Back on the road on the ground again, Cloud and Aeris had both escaped trouble from Shinra for the moment, it seemed, as Aeris breathed a sigh that held a mixture of relief and exhaustion.
"Whew, we finally made it off the rooftops safely...am I ever glad. So I suppose you're wondering 'now what', right Cloud? Well, my house is just nearby here, further down the path of this road, so it's not too far now. Although I doubt it will happen, we'd better hurry just in case that Turk comes back to try and get us," said Aeris.
Cloud nodded in agreement, and they both walked quickly along the path, until they had arrived at the Sector 5 Slums. The Slums of Sector 5 were bigger than the Slums of Sector 7, but they were nonetheless just as dirty. All sorts of trash and pools of scum-coated water lay strewn around the streets of the Slums, and several homeless people, crouched down on the road, pawed at Cloud for loose Gil.
When some tried more aggressive tactics to get what they wanted, Cloud quickly lost all temper and patience as he punched one of them hard in the face without holding back any of his strength, making the punch hard enough to knock the bum's remaining teeth loose and spray the guy's blood all over his face, and the rest of them quickly left the two alone, cowering away from them in fear.
The small town that constituted most of the shopping area in the Slums of Sector 5 was a bit cleaner than it was outside it, seeing as how people actually had to live here, but it still didn't do too much good to the atmosphere, which was still polluted and dark like the rest of the Slums of Midgar.
The Slums of Sector 5 were also supposed to be full of loonies, like the guy in the sewer pipe, who did nothing but groan mindlessly all day long. A large number '2' had been tattooed onto the side his arm long ago, but from where it had came from, no one knew.
Most of the people just ignored him as if he didn't exist, believing him to be just some guy gone insane and brain dead during the war between Shinra and Wutai years ago. But that was what life was like in the Slums of Midgar; step on your face and spit at ya.
Meanwhile, on the Plate of Midgar itself, in the centre of the upper cities, at the massive Shinra Headquarters, President Shinra sat calmly in the large spacious meeting room on the 66th floor of the large tower, a shrewd business-like manner about him as usual.
A woman was there with him in the meeting room on the same floor, having requested a meeting with him. This woman wore a saucy dark red dress that noticeably revealed her curvy bare legs, and she had blond hair and blue eyes that seemed cold and icy, other than the mischievous malice that they also showed. This woman's name was Scarlet.
Scarlet was the head of Shinra's Weapon Development Department, because no one else on the Planet could match her knowledge of weaponry, although Scarlet was frustrated that Heidegger (the head of Public Safety Maintenance) took control of the Turks for himself.
But Scarlet did take control of part of SOLDIER and the Shinra soldiers, (but didn't have main control of them and was not in charge of them as Heidegger was, and this also frustrated her to no end).
Scarlet was undoubtedly well known as a top executive of Shinra Incorporated, which effectively made her one of the top seven people in the huge conglomerate that ruled the world with an iron fist.
But with two of her own department's creations, (Guard Scorpion and Airbuster) failing to dispose of AVALANCHE, she knew that if this kept up, her position would be under threat, so she had to find a way to dispose of the rebels at once, and she had an idea of how to do it, as she spoke up to the Shinra President.
"Sir, I have requested your humble presence here for a specific reason that I'm sure you've already guessed. So I'll just get straight to the point. Me and my weapons department have been researching for a way to crush these terrorists, and I'm pleased to report we have found an answer. I know how we can get rid of AVALANCHE once and for all," said Scarlet, beginning the meeting, a triumphant smirk across her face. President Shinra raised an eyebrow and just scoffed in scorn, looking rather sceptical.
"And just what is this plan exactly? What's the bright idea this time, is it one that actually succeeds for once, just as you had claimed would happen with the other failures? Is this merely another one just waiting to happen, or can I expect to see some proper results this time?" asked President Shinra, rather coldly. Scarlet ignored the doubt behind his words, and continued explaining, looking all too confident.
"My department's sources, highly efficient and reliable, tell me that AVALANCHE is still hiding out somewhere in the Sector 7 Slums, but we still don't know exactly where they are based, in the area. The 7th Heaven bar is still empty and boarded up, as it has been since this morning. I sent people into Sector 7 to look for clues around the bar and other nearby establishments. They didn't find anything there that might have seemed out of the ordinary, so we are still in the dark as to what their exact location may be in the Slums of Sector 7," said Scarlet.
"Well, if you don't even know where AVALANCHE is hiding, then what good is that information to us? The simple answer is that such a report is of no use to me whatsoever. I had assumed you might have found something useful to tell me about, but you haven't, have you? I shall be highly disappointed indeed if you have requested me here only to waste my time with facts that you have found no important use for," said President Shinra, sharply.
"Oh, but I have discovered some great importance behind these facts, sir. As we all know, the AVALANCHE rebel group is certainly operating somewhere in the Slums of Sector 7, because Tifa Lockhart, Barret Wallace and Cloud Strife have each been spotted there from time to time in the area, along with three other suspicious looking members. So because they are in the Sector 7 Slums, we know exactly where to strike," said Scarlet.
"But you still don't know exactly where they are hiding in the area, which gives them the advantage to escape without notice if we ever order an attack on the sector, and we shall be no closer to getting rid of them than before! Now get out of here and back to work at once, and stop disturbing my time with all these meaningless reports!" snarled President Shinra, sharply, slamming his fist on the table. Scarlet looked slightly nervous now, and quickly spoke back up before the President could lose his temper.
"Wait a minute, I haven't finished my point yet! Sir, the concept is simple, we can just get rid of the whole group at once, no matter whereabouts they are in the Slums of Sector 7!" protested Scarlet. President Shinra snorted, looking rather sceptical.
"Just how then do you purpose we do that? How do you intend to do destroy AVALANCHE, if their exact location in the sector is unknown?" asked President Shinra, both sharply and curiously now.
"By destroying the ENTIRE sector itself, of course. And that's where my idea comes in, sir. If we simply just blow up the great pillar that supports and holds up the section of the Plate above the Sector 7 Slums, the huge section of the Plate above it will come crashing down upon them, with the whole weight of the Sector 7 upper city upon it too, destroying both cities and the entire area of Sector 7. Using this plan, we can crush AVALANCHE, literally, once and for all, crush their bodies to bits in an instant, along with the whole sector itself, giving them no chance to escape. Unless, of course, you feel that is too extreme a measure. After all, such an act would completely wipe out both the upper and lower cities, and kill at least sixty thousand citizens in the process," said Scarlet, with an evil smirk, looking rather cold and indifferent towards the fate of the citizens, and was simply awaiting the President's answer, on what his final decision would be on the subject.
There was a long pause of silence, as President Shinra stared thoughtfully for a moment, thinking heavily to himself, his doubt and scorn now completely gone away, as he seriously considered the idea of what Scarlet had just explained to him. It was definitely a most interesting prospect, and he could think of no better way to dispose of the rebels that had dared to stand against him.
"(Bring down the Sector 7 Pillar to send the section of the Plate down to crush the whole Sector 7 Slums? Yes...that is a most excellent idea indeed, I should have considered this long before. With the rebels based in the area, there is no way that AVALANCHE can survive as long as we make sure they are in the area at the time to act. And we can just pin the blame for the destruction and causalities caused on THEM, so the people will trust Shinra Incorporated even more, and fully despise AVALANCHE too. Yes...perfect,)" thought President Shinra, very smug as he came to a firm decision. Scarlet listened intently, as President Shinra finally gave his verdict.
"Great work, Scarlet, I believe that a promotion and a pay rise is in immediate order. I love the idea, it shall be under way at once, under very severe secrecy, so we must focus on it intently. Find Heidegger, and tell him I have sent orders for him to track down the leader of AVALANCHE, the big black man with the gun-arm. Wherever he is, the rest of those scumbags are sure to be with him. The Don of the Slums should have the resources to help track him, to confirm they are in the area when we strike, so tell Heidegger to get the Don on this job at once. After that, go and get all the Turks in here as soon as possible, even the new recruit. I've got a certain new job for them all, for if anyone can bring down the Pillar, it shall be them," explained President Shinra.
Scarlet nodded and saluted, and a nasty grin appeared on her face as she left the meeting room to find the Turks. Her idea had been immediately been carried out as she had hoped and expected.
"(Ha, those terrorist scumbags are going to be wiped out once and for all, that'll teach them right. They'll pay for destroying my precious robot creations and some of my guard platoons. They're not getting the better of me any longer, and I'm getting even richer as a result of their deaths,)" thought Scarlet, smugly, a wicked smirk playing about the corner of her lips, as she laughed cruelly to herself.
Meanwhile, Aeris and Cloud both still walked along the Slums of Sector 5, getting ever closer to their destination now, until they soon arrived just outside Aeris's house at the other end of the Sector 5 Slums, at the far end of the path.
"(The whole Slums of Midgar have always been a dump ever since the Plate was built above them. I wonder what sort of place Aeris has to live in then,)" thought Cloud, curiously.
But when they had got there, Cloud's glowing blue Mako eyes immediately widened in surprise and disbelief, as he abruptly stopped in his tracks, and stared around at Aeris's house and garden in dumbfounded amazement.
Just beyond all the trash and scum of pollution in the Slums of Sector 5 was a lush green paradise of various plants and flowers, complete with a streaming waterfall that roared behind a tall, clean, well built brick-red house with fresh flowers on each and every window sill.
There was a rich garden path and trees that sprung out of the ground and reached for the sky above, and a strange light seemed to shine down upon the whole garden. How all these plants managed to grow here with no proper sunlight or rain at all, in a polluted atmosphere as the view of the sky was blocked out by the Plate, was just truly far beyond Cloud's reasoning or understanding.
"This is...your house...?" gasped Cloud, speechless, not believing what he was seeing, staring around at Aeris's house and garden in sheer wonder and disbelief, finding himself simply awestruck at the very sight of it all.
Cloud had never seen or even imagined a place so beautiful as this, and he especially wouldn't have expected to see it in the lower cities (the Slums) of Midgar, the place that the sun had never shone down upon, below the Plate. Aeris giggled in clear amusement, seeing the stunned expression on Cloud's face.
"You really weren't expecting this at all, were you? Ha, I guess earlier I should've told you more about where I live. Yes Cloud, all of this is my home, where I've lived ever since I was seven, fifteen years ago. I planted the garden myself, with some good help from mother nature, of course. Come on Cloud, come on inside the house, and meet my mom. Oh, and do you like my house and my garden?" asked Aeris, cheerfully, grinning and chuckling at Cloud's surprised and astonished look.
"It's...beautiful. I just can't believe it…how can such plants and flowers grow so well and vastly within such a desolate hell hole like the Slums of Midgar?" asked Cloud, still stunned and speechless.
How could Aeris possibly have made and planted such a wonderful place in the Slums of Midgar? It made no sense at all, no sense whatsoever, and it was yet another very odd thing about her, one of her unique talents, it seemed.
This girl seemed more and more mysterious to Cloud the more he knew her, and he found himself constantly wondering how on earth she processed these unique abilities. Aeris' smile grew wider on her flawless face.
"I know that many people in the Slums still refuse to believe that it's here as they pass. Anyway, I had best go inside now, so come on in with me. I think you should be introduced to my mom. Come on, let's go in," said Aeris.
"You want me to come inside too?" asked Cloud, surprised, as he snapped out of his previous train of thought. Aeris sighed in exasperation.
"Well, you've got to at least allow me to let you have something to eat or some rest for what you did back there. I've never known anyone to stand up to the Turks like that before," said Aeris, gazing at Cloud in clear admiration. Cloud swallowed hard in his throat at her gaze, and angrily kept himself from blushing, though he looked embarrassed.
"Well, no one's had quite the same history as I've had," said Cloud, awkwardly, as Aeris still gazed unwaveringly at him, looking intrigued.
"Really, how come? Because you used to be in SOLDIER?" asked Aeris, eagerly, clearly curious about the subject.
"It's a long story, and I haven't got the time for it," replied Cloud, quickly.
"Well, maybe one day in the not too distant future, you'll have the time to tell me all about it," said Aeris, grinning, her beautiful emerald green eyes sparkling.
"Just what the heck do you mean by that?" asked Cloud, surprised by the odd statement. Aeris grinned knowingly.
"Oh, you'll see. Besides, I still owe you a date for your reliable services as my bodyguard earlier," said Aeris, smiling, while Cloud stared back at her in surprise, trying to steady a constant beating that had just erupted inside his chest, but he did not succeeding, much to his irritation.
Aeris and Cloud both then walked through the front door and into Aeris' house, and into the fairly big living room that occupied the whole downstairs floor. Aeris' house was neat and tidy, and not one bit out of place, every part of it being well ordered and polished.
The whole place seemed so neat and clean that it was almost shining. Having heard the tapping sound of footsteps enter through the front door, a middle-aged woman, looking neither young nor old, walked up to them, and smiled warmly when she saw Aeris.
"I'm home, mom," said Aeris, with a cheerful grin.
Aeris' mother had an identical brown hair colour to Aeris, and she wore a white apron over a green dress. Her name was Elmyra Gainsborough. Elmyra rushed over to Aeris at once, and hugged her tightly when Aeris came in, and Aeris returned the embrace with equal affection.
Elmyra then looked behind Aeris' shoulder and noticed Cloud standing there, so she let go of Aeris and smiled, though she looked a little puzzled and suspicious towards Cloud, but spoke to him politely.
"Oh, forgive me, sir. I'm just glad to see that my little girl is home safe and sound in these dark times. Please come in," said Elmyra, bowing politely. Cloud just shrugged in response, and he walked over to Aeris and Elmyra, as Aeris eagerly introduced him at once.
"(Mom's not going to believe what I have to tell her this time. Telling her about yesterday was interesting enough for her, but even more things happened today,)" thought Aeris.
"Mom, this is Cloud Strife, he's my bodyguard for today only. He protected me in the church and on the way home from the Turks of Shinra. He's also the same guy who saved me on the train last night from Vulcue and his men, like I'd told you when I got back," said Aeris. Elmyra's eyes widened at once, in alarm and anxiety.
"A bodyguard, whatever for!? You mean you were followed and attacked yet again by Shinra!? Are you alright, dear!? You're not hurt, are you!?" asked Elmyra, frantic with worry and concern. Aeris smiled back at her in reassurance.
"I'm alright, mom. I had Cloud with me at the time, and he protected me from them when they showed up inside the church," replied Aeris. Elmyra sighed in clear relief, and glanced over at Cloud.
"Thank you so much, Mr Strife. My daughter's life is so precious to me, and I cannot thank you enough. Oh, and my name is Elmyra, by the way. Please excuse me for a moment; I have some laundry to sort out upstairs. Please make yourself comfortable," said Elmyra, gratefully, bowing politely. Elmyra then walked away, but paused and glanced back at Aeris, looking stern now.
"I'm going upstairs to get ready for bed, it's getting quite late now. Aeris, you should be doing the same soon. It sounds you've had quite a day, after all," said Elmyra. Aeris nodded in agreement, and her mother then walked upstairs. Aeris turned to face Cloud and spoke to him the moment her mother was out of earshot.
"So then, what are you going to do tomorrow, Cloud? Got anything planned out at all? Like trying to find your way back to AVALANCHE?" asked Aeris, clearly very curious to know the answer. Cloud gaped at her in shock, quite taken aback.
"How...how the hell did you know I was...was working for AVALANCHE? I never even said anything about it," said Cloud, numbly, though he then realized that the President, having seen him, must have exposed him to the public.
"I had already figured that out on the train the other night, don't you remember? And there's been news reports about yet another bombing, but thankfully without severe causalities, and full descriptions of the ones responsible were announced. And earlier on, you told me that you'd fallen from a Reactor bridge, right?" questioned Aeris, knowingly. Cloud knew there was no point denying it now.
"Yeah, I do work for AVALANCHE, at least for now, and now that I'm being hunted down by Shinra, I may as well go back to them, even though they might think I'm dead. So then, are the Sector 7 Slums far from here by foot? I want to go to Tifa's Seventh Heaven bar. That's where they're based at," explained Cloud. Aeris suddenly had a big, wide grin on her face, as if an amusing thought had occurred to her.
"Tifa's bar, huh? Sounds like the name of a person. So is Tifa...a girl, by any chance?" asked Aeris, teasingly, with another knowing smirk.
"Yeah…" replied Cloud, bewildered, completely obvious as to what this had to do with anything. Aeris' grin grew wider, and she sniggered slightly.
"So if you know her well, and if she's a girl...does that mean she's a girlfriend of yours?" asked Aeris, with a great deal of curiosity and interest, grinning broadly in amusement. Cloud jumped in surprise and tension at her words, taken aback by the sudden mention of it.
"A g-girlfriend…? Uh…well, um…no way!" stuttered Cloud, embarrassed, and avoiding her gaze at once. Aeris giggled and laughed at his reaction.
"Hey relax, you don't have to get that awkward about it, you know. Well anyway, that's nice to know. Now let's see, you want to get to the Sector 7 Slums…? It's not all that far from here, if we travel across Sector 6. I'll just show you the way there," said Aeris. Cloud shook his head firmly, not wanting her to come at all, in case she might get seriously involved.
"You've got to be kidding me, you're not going along, it's gonna be too dangerous for you. Okay, I agree that you've got some good skill with your staff even if you haven't got all that much brute strength, and you certainly have a lot of potential with Materia, but why would you want to put yourself in danger, again, so soon after escaping the Turks?" asked Cloud, raising an eyebrow.
"Hey, I'm just far too used to being in trouble by now to get worried all that much about it, I guess," replied Aeris, casually, shrugging. Cloud's eyes widened in shock, incredulous at the very thought of it.
"U-Used to being in trouble!? Just how the heck do you get by in Midgar, with that sort of life? But uh, well…I really don't know…about getting help like this from a girl and everything…" said Cloud, uneasily.
Aeris suddenly became annoyed, as she frowned and (in her case) showed a rare state of indignant anger, as she shouted out at him, startling Cloud slightly.
"Getting help from a girl!? And just what do you mean by that, huh!? You'd refuse my help just because I'm a girl, and you think I'd be helpless because of it!? Well, do you honestly expect me to just stand by and listen after I hear you say something like that!? HA! Yeah, right! Mom, I'm taking Cloud over to the Sector 7 Slums for a while! I'll be back home soon!" shouted Aeris, firmly. At once, Elmyra rushed back down the stairs and walked towards them, clearly disappointed to hear Aeris' decision.
"But dear…oh never mind, I may as well just give up. You never listen to anyone once you've made up your mind about something, there's just no changing it. You're just far too stubborn sometimes. There's no point in talking you out of anything, now is there? But if you must go to Sector 7, then why don't you go tomorrow? It's getting quite late now as it is," said Elmyra.
"Yeah, you're right, mom. I'll get going with Cloud tomorrow," replied Aeris, nodding in agreement, as she yawned slightly. Cloud wasn't sure if he wanted to wait until tomorrow to get back, but decided not to make an issue of it, and to wait for another day.
"Aeris, please go and sort out your bed, and the spare bed for Cloud," said Elmyra. Aeris nodded in response, and she walked off upstairs, while Elmyra then turned to face Cloud, speaking to him once Aeris was out of earshot.
"Excuse me, Mr Strife? There's something important that I would like to ask of you for a moment. I've noticed the particular uniform you have on, and that strange glow in your eyes, and that can only mean one thing…you're from SOLDIER, aren't you?" asked Elmyra, suspiciously.
Cloud was slightly taken aback that she'd figured it so quickly, but then again, if her daughter knew all about the glowing Mako eyes, then why not Elmyra too? He still disliked her distrusting tone, though.
"Yeah, that's right…or rather, I USED to be one," replied Cloud, sharply, nodding coldly at her, looking icy and indifferent towards her suspicions. Elmyra looked awkward, but seemed to have a lot more to say.
"Well, in that case…I don't really know how to say this politely, but would you please just leave here tonight? Without telling Aeris about it. I worry about my daughter leaving the house, and you've probably already figured out why that is by now. And Aeris seems so fond of you, that's another reason why you should leave here without her knowing about it. Aeris once had a boyfriend who ran off to a mission in SOLDIER five years ago, and he never came back to her...we never even heard from him at all. He too was a SOLDIER, like you were…so the very last thing that Aeris needs is to get her feelings hurt like that again. It would be for the best if you just left now, for her sake," said Elmyra, sincerely.
Cloud's cold icy look vanished at once as his eyes widened in surprise, stunned by what he had just heard, and then he looked doubtful as he thought more about what Elmyra had asked her to do.
"(She had a boyfriend from SOLDIER? Well, that certainly explains how she seems to know so much about SOLDIER, the guy must have told her about those facts. Were the two of them serious though? By the sound of it, I suspect they might have been…and I wonder what kind of mission her boyfriend was sent on, and why he didn't come back. Maybe he's…)" pondered Cloud, thoughtfully, before he answered back.
"Uh…well, sure. I guess I could just leave here by myself then. Besides, I had originally intended to go back to Sector 7 by myself anyway," said Cloud, doubtfully, still a little taken aback by what Elmyra had just told him.
Elmyra sighed heavily and nodded, saying nothing more about it, and then she slowly walked away, clearly lost in thought for a long moment.
"(Am I really doing the right thing by asking him to leave now? Aeris might get upset about it, but it might it better than the possible pain she might face, like she experienced before, and that took her years to recover from. She might not forgive me for this though…and she's not a child anymore, so she does have every right to go with Cloud if she wants too…I just don't know what I'm supposed to choose to decide what would be best for her…)" thought Elmyra, solemnly.
Alone in the room now, Cloud stood still and silent for a moment, surprised about what Elmyra had said about Aeris, though it certainly explained how Aeris knew about his glowing eyes, and how she had recognized that he'd been in SOLDIER because of it.
Deciding that he'd better just get some brief rest quickly before setting off alone, Cloud went upstairs where Aeris was waiting for him patiently, obvious to the conversation that had happened between Cloud and her mother earlier.
Aeris smiled politely when she saw Cloud, who was filled with even more pity for her now, as well as concern, though he hid all signs of that from Aeris.
First she had the many struggles from escaping the Turks, and now he had just found out she had once suffered severe heartbreak too.
It sounded as though Aeris had lived a tough life, and he was astonished at how cheerful and carefree she still seemed, despite suffering all this inner turmoil, and he had a good deal of respect for the flower girl because of it. She seemed to process a very strong, truly unbreakable spirit. Aeris then spoke up to Cloud, driving him out of his thoughts.
"Cloud, I've just made sure that your room for tonight is all ready. And there's something else that you'll need to know for tomorrow. You need to go through the Slums of Sector 6 in order to get into the Sector 7 Slums. But Sector 6 is a little dangerous for people just passing through, and Sector 7 is a little far from here, so you'd better get some nice rest tonight, for the journey. So good night, Cloud...and thank you," said Aeris, softly, smiling warmly as she leaned over and kissed Cloud deeply on the cheek for a moment, and after winking at him, she then went into her own room, closing the door gently behind her.
"Oh man, I've really done it to myself this time...yet again…" muttered Cloud, glumly, wondering how he ever got himself into these difficult emotional situations, and with a weary sigh, he went to the bedroom on the left of the upstairs floor, while Aeris was in the bedroom on the right. Cloud went in his room for the night, and collapsed onto the bed at once in exhaustion, sleeping almost instantly.
While he was dreaming, a voice suddenly seemed to speak to him inside his mind, the same strange voice that he had heard from Mako Reactor N01, and at the church, as it suddenly spoke to him again from his mind.
"You sure do seem pretty tired all of a sudden. It's been quite a while since you've slept like this, right? Yes, you haven't slept in a bed like this for a long time now..." said the mysterious voice.
"Oh yeah, I know..." muttered Cloud, sleepily, and in his drowsy state, he did not quite realize what was happening yet, as the voice then spoke up inside his mind once more, still talking about the past.
"Ever since the week before that fateful day years ago…" said the strange voice, once again with no emotion or tone to it whatsoever.
Suddenly, Cloud realized with alarm exactly what was happening now, but before he could speak up angrily to the voice to demand who it was and how this strange connection kept happening, Cloud's mind quickly flashed back to a sudden scene that took place five years ago in his own house at his hometown, Nibelheim, during his reunion to the town following a two year absence when in SOLDIER...
Mrs Strife paced about the large main room of her bungalow house excitedly, looking highly delighted indeed. She stopped pacing, and looked proudly at Cloud, who lay on his bed nearby, fully awake.
The sheer resemblance between them was uncanny, with the colour of their eyes and hair being exactly identical to each other. Smiling, Mrs Strife then spoke up to her son, who still lay listening on his bed.
"My, I still can't believe how much you've grown in these last two years, since the last time I saw you. I'll bet that the girls never leave you alone anymore," said Mrs Strife, with a teasing grin.
"No, not really, mom. I think there's been some interest, but I've never really paid attention," replied Cloud, shortly. His mother suddenly seemed rather anxious, and the grin faded from her face.
"I'm worried about you, Cloud. It has been said that there are a lot of temptations like that in the city of Midgar, especially in Wall Market. Because of all that, I'd just feel a lot better knowing if you would just settle down someday, and find a nice girlfriend that you want to spend the rest of your life with," said Mrs Strife.
"I'm alright, I can take care of myself, mom," replied Cloud, calmly, in a tone that suggested he didn't want to talk anymore about it, but his mother took no notice, and still did not drop the subject.
"I think you should have an older girlfriend, Cloud. One that always will look out for you, and take care of you. The kind of girl who is a little more mature than you...the type that will keep tugging at your sleeve, pull you along the way. I think that would be the perfect type of girlfriend for you," said Mrs Strife, thoughtfully. Cloud shook his head firmly, getting annoyed with the subject now.
"I'm just…not interested in that relationship stuff, mom. I just want to do my job well, that's all," replied Cloud, uneasily, as his mother sighed in exasperation, and reluctantly let the subject drop for now.
The flashback abruptly ended at that point, and Cloud then woke up, hours later than when he'd drifted off to sleep, in the spare bedroom in Aeris' house. Cloud got up from the bed, yawning sleepily, before becoming fully awake and alert. The strange voice, though, had vanished from his mind yet again, and Cloud had a feeling it wouldn't be for the last time.
"(Damn, I must have just fallen asleep and slept in for longer than I had intended to. I better get going now then, before Aeris wakes up. The Slums of Sector 7 are past the Sector 6 Slums, and Aeris said that I have to go through there. I should be alright by myself anyway,)" thought Cloud, and he quietly walked out the bedroom door, but he had pushed it open a little louder than he had intended.
Suddenly, Aeris had heard Cloud coming out of the room because of this, and she ran out of her room, startled, and then she sighed in relief as she saw Cloud and walked up to him, while Cloud smacked his forehead in annoyance.
"Cloud, could you please stop sneaking around here? For a moment there, I had this nasty thought that the Turks had come back here to try and capture me yet again. Now please just get some rest," said Aeris, gently shoving Cloud back into the room and closing the door behind him. Cloud groaned to himself, as he knew she might be onto his plan now.
Some moments later, Cloud tried to think of a way to get out of the house without being caught by Aeris this time. Slowly, he pushed the door open without making a noticeable creak of noise, and he slowly stepped out of the room, keeping very silent and creeping past Aeris' bedroom door.
Cloud then quietly walked down the stairs, making barely any sound this time as he slowly made his way down there, and he was downstairs, just in front of the front door, without Aeris knowing about it.
Cloud was genuinely sorry to have to say goodbye to Aeris so soon, and he hoped that he would be able to see her again someday, although he was getting worried about Tifa and the others, and how worried Tifa must be about him.
Cloud was then just about to walk right out the front door of the house, when Elmyra Gainsborough, noticing him there in the room, suddenly walked up to him, and Cloud stopped abruptly in his tracks, sensing she had something important that she wanted to say.
"Cloud, I thank you for this, but I have just one last favour that I would like to ask you. I've thought a lot more about this whole subject, and I've decided what really would be best for my daughter. I want you to take Aeris with you, on your journey back to Sector 7," said Elmyra.
"What...?" asked Cloud, struck stunned and speechless for a moment, not believing what he had just heard, confused about the fact that Elmyra had changed her mind so quickly about the subject.
"Listen to me for a moment, Cloud...for the past fifteen years of my daughter's life, she's been hunted down mercilessly by the Turks of Shinra. Please don't ask me why they hunt her down. I know the basic reasons for it, but I don't have the right to tell you. All I can say right now is that you faced off against the Turks by yourself, from what Aeris told me, and she would never lie about this sort of thing. So I trust that you can look after her, against Shinra and the Turks, far better than I will ever be able to now. I have changed my mind, and Aeris can go with you, for her own safety. I believe that is also what she wants, as well. She's already sneaked out just now, before you came down here, without you knowing it. She's waiting for you now, just outside the Sector 5 Slums," explained Elmyra.
Full of shock and disbelief, but also filled with pity and concern for Aeris, Cloud sighed heavily, and shook his head wearily, really not knowing what to do now, if he should bring Aeris with him to Sector 7 or not.
"Mrs Gainsborough, you don't really even know who I am or what I do. So how can you trust me just like that?" asked Cloud, surprised. Elmyra sighed wearily, shaking her head, as she answered.
"I can't explain it right now. Just promise me that you'll do it, Cloud. Promise me that you'll take good care of her on your way back to Sector 7," said Elmyra. Cloud sighed heavily, and finally gave in, to his reluctance.
"Alright then…if Aeris really does want to come along with me back to Sector 7, then I'll take her along too," said Cloud, firmly. Elmyra bowed gratefully.
"Thank you for this, Mr Strife. Please take good care of Aeris, I would like, more than anything, to see her to come back safely home again after your business at Sector 7 is over," said Elmyra, and she then walked away, going back upstairs, as Cloud then walked out of the front door, and out of the house, lost in his own thoughts.