is, then no wonder why Tarae was screaming."

Tarae suddenly looked disgusted, "Ewwwww…" Cloud smirked at her, "Who? Hojo or the girl in the bikini?"

"The fact that Hojo is surrounded by girls in bikinis." She answered. Aeris crossed her arms again, "You know, brain child has a good point."

"Listen you! I had it up to here with-" Tarae was cut off as Cloud lightly hit her on the shoulder, "Come on Tifa. Let's go ask him some questions."

"Coming!" she chimed.

"I'm coming too!" announced Aeris. Tarae took a deep breath to get rid of some of her anger before muttering, "Wait for me."

          Cloud looked at Tifa and Aeris, unsure about what to do. Finally he tapped a girl's shoulder to get her attention. She let out a disgusted sigh, "What do you want?"

"Is that man Hojo?" she rolled her eyes in response. It took a while, but they finally got his attention. Tarae stayed away from his sight, but it seems like Hojo knew she was there as he threw a quick peek at her. Cloud was the first to talk, "What are you doing here?" Hojo smirked, "Isn't it obvious? I'm getting a tan."

"Heh, heh …good one professor." Tarae remarked sarcastically. Cloud only got angrier, "Answer me!"

"I believe we are all after the same goal."

"Do you mean Sephiroth?"

"Did you see him?" Hojo looked concerned for a moment, then started snickering again, "I …see." He got up and looked around. Cloud also looked around, a bit confused from the mad scientist.

"What is it?" he asked while he calmed down a little. Hojo faced him, "I just remembered a certain hypothesis. …Have you ever had the feeling that someone is calling you? Or that you have been somewhere before?"

Tarae's eyes widen as she realized what Hojo is asking. He doesn't really remember Cloud. She made a 'Don't answer that!' signal to Cloud, but he didn't see her.

"I'll go anywhere Sephiroth's is at! To beat him and put an end to all this!" She groaned.

"I see. ...This could be interesting. Were you in SOLDIER? ...heh heh heh! Would you like to be my guinea pig?" Now he struck a nerve because Cloud immediately drew his sword. Hojo rolled his eyes, "Oh, now what? Are you going to draw your sword?"

"Stop Cloud!" Tifa placed her hand on his and whispered in his ear, "I know how you feel, but you mustn't." He took a quick look at her, then reluctantly sheathed his sword. Hojo laughed loudly.

"I never realized what an aggravating bastard he is. And all this time I thought Scarlet was my bad influence." Tarae thought as Hojo walked up to Aeris.

"Say aren't you the Ancient?" She slightly scowled at him, "I'm Aeris. The least you can do is remember my name. I want you to tell me something, Professor... I know I'm an Ancient. My mother told me."

"Your mother? Oh, you mean Ifalna. How is she?" Aeris glanced at Tarae with a confused look and found her returning the same look.

"You didn't know? She died." Hojo turned away, looking regretful, "...I see."

"I thought everyone knew. And since when did he ever remember the names of his test subjects? Why do I get the feeling that this isn't Hojo? Ah, it's probably the relaxation gone to his head. That's how everyone acts during their vacation."

"Professor Hojo …Is Jenova an Ancient? Do we have the same blood?" Aeris asked with pleading eyes. Hojo only sat back down and mumbled. Aeris frowned, "He's mumbling slowly. …That must mean he's hiding something!"

"It's no use. Let's go." Cloud sighed. They began to leave until Tarae spoke, "Head west, pass the mountains. He's telling you where to go."

"Why would he?" Tifa asked.

"I dunno. Although it's not like we have a much of a choice."

"I guess you're right." Cloud agreed. Everyone but Tarae started walking away. Aeris stopped to wait for her, but she signaled for her to go.

"Hojo, I know you can't tell me anything about the Jenova project, but could you at least tell me my parent's names?" Hojo faced her. He was acting like he usually does now, "I don't remember the names of my test subjects Miss Destine."

"Figures…" She stared at her feet.

"Ha ha ha! You really want to know, do you?" her head shot up.

"Yes! Please tell me what you can remember." He shook his head, "I'll try, but you may not like it."

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Sorceress Myst: Whew! Finally finished it! Hey Fagtron! Get in here!

Fagtron: Who is Aeris in love with? Who are Tarae's parents? Did Hojo pay those women to crowd around him? And how will that date go? Find out in the next-

Sorceress Myst: Later.

Fagtron: Huh?

Sorceress Myst: Find out in the later chapters. All those questions in the other chapters are never answered in the next chapter. Don't you know that?!

Fagtron: Okay, find out in later chapters. BYE!!!!