At the front entrance of Don Corneo's mansion, Cloud and Aeris had both arrived, in their dresses and Cloud in his disguise as a girl, to his own disgust. The bouncer stared at what he thought were both two girls, as they walked over to him, indicating they wanted to go inside. The bouncer snapped out of his trance, and nodded quickly.
"Damn girl, you sure were right earlier! You're friend's hot too, and so are you, the Don will be pleased at his selection for tonight. Come in; come on in! Two ladies coming through here to see the Don!" called the bouncer, over at the entrance of the mansion.
He stepped aside and allowed them past, and with a sense of triumph, Cloud and Aeris both walked through the front door of the mansion. Once they were inside, they were standing in a big hall with some stairs leading to a floor above it, and it also had a reception not far from the door. Another man, another subordinate of Don Corneo's, was standing there behind the desk of the reception, and grinned creepily at Cloud and Aeris when he saw them enter.
"Hey there ladies, I'll just go for a moment, and let the Don know that you're here for tonight's selection. Both of you just wait down here, and don't wander around, it ain't safe to disturb the Don, or his faithful employees either," said the receptionist, with a leer, and he then walked off and out of sight. No one else was in the room now.
Unwatched and unheard, Aeris grinned triumphantly, and turned to face Cloud, who had to admit Aeris' plan had been a big success, but it didn't stop him from hating this situation nonetheless.
"(Ha, looks like my plan worked out perfectly well after all, we're both in here and free to look around for Tifa without causing any commotion in the process at all. Pretty ingenious of me if I do say so myself…and it sure was a nice laugh to see how Cloud had to get through this. But now, we'd better focus on the task at hand,)" thought Aeris, as she then spoke up to Cloud urgently.
"Now's our big chance, Cloud, no one's watching us, so we've got to start looking right away. Let's go find Tifa, before anyone else comes back here, or before something bad happens to her in this place. I wonder where she is though; if the both of us were told to wait here, why isn't she here too…so I'm wondering where she's waiting or gone off too…" said Aeris, thoughtfully. Cloud nodded in agreement.
They decided to search the place at once, as they both quietly ran up to the upstairs rooms, not wanting to be seen or overheard, as they stood on the second floor. There were three rooms. The rooms in the middle and on the right were locked, but the left room was clearly open. Looking through into the room, Cloud saw that there were vast amounts of stone stairs leading down to the room.
Checking to see if they were still unnoticed, Cloud and Aeris then both quietly ran down the long stone stairs, and cautiously arrived in the room. The room looked strangely like a dungeon, with a hard stone table in the middle of the room, and chains and shackles kept around it.
Cloud looked around to see if anyone else was in the room, and he stared in surprise for a moment at one figure who also stood there, and he recognized the person at once, with a sense of immense relief.
Tifa Lockhart was standing at the opposite end of the dungeon-like room, staring back at him in surprise and suspicion, though she seemed to have no idea at the moment that it was Cloud in disguise.
Tifa was wearing a dark blue dress over her regular clothes, looking truly stunning in it, and Cloud quickly turned his gaze away from Tifa, knowing it would look far too suspicious if he just kept staring right at her.
Beside him, Aeris noticed Cloud's reaction, and looked over at Tifa in curiosity, and walked over to her, coming to the logical conclusion that this girl must be Tifa, and she also did recognize her as the girl in the carriage as well. Aeris was amused at the thought of what Tifa might think when she'd find out that Cloud had dressed up like a girl for her.
Cloud didn't move towards Tifa, or even face her at all, as he was far too embarrassed for her to see him dressed like a girl. Tifa turned to face Aeris; puzzled and surprised when she noticed her walking towards her, and looked suspiciously at her as well, fully alert for any trouble that might occur in this situation. Seeing her tense and alert expression at once, Aeris smiled in reassurance at her, and she quickly introduced herself first of all.
"Excuse me for asking, miss, but are you…Tifa? You are, right? Well then, it's nice to be able to meet you, and don't worry, I don't intend to attack you, I'm here to help with whatever you're here for. My name is Aeris Gainsborough, by the way. I met your friend Cloud yesterday, you see. Cloud's told me a lot of things about you," explained Aeris.
Tifa stared back at her, still looking bewildered about who this girl was, how she knew Tifa was going to be here, and why she knew Cloud, but on the other hand, she did now have some understanding of what was going on.
"And just who exactly are you supposed to be, Miss Gainsborough…? Hey wait a moment, I think I remember you now…yes, that's right, you're the girl who I saw with Cloud, in the park before the Sector 7 gate, when I was on that carriage," said Tifa. Aeris smiled as Tifa remembered her.
"That's right, I was with Cloud," replied Aeris, nodding.
"Oh, I see…" said Tifa, turning away from her as she then realized something else. Aeris knew what Tifa had just assumed, and she giggled at the thought of it.
"Oh, it wasn't anything like that. Don't worry; we just met a day ago, after all, so we're not really that close yet. It's really nothing for you to be concerned about," said Aeris, reassuringly, though she knew that wasn't entirely true. Tifa turned back to face her, confused.
"What do you mean by that? Don't worry about what?" asked Tifa, thoroughly bewildered. Then she realized what Aeris had meant, and she quickly shook her head, looking rather awkward.
"No, please don't misunderstand me. Cloud and I just grew up together. Nothing more than that," said Tifa, quickly, slightly embarrassed, and a slight shade of crimson appearing on her face. Aeris was still chuckling in amusement though, and wasn't convinced.
"Aw, poor Cloud…having to just stand here, and listen to the both of us calling him nothing like this. Isn't that right, Cloud? Hey, are you too embarrassed to even talk to us or something? Come on, speak up," said Aeris, as she burst out laughing despite herself, turning to face Cloud. Tifa looked rather confused.
Judging by the expression on his face, Cloud would have gladly given all the Gil he had to evaporate on the spot, and if a hole to the underworld had opened up right before him, he would have jumped into it without a sound, or perhaps with the faintest murmur of gratitude.
"Cloud…?" said Tifa, completely confused, as she slowly walked up to him, and stared at Cloud, not knowing that it was really him in a convincing disguise as a girl in a purple dress wearing a blond wig that completely matched the color of his hair, but it was flat and long rather than spiky like his hair actually was.
Studying him, Tifa looked closely at Cloud, and she then suddenly realized exactly who it was, and she was so startled and surprised that she jumped backwards from him in shock and disbelief, her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open as she simply gaped at him.
"(That blond haired girl really is Cloud! Cloud really is alive after all, I thought I saw him in the park earlier, but now I know for sure! Cloud's survived the fall! But that's a really convincing disguise he's got on, I really thought he was a girl when he arrived until now. He must have seen me on the carriage going in direction of Wall Market and the Don's mansion. So he's dressed up like this…for me?)" thought Tifa.
Then a delighted smile spread across Tifa's face, as she lunged forwards, and she threw her arms around Cloud and hugged him tightly. Cloud returned the embrace, though he was still clearly embarrassed about his disguise, and felt rather awkward as Tifa looked at him, and at once she broke into an urgent and frantic series of questions.
"Cloud!? Why on earth are you dressed like this!? And just what are you doing in here!? Forget that, what happened to you after the fall you took off the bridge!? Are you hurt or anything, are you sure you're alright!?" asked Tifa, frantically, looking at Cloud very anxiously, while she was still hugging him quite tightly. Cloud quickly answered her before she could keep firing questions at him again.
"Hey, just give me a chance to explain all of that for a moment. First of all, I'm dressed up like this because there was no other way to get in here, and believe me, I don't enjoy doing this whatsoever. And second of all, I did fall down that Reactor bridge to the Slums, and I crashed into a church, and for a moment I was really dying after the impact, but I'm perfectly alright now, Aeris helped me out just in time to save my life," explained Cloud.
"Oh, Aeris did…" muttered Tifa, letting go of Cloud.
"Tifa, are you alright? Is something wrong?" asked Cloud, concerned and confused by her short reply. Tifa sighed heavily and shook her head.
"Yeah…I'm fine, I guess. I've just been really worried about you since I saw you fall, I had feared that you were dead…that I would never see you again. I really thought you were gone for good, so when I saw you in the park earlier, I was extremely glad to see that I was wrong. But enough about that now, what are you doing here, Cloud? How did you assume that I'd be here in all the places of Wall Market? What made you come here?" asked Tifa, curiously.
"You know, that's exactly the very same question that I should really be asking you. Tifa, just what the hell are you doing here, in a place like this?" asked Cloud, sharply. Tifa looked a little sheepish as she remembered.
"Oh right, that reminds me, you don't know why I'm here, do you? Well, I'm basically here on a secret mission for AVALANCHE to find out some information from the Don. Yeah, the things I want to know are, umm…" began Tifa, uneasily, glancing pointedly at Aeris, who understood immediately and nodded to her.
"Okay then, I'll just plug my ears for a moment. Hey, what's supposed to be so secret here in the first place, huh? Anyway, never mind me, both of you just please continue with your private conversation," said Aeris, grinning, as she then turned away from them, and covered her ears up with her hands. Tifa smiled gratefully at her, and then she turned back to face Cloud.
"I'm really glad that you're okay, and to see that you're alright, Cloud. But just how on earth did you survive the fall, anyway? How could you have survived a fall that was about a hundred feet drop?" asked Tifa, still looking very relived and delighted to see Cloud, feeling a temptation to just throw her arms around him again and kiss him, but restraining herself from doing so, being far too shy for such an action.
"I survived the fall thanks to Aeris. The wooden church roof and her bed of flowers saved me, and actually broke my fall. Then when I was dying from the impact of the fall, she somehow healed me and saved my life, helping me to recover to full strength again. I know it all sounds really hard to believe, but I swear it's the truth. After I recovered from the fall in the church, Aeris helped me find my way back to the Sector 7 Slums. Because of all this, I owe a lot to Aeris, and if it weren't for her, I'd be dead at this moment. But by the time she and I got to Sector 7, we saw from the playground that you were coming here in that carriage. We searched around Wall Market for you, and discovered that you were here inside the mansion. Aeris came up with a plan to dress me up like a girl, so we could both get in here with no trouble. And now we're all here," explained Cloud. Tifa nodded in clear understanding.
"(Now I understand what's going on…so they followed me in here because they were concerned that I was getting into trouble, and they wondered what I was doing. So it's Aeris that was responsible for saving Cloud from certain death? Just how the heck did she pull that off, how did she manage to heal him like that? There seems to be a lot more to her than meets the eye,)" thought Tifa, as she then spoke up.
"Now I guess it's my turn to explain," said Tifa.
"Thanks. So, what happened?" asked Cloud, curiously.
"When me, Barret and the others all got back from the Mako Reactor N05 mission, and when we were all in my bar at Sector 7, there was this weird man who just came in all of a sudden, despite the fact the bar was closed. So Barret caught him, being suspicious of the guy, and he quickly squeezed some information out of him," explained Tifa.
"(Typical Barret, whenever anyone does anything even remotely suspicious, he always has to launch an attack on them and make himself look intimidating,)" thought Cloud.
"And that's the moment when the Don's name popped out, right?" guessed Cloud. Tifa nodded and continued.
"Right, he mentioned Don Corneo, protesting that he wasn't up to anything, even though we hadn't asked him about the Don, which meant that something suspicious was going on, to do with him. After he kicked the guy out the bar and sent him away, Barret warned me to leave the leech alone, but something about this whole situation has been bothering me. Why is Don Corneo on the move all of a sudden, and why did one of his cronies come to where we were? I volunteered to go by myself to find out what he's up to. I've got a small hidden radio device planted on me so that the others can hear what's going on," explained Tifa.
"I see, I understanding this whole thing now. So you wanted to enter this mansion because you wanted to get the full story here, straight from Don Corneo himself," said Cloud, thoughtfully. Tifa nodded and continued.
"Yeah, that's right. And with me dressed like this, getting inside was easy, and I've been waiting here since for the Don to tell me to come. So I made it here safely, but right now I'm in a tricky bind. You see, Corneo is also looking for a bride, for his ideal girl. Everyday he gets three girls in this mansion, chooses between one of them, and for the night, he…uh…well…perhaps its better if I don't say. Anyway, I have to be the girl that's chosen, or I'm out for tonight, and I won't be able to question Corneo," explained Tifa.
Removing her hands from her eyes and turning to face them, Aeris suddenly spoke up, interrupting their conversation, having been listening to them all along.
"(So that's what's going on here. AVALANCHE suspects that Don Corneo is up to something suspicious, and they've sent Tifa here to find out just what it is. And Tifa has to be chosen, because she's the one with the radio device, so she's the one who has to question Corneo so that the rest of AVALANCHE will know exactly what's going on. I think I've got another plan to help Tifa get chosen…)" thought Aeris, as she spoke up.
"I'm sorry for interrupting, but I overheard everything that you guys have just said, and I can see what all this is about. I've heard about Don Corneo every time I've come to Wall Market, ever since I was little, he controlled Wall Market even then. And he always does those…uh…things with girls too. But I think I've got a plan to help you get chosen. You see, if you know the two other girls that you're being chosen among, then there's no problem, right? Then any one of them would be able to question Don Corneo, or they could just put on a poor performance so that you get chosen instead," said Aeris, thoughtfully.
Tifa seemed a little alarmed that Aeris had overheard everything that they had discussed about, so Cloud quickly spoke before she could say anything about it.
"Listen to me, Tifa. Aeris is going to be staying with me for a while, as I am her bodyguard, so no matter what you say she'll hear it anyway, but don't worry, she can be trusted, and she may not look it, but she can be a valuable edition to AVALANCHE too, in many ways," said Cloud. Tifa relaxed and nodded. Aeris continued explaining.
"Anyway, like I was saying, if you know the other two girls, then they'll try to lose so that Corneo will choose you, and you'll be able to question him, while we deal with his cronies that the Don will hand me and Cloud over to, and then we'll both come to find you so that we can all question the Don at the same time," explained Aeris.
"I guess so, but…" said Tifa, uncertainly.
"Hey, not to worry Tifa, we already have the two other girls for the plan just here, right?" said Aeris, indicating herself and Cloud, who shook his head firmly.
"No, Aeris, that's not happening, no way! I can't just let you get involved in this situation, it'll be too dangerous for someone like you," said Cloud, urgently. Aeris turned to face Cloud, and raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, is that so, Cloud? So then, does that mean it's alright for Tifa to be in danger like this, and not me? Is that what you're saying?" asked Aeris, somewhat irritated, and Cloud looked quite awkward.
"No, that's not it, and I also don't want Tifa in…" began Cloud, uneasily, but Tifa quickly intervened, and interrupted him, seeing that there was no point in arguing, as she turned to face Aeris.
"Are you really sure that this is alright with you, to get yourself involved in this situation?" asked Tifa, curiously, seriously considering Aeris' assistance, realizing that it would come in good use right now. Aeris smiled and nodded in reassurance.
"Don't worry about me, I grew up in the Slums all my life, and I had to make my own way through most of it. So I'm used to danger by now, even when I'm in a moment like this one. Do you think you can trust me?" asked Aeris. Tifa nodded gratefully in response.
"Yes, I truly do feel as though I can trust you. Thanks a lot for your help, Miss Aeris. Both for helping out now, and for saving Cloud's life," replied Tifa, sincerely. Aeris shook her head and smiled.
"It was all no problem, really, I just felt like I was doing the right thing, that's all. Oh, and please just call me Aeris," said Aeris, holding out her hand.
Tifa nodded and shook her hand with a smile, and then after a moment, she let go as she turned back to face Cloud, and couldn't help but keep giggling to herself as she stared at Cloud's disguise.
"Ha, ha, ha. You know something Cloud, that disguise doesn't look all that bad if someone doesn't look closely and realizes you're not a girl after all. I wonder what Barret would say if he could see you now," said Tifa, chuckling to herself at the very thought of it.
Cloud didn't answer or reply, he was extremely annoyed and embarrassed with having to dress up like a girl in this way, but he was also extremely relieved that Barret didn't have to see him like this.
Then he remembered in mortified horror that Tifa had a radio device planted on her, which meant that Barret and the others had listened in to what they had been saying, which meant they knew that he was alive and dressed up like a girl, and they also knew a little about Aeris now as well.
Barret would certainly never let him forget about this situation in a big hurry, even after it was all over and done with. But then again, he knew that neither would Aeris either, and she certainly was around to see it in person.
"They're all going to get really suspicious of us if we don't quickly hurry over to the Don right about now," whispered Aeris, warningly.
Mere moments later, the receptionist from earlier had now just arrived at the top of the long stairs of the room, noticing Cloud (who he thought was a girl in that disguise), Aeris and Tifa, now announcing their turn to see Don Corneo, as he called down to them.
"Hey, its time now for you lot to come on up, ladies! The Don is waiting for all of ya! And I thought I told ya all not wander off in the first place. I tell ya, woman nowadays, they never listen no more…hurry it up, will ya!?" shouted the receptionist, and he left the room.
"I probably really don't need to ask this question at all, but the other girl to be chosen is…me, right?" asked Cloud, completely dreading the answer.
"You're right about one thing, Cloud. There really was no need…" said Tifa, glancing at Aeris with a grin.
"…To ask," finished Aeris, with a wide grin and a wink at Tifa, who grinned back. Cloud merely snorted indifferently as the two girls giggled with laughter.
Deciding to go and see the Don now before him and his cronies could get suspicious, they all quickly walked up the long stone stairs, and they walked out of the dungeon. They soon came to Don Corneo's room at the middle of the upstairs floor, and they quickly entered. Don Corneo and two of his assistants – Kotch (the man that had come to Tifa's bar) and Scotch were waiting in the room.
Don Corneo was a short, but fat man who had a streak of blond hair in the middle on his head (which was otherwise bald), but for the most part, he was completely ugly and a fairly old man. He also wore a red suit and black sunglasses as well. Scotch had brown hair, and he wore a dark green shirt, with black jeans and black sunglasses.
"Okay then, ladies. All of ya have gotta line up in front of the Don, so proceed to do so now," instructed Kotch. Aeris, Cloud and Tifa obeyed at once, as they quickly all lined up in front of Don Corneo.
Don Corneo sat up from his chair behind his desk just before the three of them, as he looked at them all with creepy interest, as Cloud, Tifa and Aeris each found it hard not to shudder in disgust at his revolting gaze. Don Corneo sprang up from his chair and stood in front of Cloud, Tifa and Aeris, studying them a little too thoroughly for their tastes.
"Well, well, well, it seems like there's an extremely good selection for me tonight, I am impressed. But which one should it be for tonight? Hmmm, very good, splendid. Now then, let's see here. Which girl should I choose…?" wondered Don Corneo, speaking aloud, thinking to himself.
Studying each of them in turn, Don Corneo first looked at Aeris, then at Tifa, then he looked at Cloud. Cloud moved his face away every time Don Corneo tried to look at him, and succeeded in drawing the Don's attention away from him so Cloud would not be chose, and so that the Don wouldn't realize that Cloud was a man in disguise.
"(So far so good, the plan seems to be working well, I still haven't been discovered just yet. If the Don chooses either Aeris or Tifa, he'll send me to his cronies, then I'll have to deal with them, then help out either Aeris or Tifa with the other ones, and then go to Don Corneo's room to help interrogate him with the others. We all just need to pretend and lie low for now, then strike at the right moment,)" thought Cloud.
Don Corneo looked at Aeris, then at Tifa. He seemed to be having quite a difficult time deciding which of the two to choose from, and Cloud definitely had to agree with him on that one. Finally though, after a few more minutes of thinking, it seemed Don Corneo had decided.
"Okay then, I've made up my mind! My choice for tonight is….the pretty one! This little beauty will be my companion for tonight," announced Don Corneo, as he moved towards Tifa. The plan had worked after all.
"You've sure got some great taste. Be nice, Don," said Tifa, softly and smoothly, but she was just acting. Deep down, she was completely disgusted, and tried to keep herself from grimacing at what she was forced to do.
"You two can have the other ones, if you would like," said Don Corneo, in a bored, flat expression, turning to face Kotch and Scotch. The rather bored tone in his voice made it seem like the Don had really said to them, "The other two are garbage, you can have them."
"Yes sir! Thank you sir!" said Kotch and Scotch, at the same time, with clear intense interest all the same, as they stared creepily at Cloud and Aeris, who both grimaced to themselves. Don Corneo turned to face Tifa.
"Well then, now that's all sorted and out the way…so shall we get going to bed, my pretty?" asked Don Corneo, clearly rather excited.
"(Oh boy, oh boy, I'm so gonna enjoy tonight, I've got quite a catch this time, it seems. I got a feeling this night won't be like the other ones,)" thought Don Corneo, smugly.
Aeris and Cloud both nodded to Tifa, and she nodded slowly back to them, and she went in with Don Corneo, very reluctantly indeed, to his bedroom, though she planned to take act quickly and interrogate him long before that sort of dirty action could happen.
Aeris had to go alone with Kotch back to the dungeon room, while Cloud was forced to go alone with Scotch back to his lounge room. About five other men, all of them subordinates of Don Corneo, were there, as Cloud and Scotch both entered the lounge.
Meanwhile, back at the Slums of Sector 7, and inside Tifa's Seventh Heaven bar, Barret, Biggs, Wedge and Jessie all sat on bar stools crowded around a radio in the middle of the table, all of them listening intently to it, as Tifa had successfully arrived inside Don Corneo's mansion, and now they had just listened as Aeris had suddenly came into earshot of the radio, evidently speaking to Tifa, and the whole group were shocked to then hear that Cloud was alive and well, and was also there in the mansion himself, disguised as a girl.
"Well, I'll be damned. I thought that damn spiky haired show-off was a goner back there on the Reactor bridge. Looks like the dumbass didn't know when to die after all, this is damn well good news, now we've got an even better chance of finding out what the Don's up to, with us or Shinra. I should have known it wouldn't be the last we see of Cloud," said Barret, thoughtfully, satisfied that the plan was going even better than they had expected.
"By the sound of it, this girl with Tifa, Aeris I think she called herself, was there to save Cloud's life when he fell, and by the looks of it she's following him around too, even into the Don's mansion. Another possible ally?" wondered Jessie.
"I guess so, no one here can deny the fact that we could certainly use more members for the fight against Shinra, and it looks like Cloud has decided to back us up once and for all this time. With those three there, and us lot here, we'll be able to find out if Shinra's up to anything, and if they are, then we can put a stop to it from what we find out," said Biggs.
"(Damn straight, those Shinra bastards ain't gonna get the better of us, no matter what they can devise against us. We'll just outsmart them again, and overcome whatever plan they've got to destroy us. They don't know we're right about to find out what they're up to, so we'll have the upper hand, and they'll be foiled once again,)" thought Barret, as Wedge then spoke.
"I don't know if that's all that easy, I feel really uneasy and nervous about all this, something just doesn't feel right here, not at all. I think Shinra's really going to push to the extremes this time, no matter how many lives they have to take, so that they can insure that we're dead once and for all. They're gonna start fighting fire with fire, sacrificing lives to achieve their goals, just like we did," said Wedge, anxiously.
"Just what the damn hell are you saying, Wedge!? Shinra ain't gonna have any advantage over us, we'll be ready and waiting for their plan thanks to Tifa and the others. To destroy us, they'll need the element of surprise on their side, but they're not having that, so we can just give them the slip like we always damn well do," said Barret, sternly.
"Quiet, both of you! Stop arguing for a moment, and just listen to the radio. I think the Don's just chosen Tifa among the three of them, and they're heading over to the Don's bedroom, which means Tifa will be ready to attack and question him any time so. We'll need to pay full attention to what he says, or this will have all been a waste of time," said Jessie.
The AVALANCHE group all fell silent and listened intently as Tifa and the Don's footsteps abruptly stopped all of a sudden, which meant they had arrived at the room, and now the time for confessions had finally come.