CHAPTER SIX
Wall Market.
A flashy slum's version of Upper Midgar. No better way to describe it. A city within a city. The richest place in the slum sections, economically supported by ShinRa Corp-- this was the president's generous gift to the slum people for need of food or jobs or both. The place was active 24/7 and crawling with customers left and right. Immense neon signs raised ontop of glittering buildings paved the way in advertisements and promotions for new hotels or ShinRa Corp products. The buildings were eccentric and so were the stores in them. Great clothes shops and seafood restaurants, with shrimp brought fresh from Port Midgar, made up the bulk of the southern side of Wall Market. The long chain of hotels and dance clubs lay on the eastern side. Gyms and ice cream stores as well as a huge mall was on the western side. Finally, to the north, lay a weapons shop-- with a seemingly infinite supply of equipment-- a few mom and pop stores with a fairly decent array of items, and Don Corneo's Mansion.
The last attraction on that list is a mega-hit amongst the men of the slums (a few crazy women too). A seedy penthouse high up on a hill overlooking Wall Market, with untold amount of babes under the impression that clothes are an option. Every day, every hour new girls pour in amongst an army of drooling mouths swarmed at the Mansion's gates and into the seedy paws of Mr. Don Corneo himself-- a fat, drunken playboy worth millions and all of about 4' 11". Rarely a dull moment goes on in the Mansion.
For that matter, rarely does a dull moment go by in Wall Market. Businesses ring like crazy sashaying in new customers and booting out old ones. Gil exchanging between hands every three seconds. Fights over trivial, supercilious matters approximately three seconds more. Sometimes, the fights get interesting if more than one person gets involved-- deaths have been reported then forgotten over time.
Rarely is there a dull moment in Wall Market.
Cloud Strife sensed the lusting stares men of all ages were giving to this beautiful girl beside him, and he put his arm around her in a comforting grip. He heard sigh happily to herself. Along the way, he heard general tidbits of conversation from the crowd of people.
"Did you see that new hottie they brought in just now?"
"Yeah, dude," one replied, "that bitch was fuckin' hot man!"
"Her titties were rock solid," another drooled.
"Oh, God, what I'd love to do to her," said the first man.
"What you love to do to anybody, pig!" a woman shouted at him.
"Hey, bitch, there's room for you right here!" he answered back patting himself.
"Let's get out of here, Aeris."
"Where?"
"I don't know, anywhere but this section."
They made their way through the southern tier of food buildings and clothes shops, when Aeris pointed out a sushi restaurant. "I haven't eaten anything since yesterday morning, Cloud, let's stop in."
Cloud protested, "Aeris, we can't waste any time. I've never been in this part of town before, and I don't know where this HONEYB-"
"Come on, Cloud, I'm starving!" She gave a pitiful look. "Besides, we may find some information in there. You know, it might help us out a little bit."
He shook his head. "You love to work on me, don't you."
She led him into the restaurant. "It's what I do best."
The sushi place was crowded-- mostly of men drinking alcohol, talking about Tifa, and complaining about why the bathroom is always filled up. Every seat was taken, and the whole air was a heavy drone of burping, cursing, and laughing. A few eyes followed Aeris's figure and then went back to whatever conversation they were engaged in. A good smell of fish snaked its pathway all around the joint and almost took control of Cloud's urges.
He had bigger things on his mind, though, and after he ordered Aeris a piece off the menu he turned his attention to the young employee at the register. "Say, do you know where the HONEYBEE INN is? A friend of mine is there, and she might be in trouble."
The young man's eyes lighted up. "Boy, mac, if your 'friend' is in that place, she would be having no trouble at all, if you know what I mean."
"I'm afraid I don't, my good sir."
The man looked at him, puzzled. "Ah, come on, mac, don't be shitting me. Do you know what that place is?"
"I know what that place is, but regardless, she's in trouble, and I need to know how to get there."
He scoffed at him. "If you know all about it, then why don't you know where it is?"
"I know its reputation, smartass, not where its location is."
"All right. I don't want any trouble with you, okay. It's very easy to get there. Just avoid the crowd of people and head straight north from this restaurant. You can't miss it. Uh...may I ask why is she in trouble?"
Cloud took Aeris's hand and said to the employee, "That's none of your business, and anyway I have no idea if she's in trouble or not. Thanks for the info, here's a tip for your time." He passed him five gil and headed out the door.
When they got out a fight was in the process. From the evidence Cloud gathered amongst the bystanders, two men had yelled at each other for wanting the other's purchased merchandise. They then began to slug at each other's face, blood flying everywhere. While they were dueling, others quietly came over and stole their goods.
Cloud laughed to himself and walked with Aeris northwards to the HONEYBEE INN. She was just finishing up her food, then, and she tossed it into a nearby canister. "Wasn't very good," she said glumly and wiped her lips. "Hey, do you suspect that Tifa is in trouble?"
"Well...trouble may not be the right word. I would call it unusual. Tifa, to me, never had the slightest ambition to become a stripper. She told me herself that she hated that sleazy stuff. I don't know what to make of it, but we're about to find out.
"How are you doing by the way? Do you feel alright walking through this...place."
Aeris shrugged, but looked up at him and smiled. "As long as I stay by you, there's nothing for me to worry about."
Cloud said nothing. A bright pink neon sign illuminated his vision. The strip club was enormous and so was the crowd surrounding it, all middle-aged men and a few barely legal adolescents. A tanned woman swung shirtless on a pole behind a window, her large breasts swaying and scoring points with all the men. A large line of people stood at the entrance, waiting impatiently for the bouncer at the front to let them in. Cloud then realized it would be hard to get in the place.
He thought of something, but immediately cringed at the idea.
"What's the matter?" Aeris asked.
"If we're going to get anything out of this, I'm going to have to result to something... untasteful."
"Untasteful?"
"Yeah, I don't think these people are going to let me in, just because I need to see one of their girls."
"So what are you suggesting?"
Cloud looked at her and scratched his head. "It's harmless. I wouldn't let them touch you."
Aeris laughed nervously. "I'll hold you under that, Cloud."
They made their way past everybody, who in turn gave objecting comments, and onward to the bouncer at the door.
"Whoa, whoa their speedracer, you'll get your chance inside at 9:00. 'Til then take yourself and your bi girlfriend there and hightail it out of here."
"She's not bi, she's the newest addition to the Don's Mansion. Her name is Missy...Desire or something like that. I'm just a delivery boy and I need to speak with your manager on a very important issue."
The bouncer's eyes glowed and he checked Aeris up and down. "Ah, a new addition, eh? Not bad. Not bad at all. Come with me, Mister-er-"
"Sammy. I do business in Junon and Rocket Town."
"Ooh, big name areas. Come right this way."
The people in line booed slightly as they saw Cloud enter ahead of them. The bouncer hushed them up and brought out another dancer to keep them occupied.Scotch looked up from the "service" he was getting done from a busty redhead as the bouncer led Cloud and Aeris into the room. "Boss," the bouncer said, "this kid here has got business with Don Corneo. Got a new treat for him, this brunette right here. Sammy, here, also wants to talk to you about something important."
Scotch slapped the redhead's ass as she left, and replied to the bouncer," You're dismissed. This is good news for today." He looked Aeris up and down and smiled. "Damn, you're hot. What's your name, girl?"
"Er-- Desire. Missy...er..Desire." she looked at Cloud with a look that said that was the dumbest thing she had ever heard.
"Ooh, Desire, huh. That's sexy. It'll go well for tonight. Unfortunately, the Don has to look you over a bit before you come here. Some kind of needless interview." He looked at Cloud. "You escorting her, er-"
"Sammy, and that's right, sir. Picked her up at Junon. Brought her here. End of story."
"Nice, care for a smoke."
Cloud shrugged. "Why not?" He took it, lighted it, and blew a blue smoke ring.
Scotch drank a bottle of vodka and asked, "What's this important topic, Sammy?"
"You got a new girl in this morning, right? Name of Tifa Lockheart."
Scotch downed the bottle. "Names escape me, but bodies don't."
"Well...she had long dark brown hair. Clad in skimpy underwear. Rode in on a carriage-"
"Oh, yeah, her. Her, yeah..." he sighed to himself as he remembered the image. Cloud could feel Aeris shuddering at his side. "Yeah, that babe is coming here. Gonna be our star attraction for many, many nights."
"No surprise. Can you, however, tell me where she is now? You see, I have old business to finish up with her and her old manager. So, if I can be told of her whereabouts I'll find her, exchange pleasantries, a few phone calls, trade Desire here to the Don, and off I go. If that is not too much to ask?"
Scotch looked at Cloud and smiled. "You are a funny guy, Sammy. Great to do business with you. Miss Lockheart is over yonder at the Mansion itself. I suspect she is getting...acquainted with the Don at this very minute. That bastard gets all the fun and entertainment firsthand."
Cloud grumbled to himself and said, "So, just go there, act cool, and meet with her there."
Scotch threw the bottle in the trash and pulled out another. "Yeah, shouldn't be too much trouble. Corneo uses women like a pair of underwear. Out with the old, in with the new. I'm sure Missy Desire here will keep him occupied. Oh! I almost forgot. Before you two head down that road, get fresh new clothes and make them impressionable. Especially you, babe. The Don wants his women as sexy as they make themselves without being too erotic. He likes it that way."
"I bet," Aeris said to herself and followed Cloud out the door.Cloud had discarded the clothes Elmyra had given him and now clad himself out in a gray pinstripe suit with brilliant shiny black shoes. To match it, he bought a gray derby and placed it like a military beret on his head. To match the pimp look, he bought a silver cane with a red top on it. He looked around and found a stylish pair of silverish-blue sunglasses that attracted his attention. After checking himself out in the mirror, he walked to the register. This expensive outfit wiped out nearly half his account-- a whopping 5000 gil!
Aeris came out in a stunningly gorgeous red strapless dress that cut off above her knees. She wore glistening red high heels that sparkled each way she turned. The dress was a bit low-cut, and when Cloud saw her he immediatley had the same feeling he felt back at her house. He walked over to her. "Aeris, you look extremely beautiful."
She fiddled with his ear. "You look handsome yourself. Heheh, my little pimp."
He began to grow a little flustered, as her face came to his. "Not now. Are you ready to go along with this?"
"I...I don't know, but I'm going to do it anyway." She thought of something. "Your sword? Where did it go?" She looked him up and down. "Did you throw it away?"
"Had to. Think about it, if I were to go in there with that big hulking thing on my back-- I'm surprised that bouncer let me in there with that sword on me-- they would immediately flush me out, and my whole plan is dead and gone."
"Well, what if you just sliced them all to ribbons and that would be that?"
He looked at her. "Y'know, for a pretty innocent girl like you, you're pretty morbid. Nah, if I did that then Corneo would probably have Tifa killed. They've no doubt told the Don I'm coming in with a new chick. It would be mass chaos."
Aeris looked at him, lovingly. "You going to find another weapon then?"
"Ah, don't worry about that. The fact now is that nothing is going to hamper this plan. It's foolproof."Don Corneo's Mansion.
An elaborate, two-story mansion modeled after the famous Wutain architecture-- yet another reason Cloud thought to hate the situation he was in. Massive gong bells hung on each side of the mansion. The gates were intricately carved in the shapes of dragons, beautiful creatures they were and gleaming golden and red in the morning sun. The doors to the vast mansion were bronze and equally as shiny as the dragons.
A large crowd of people roamed around the mansion seeking to find a way in, but to no avail. They kept getting pushed away from the burly muscleman guarding the dragon-etched gates, sending them cursing into the earth where they fell. The guardian of the gates turned to Cloud and Aeris and smiled. "Ah, you must be the splendent people Scotch was telling me about. In case you haven't noticed I'm Kotch, his brother. Don't we look alike?"
Cloud curled his thumbs underneath his suit collar, and said, "Somewhat, I'm sorry, Kotch, but you are delaying a very important meeting me and this chicky-whicky right here have to partake, and quite frankly she's getting a little antsy."
"Heh, she might be antsy, but she looks pretty tasty to me."
Cloud nodded a knowingly look and put a hand on Kotch's shoulder. "Trust me, Kotch, hehehe she's very tasty. In more than one situation, if she's not upset. And, let me tell you, when she gets upset the whole world goes down the shithole."
"H-How so?"
"Oh, she can get really, really envious. If there's more than one busty female in the place, and she's feelin' like no one's paying attention to her, she can get pretty damn pissy. The Don doesn't have to worry about that, though, from what I heard. He should have fun with this one, even though she doesn't have much up top."
Kotch nodded in agreement. "Yeah, but the her body fits that dress good."
"Oh, yeah. Hell yeah. Aint no girl I've seen better. Plus, she's got it where it really counts, you know what I'm sayin', man." He nudged Kotch in the rib and both of them laughed slyly.
Kotch then got himself under control and said, "Enter the Don's House, and help yourself to any chick you find up there."
"Oh, you don't have to tell me twice."
Kotch continued to laugh as Cloud walked away in disgust. Swiftly he opened the doors, and he and Aeris entered the elaborate hallway of the mansion. It was more of the same Wutain elements as on the outside, except there was a large pool in the center of the room with a dozen naked women frolicking around. Some henchmen of the Don's were massaging some of the women on fold-out chairs, mostly in provocative areas.
He felt a tug on his shoulder and he looked to see a frown on Aeris's face. "Don't get any ideas now," she snapped into his ear.
He laughed nervously, "O-Oh Aeris, what makes you think that's going to happen?"
She shook her head and went on, "What was that talk about me being too...what was it?..oh yeah, 'she doesn't have much on top."
He patted her on the shoulder. "Just go along with it."
"Sammy! Pleasure to meet you again."
They turned to see Scotch, his arm around a naked girl and his other hand clutching a vodka, strolling towards them. "I'm glad you're here. This is Violet. Violet, this is Desire and her pimp, Sammy. Why don't you two acquaint yourselves with Miss Lockheart by the pool while I escort Samuel over to the Don, okay? I'll call you three once the Don's finished with whatever girl he's fucking with right now."
Violet kissed him passionately on the lips and took Aeris's arm. Going with Cloud's plan, she assumed the role of Missy Desire and swayed with Violet down the stony steps to the large pool of women. A brown-haired female that Cloud recognized immediately as Tifa stood up when they came over to her and started talking with them. Scotch put his arm around Cloud's shoulder and led him up the stairs to Mr. Corneo's office.
"Violet, I had thought, was the perfect broad until now. I don't know, Sammy, Corneo's going to have a damn difficult choice to make."
"Yeah, I'm having a difficult time, myself."
Scotch laughed and handed him a cigarette, which Cloud accepted.
Cries and pleasurable moans came from a closed bedroom, and an excited masculine voice urged the lighter voice onwards. Scotch knocked on the door. "Mr. Corneo, sir, Sammy is here and he's brought the third contestant."
Cloud wished he had sword right now to embed it into the bastard's skull for this ludicrousness. He heard the sounds of a woman complaining, and seconds later the door opened and Don Corneo's pudgy face peeked out. "Ah, the pimp has arrived!" He came into the hallway, tightening his belt. A large blue orb hung on a golden necklace around his throat. "Sorry, you caught me in mid-climax, but I just had to get out here at once." He turned to the bedroom. "Tonight, honey, tonight. I promise! Anyway, Sammy Supremo! I have been waiting for this day for...oh..well I don't know, I've lost track of the days. They're all the same, ha!"
Cloud twirled his cane. "Don't be sorry, be happy! The three hot bodies are down there right now, and I fancy that it'll take you years to pick the best one."
"Ha! Spoken like a true pimp. Care for a nice taste of bourbon?"
"Bring it on."
"Excellent, come down with me to the bar." Both men followed the pompous, bloated scumbag to the bar overlooking the massive pool. Some of the henchmen had gotten a little more provocative in their activities, and Cloud tried to focus on his disguise. In the corner of his eye, he could see Aeris and Tifa talking amongst each other. What about he could not know. Scotch got out the alcohol, and Corneo stared at the women in the pool. Cloud noticed a funny-looking sword hanging above the refridgerator. It was dark purple, containing a very long blade, and it had a bronze handle. It looked extremely sharp and alluring to Cloud.
"That's one hell of a sword there. I thought I had one hell of a sword, but that beats mine by a mile."
Scotch smiled, and Corneo laughed heartily. "I love a man with a good sense of women and humor! Yeah, that is one hell of a sword. An original Wutain sword gathered after one of the great Wutain-Midgarian battles in the war. I stole it from a museum in Junon and brought it here. That thing, I bet you, cost 50,000 gil."
"Shit, that's pretty good."
"Not a single gil I had to pay!" He laughed heartilly at his own remark, and then pointed at the orb. "See this thing around my neck? Don't know what it is, but I found it while I was travelling the Yosuke River in Wutai. It was just floating along the water, and I thought that would be a great piece of merchandise. Lately, though, I've figured out that I don't like it as much. It's too heavy around my neck, and I feel this weird pulsing feeling every time I put it on. The girls like it, though, so that's the only reason I wear it everyday."
"A weird...pulsing feeling, huh? Sure that aint something else, Don?"
The bloated man guffawed wildly and threw his bottle at the wall. "I love it! I have never had so much fun in my whole life. Wonderful!
"Ahem! Uh..say..where are my three candidates, by any chance?"
Scotch put his bottle down and stood up. "I'll go fetch 'em, sir."
"Spectacular!" Corneo cheered, while plastering himself in another bourbon. "C'mon, Sammy, let's go check them saucies out, huh!"
Tifa, Aeris, and Violet-- who had managed to find a swimsuit for the moment-- were standing in a line by the pool ready to be inspected. The latter was extremely excited and kept on talking about all the cool stuff that she was going to do once she got picked. Tifa, on the other hand, seemed a bit intimidated by the whole process. Aeris was playing her part quietly and appropriately. Cloud was impressed.
The henchmen and the other women lounging at the pool had vanished. Scotch was called in by his brother to look at something, and the former left Corneo and Cloud to tend to the picking. Corneo was ecstatic. He looked all three of them over several times, unable to make up his mind. "Damn, you've got me stumped, Sammy, they're all pretty. Which one should I pick?"
Cloud twirled his cane onto his right shoulder. "Well, Don, I'm not supposed to encourage a vote...but, ah, if you ask me..my girl is the better of the three."
He saw Tifa give him a questioning stare. Violet was off in another world.
"You see, Don, take a good look at all of them in general terms. The one on your far right-- the one staring into space. Sure she has a hell of a body, but she probably couldn't hold a conversation with a brick. If you're thinking of settling momentarily down with someone, she..er..wouldn't be the best choice."
"Ooh, nicely pointed out."
"Now, look at the one on your far left."
"Oh, I am!"
"Yes, I know. They're big. Had a rendhevous with that myself a couple years ago," (he noticed briefly both Tifa and Aeris giving him appalled expressions) "anyway, let me tell you, Don, she may be good in bed but damn if her attitude aint a pain in the ass."
"Whatever do you mean?"
"I'm mean that she is a bitch almost 24/7. Constantly complaining about everyone and everything. You got to slap her a bunch of times before she will cooperate in any...activities. Then, once she's good and ready you're too damn tired to do anything. I was lucky to have one instance of energy to sustain me through that one night!"
"Ah, Sammy! I wish I had a million of your kind. As a token of my gratitude, please accept this Wutai orb and a well-earned 20,000 gil."
Corneo exchanged the gifts and strolled over to Aeris and started making love growls in his throat. Cloud looked at the orb and saw it to be something more-- it was a chunk of Materia, a specimen of the lightning magic to be exact. He mused to himself why Corneo had never realized that before.
As he put it on and pocketed the gil, the front door slammed open and seven henchmen armed with swords led by Scotch stormed through the door. Violet shrieked and dove into the pool. Tifa and Aeris looked on in shock, and Corneo stood their blubbering. Only Cloud remained calm-- the time had come at last.
"What is the meaning of this, Scotch?" Corneo blubbered, his jowls swaying back and forth.
"Kotch brought up a record of all the men we have working in this business, and his name," he snarled pointing at Cloud, "is not one of them. He is a fake, and he just used this cover-up to get at you."
A henchmen spoke up, "He's probably a member of AVALANCHE!"
The others agreed and drew their swords.
Corneo looked at Cloud, appalled. "Great Scot! An AVALANCHE on my property. How dare you deceive me, you bastard!"
Cloud continued to remain calm, and he kept his cane on his shoulder. His sunglasses glimmered brightly in the room's light. "Well, now, sometimes I go by different names and don't list them. It's a common understanding."
"Don't fuck with us, Sammy! You may have brought us a hot chick and all, but we're bringing you this!"
On cue, a henchmen darted forward and three others followed. Cloud looked at them and waited for them to strike. One swung at his face, and he blocked it with his cane and then quickly blocked another aiming for his groin. The third henchmen jumped on the table and attempted to uppercut Cloud in the side. Cloud ducked it and swiftly rapped the cane across the man's jugular. Blood sprayed from the wound, and the goon fell on the floor, clutching his neck.
One of the two henchmen suckerpunched Cloud in the face, and then the other kicked him in the chest. Cloud backed into the bar counter, and the two raised their swords to strike at his belly. He hopped over the counter, grabbed a bourbon bottle, and smashed it ontop of one of his attacker's heads. He saw a huge chunk of bottle embedded in the soft tissues of the goon's cranium and winced. He then leapt off the counter and got ready to attack.
Scotch silently watched the battle and ordered the remaining three to attack as well. The last guard of the first wave brushed the glass off his clothes and hopped over the counter. Cloud threw away the cane and grabbed the purple sword. The goon stepped back away from the blade, and Cloud swung. He hit the counter, and the goon rushed to counterattack, successfully slicing Cloud's back. The pinstripe suit split in the back, and blood clotted against the undershirt.
The other three goons entered the bar, and four swords clashed against each other. Cloud evaded all of the thrusts, and successfully slashed at one of the open stomachs. The goon went down, and Cloud hopped back over the counter, barely missing a blade. He cartwheeled over the goon clutching his neck and grabbed his sword. With two swords in hand, he swiped them both with lightning speed at a henchmen struggling to get over the counter. The blades sliced his back, and he cried in pain. The last two goons got out of the bar and prepared to impale Cloud's stomach. With quick reflexes, Cloud grabbed the dying goon he just slashed and used him as a sheild as the blades struck. Both of them sliced through the goon's stomach, and the dying goon let out a gurgling noise and hung limp in Cloud's grip. Cloud threw the dead body at the two nameless and sidestepped away.
The goons pulled out their swords from the bloody stomach and chased Cloud down. Cloud ran up the stairs and somersaulted onto the railing. The first goon somersaulted and assaulted Cloud maniacally. Together, they danced on the narrow railing, their swords blocking each of their blows. The second goon ran along the second floor and attempted a surprise hit alongside the dueling men. Clang after clang of the swords maintained for several minutes as they scaled the entire second floor railing. Cloud saw an opening, then, sped up his attacks and then successfully sliced low and then high, and the goon fell legless and headless down into the pool. Cloud then somersaulted over the second goon's head and stabbed his heart. He fell limp at Cloud's feet.
Corneo whimpered in a small corner, Violet screamed and ran out of the mansion, and Tifa and Aeris held one another unable to look at the death. Scotch grimaced, but then smiled. "You are quite an interesting foe, Sammy-- if that is your real name. You are deft at using and evading a sword, but can you evade a gun?" He pulled out a machine gun and fired chaos at the second floor.
Bits and pieces of railing clouded his vision and he ducked to the floor, the bullets striking just above his body. A few managed to find their mark, and he winced as he felt warm blood trickle down his back and legs. Suddenly, he heard his time commence. The machine gun whined from lack of rounds, and Scotch cursed as he hastily reloaded.
A shadow ran over him, and he looked to see Cloud jumping off the second floor-- a crazy spectacle. Scotch hastily reset the trigger and fired death at the man with two swords. Cloud deflected the heavy spray with quick arcs of his swords, hit the ground while deflecting, somersaulted into the air, sliced the gun hand with the goon's sword and impaled Scotch through the throat with his purple sword. The severed hand still clutching the gun fell on the floor, while Scotch's body hung suspended by Cloud's sword. The latter drew it out, and Scotch fell lifeless to the floor.
Cloud threw the goon's sword away, grabbed Corneo by the collar, and brought the purple sword up to Corneo's neck. "Deceiving you, eh? Did a pretty damn good job, didn't I?"
Corneo whimpered, "Did a fine job of murdering my hands, as well."
Cloud smiled and slammed Corneo facefirst onto the tile. "All fine and dandy with me."
"Yes, all fine and dandy, Cloud, and I thank you for saving me," Tifa said and she ran up to him and gave him a hug. "Now it's time to talk, Corneo."
"T-Talk? W-W-What about?"
Cloud looked at her puzzled. "Time to talk? No, Teef, it's time to chop off this bastard's head!" Corneo immediately wailed.
"Not yet," Tifa said sternly, "first we have to pry information out of him. You may be wondering why I came here."
"Yes, I'd like to know that." He brought Corneo to a sitting position and propped him up against the wall. "Stay there, fatass. What's been going on, Tifa?"
"First things first, were you hurt after the fall. I was so scared and worried for you. Barret even was, too. And Jessie, she really was for some reason, and Biggs and Wedge, too."
"I'm fine and well. Aeris helped me out."
"Oh...really," she said as Aeris came up to them. "How well?"
"Oh, let's not have that discussion," he said, "the point is I'm fine. What about you? That's the real information I need to know."
"I'm fine, but I fear that Sector Seven is not. Corneo's hired hands were infiltrating my bar trying to find our hideout. They found it, but Barret and I got them before they could spill anything. A couple of days ago, I learned that the Don's goons had found this place out by the capture of Smithers."
"Smithers was captured!"
"And killed, " she added sadly. "He was such a nice man for letting us use the train even though we were the terrorists."
"Because he hated ShinRa, plain and simple."
"The goons and Don were, according to the guards, hired by ShinRa himself to ferret out our hideout."
"That's right," Corneo spoke up with a little more courage under his belt. "ShinRa hired me, and Heidegger ordered me to send out the spies. They know, though, even if the exact hideout cannot get back to them, they know that Sector Seven is the place containing AVALANCHE. You chums, you are so fucking stupid! Your little buddies are going to die in a day or so-- I'm not too goof at tracking time."
"What?" Cloud asked angrily. He grabbed and Corneo and placed his sword near Corneo's pants. "Talk, lech, or you'll never be able to bone someone again!"
"Oh, Great Scot, alright, alright! Let's not be so hasty, here. I'll talk."
"Then...talk, dummy," spoke Aeris for the first time.
"Bah, Cloud! If only you'd made the chaos happen after I was done with her!" Corneo whined.
Cloud picked up his sword and drove it at Corneo's face, missing it by centimeters. "Want me to hit you for real?"
"N-N-N-N-N-"
"Then talk!" Tifa yelled, her voice so venemous it made Cloud's skin crawl.
"ShinRa's sending in an air platoon to kill every slum dweller in Sector Seven. After that, or sometime during it, he's sending the Turks in to blow up the Sector Seven support pillar. Boy...once that happens Sector Seven is done for. AVALANCHE is done for, except for you three, but I doubt that you three will succeed at anything. Hehehehe."
Cloud let go of Corneo and started cursing to himself. Aeris came up to Corneo and asked sternly, "All right, pig, you listen to me! I've got something itching on my mind. If ShinRa wants to blow AVALANCHE away, and the only resolution he has to perform with is to blow up an entire sector, where are the brains in that? So far, three reactors including this potential one are going to be destroyed. What is he going to gain from this? What promising result can he expect from this? Talk, or..." Suddenly, she drew a staff from behind her and slammed it on the floor between his spread legs, inches away from his virility. "...you can kiss that goodbye."
"Son of a bitch," Cloud said trance-like and in awe.
Tifa could not reply.
"H-H-Holy shit! Wh-Where did you get that?" Corneo stammered.
"Found it in one of your rooms. Pretty cool-looking. Especially when I'm going to strike you with it."
"Sh-Shit! Okay, I don't know a whole lot so cut me some slack."
"That's apparant."
"The guy is a fruitcake. What pleasure he gets from blowing a support structure is beyond my comprehension. I think the only thing he wants out of this whole deal is to see AVALANCHE burn. Which I accept, and I am thankful that the explosion will occur in Sector Seven and not Six. Thank whoever is up there in the heavens for that!"
Aeris looked at him in disgust and walked over to Cloud. Tifa followed her. Cloud was holding his head, and still silently cursing to himself. Aeris put a cool hand on his neck ,and he perked up a bit. None of them noticed Corneo pull out a device.
"Yep, you all are so fucking stupid. Turning your back on a madman. Before I pull this lever, I just want to say, I hope we meet again sometime. To hell with all of you!" Before Cloud could react, Corneo pulled the lever and the well-hidden trapdoor Cloud, Aeris, and Tifa stood over opened up and they fell into a great blackness.