Disclaimer: The characters/places named in this fiction are the copyrighted property of SquareEnix. Reilena Gainsborough is the copyrighted property of Vinja Ryou. This was done in fun. Now...on with the Muddy Mudskipper Show.
"No way. I'm not doing this," Cloud grumbled, his arms firmly crossed. Behind him, Aerith and Reilena laughed, pushing him ahead.
"Look, if you want to find Tifa, you're going to have to become a girl," Aerith replied in between giggles. "This is the only thing you have to do on your own. Rei and I will get everything else for you." Cloud arched an eyebrow; both girls nodded, though still giggling.
"The three of us are going to Corneo Mansion, right?" Reilena continued; Cloud nodded slowly, and she shrugged. "Then the least you can do is go to the Honey Bee Inn alone. Besides, it's a place for you men anyhow." She shoved the membership card in Cloud's hand, and then pushed him toward the gaudy nightclub. He stopped just in front of the bouncers and turned to the two girls, shooting them both a dark look. Reilena and Aerith shook their heads, grinning. "Meet us back at the dress shop when you're finished with your business here. Aerith and I will be waiting for you, and we'll have everything ready." Cloud rolled his eyes, letting out a heavy sigh.
"Fine. I'm going. But," he stopped, pointing at the sisters with a raised eyebrow and narrowed eyes, "if anything happens to me in there, you owe me," he finished. Aerith and Reilena peered at each other before turning back to Cloud with matching nods. He looked between them once more, and then turned to the bouncers, handing them the membership card they'd been given by the indecisive guy out front. The host took the card and handed it back to Cloud, glancing past him at Aerith and Reilena.
"You ladies sure you don't want to come in here as well?" he asked. They laughed, and Cloud stepped in front of the host, the look on his face telling the host that he was not one to be messed with. "Okay, I see that you want to come in alone. Right this way." He raised a hand in the air, snapping his fingers; not even a minute later, a young woman in a skimpy bee costume walked out and took Cloud's hand, leading him inside. Aerith and Reilena's eyes widened as they clapped their hands over their mouths to stifle their laughter, ignoring the glare Cloud shot them. Once he was inside, both girls made their way through the horde of men clamoring toward the inn and returned to Wall Market to gather the rest of Cloud's disguise.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
"Well, we've only got two rooms open right now," the hostess said, shivering a bit. Cloud set his jaw as he glanced around. The room was a circular shape - the large twin doors ahead said "Make-Up Room," which he guessed was for the hostesses. Not wanting to look in the peepholes to see what was available, Cloud turned to the hostess.
"Which ones are they?" Sighing, the girl walked first to the left, and then the right before returning to Cloud's side.
"We have the Group Room over here" - she pointed to the room on the left - "and then there's the…single room over there," she finished, pointing to the right. Cloud shuddered inwardly; neither place sounded particularly appealing, but he wanted to get this done and over with as quickly and painlessly as possible. He pulled out a Gil coin and laid it in his hand.
"Heads - Group, tails - single," he muttered under his breath. The bee-girl next to him rolled her eyes again, but waited as Cloud flipped the coin in the air. He caught it and set it on the back of his hand, letting out a heavy sigh; the coin had landed on heads. Silent, Cloud gestured toward the Group Room, and the girl laughed under her breath, pulling the room key out of one of her 'wings.'
"Nice choice, mister," she giggled, holding the door open for him; she followed him inside and replaced the key as she glanced around. Cloud let his glance wander over the room; to his surprise, it seemed pretty nice, although the bathtub at the far end of the room was a little out of place. Before he could ask the hostess anything, a door opened, and the sound of several footsteps entered the room. Cloud spun on his heel and came face to face with what looked to be at least fifteen other men, the one in front looking him over with a smile.
"Well hello hello!" the man said, his voice sounding almost like the bee-girl's. Cloud nodded silently as the hostess left, biting the inside of his cheek. "I think I speak for all of my friends here when I say that you have such lovely eyes," the man continued with a smile.
"Thanks," Cloud replied. The group giggled as one, and then the leader gestured toward the bathtub.
"What do you say we all have a nice relaxing bubble bath?" The rest of the men strode over, climbing in; a moment later, they all glanced over at Cloud, waving him over. "C'mon in! The water's fine!"
The sooner this ends, the better - Aerith and Reilena owe me, Cloud thought, setting his jaw as he sat on the very edge of the tub; there was no way he was getting in with everyone else. Unfortunately for Cloud though, there was no way he was going to get away with remaining silent; the men quickly tried to get Cloud to talk.
"Well, what is your name, dear?" a bald man in blue asked.
"Cloud." Silent, Cloud began counting backward from ten in his head - once he hit one, he was getting out of the tub area, no matter what.
"Pretty name!" another one said - this one had brown hair. "How old are you?"
Nine. "Twenty-one."
"I remember when I was that young, don't you Richie?" the brunet said. Immediately, the group immersed themselves in conversation amongst themselves, and Cloud remained on his perch, counting down in his head. Suddenly…"Cloud, what do you do for a living?"
Five. "I don't have a job."
"That must be so nice!"
Four. "Yeah, it is."
"Have you ever been to the hot springs near Mount Corel?" the lead man asked.
Three. "…no."
"Such a pity!" he replied sadly. A moment later, he snapped his fingers, and Cloud glanced up, still biting his cheek. "How would you like to come up there with the rest of us next week?"
Two, one. "No thank you," Cloud said quickly. "Y'know, I'm done in here, I'm getting out now."
"Then we all will!" the lead man replied. Obligingly, the rest of the group climbed out of the huge tub, and reassembled in front of Cloud, who was inching toward the door. "Oh, just wait Cloud!"
"…what?" he asked, wishing the man would just shut up and let him out. To his shock, the man handed Cloud what looked to be a string of cloth while the rest of the men left the room.
"Take this as a momento of our time together," the man replied. He waved quickly before following the others, and left Cloud alone in the room. Curious, Cloud held the garment up to the light, his eyes widening when he realized what they were.
"This…is underwear?" Cloud said to himself. "Bikini briefs?" He quickly pocketed the undergarment and left the room as quickly as he could. The hostess watched as Cloud strode quickly out of the building, and giggled behind her hands. Outside, the host and bouncers grinned.
"Enjoy yourself?"
"Immensely," Cloud said, emotionless. Ignoring his flat tone, the host shook Cloud's hand.
"Come back anytime!" he said. Cloud nodded silently, and made his way back to Wall Market, planning exactly what he was going to say to both Gainsborough girls when he saw them.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Aerith and Reilena set the rest of Cloud's disguise on the counter of the dressing room in the shop, still laughing under their breath over it all. They'd managed to gather a blonde braided wig, a diamond tiara, perfume, and put it all with the violet dress the dressmaker had sewn for them. "I never imagined that I'd be helping a guy dress up for something!" Aerith giggled, shaking her head as she and Reilena walked out into the shop to look over the gowns. "I'm used to helping you out, but Cloud?"
"I wonder if he'd be a pretty girl," Reilena answered with a smile, flipping through the dresses. "I mean, violet brings out blonde hair ever so nicely," she continued in a pompous voice; Aerith burst out laughing, and then pulled a strappy crimson dress from a clothes rack.
"What do you think of this, Rei?" she asked, holding the dress up against herself. "I kinda like it…" Reilena shot her sister a curious look, and Aerith shrugged. "What? If Cloud's going to infiltrate the Corneo Mansion, don't you think we should help?" Rolling her eyes, Reilena faced her sister, hands on her hips and an eyebrow arched.
"Aerith, have you even heard of Don Corneo? He thinks he's the celestial gift to women everywhere. If you think I'm going in there, you're dead wrong," she replied. "I'm helping Cloud out, that's it. Besides, I thought you and I were gonna lay low here until Cloud and Tifa get outta there." Aerith shrugged.
"I thought it would be nice if we went in there with him. I mean, think of this way," she continued, noticing the exasperated look on her sister's face. "After what Cloud's gone through lately, and us giving him a hard time about having to go to the Honey Bee Inn and cross dress as it is, the least we can do is carry on the charade with him, don't you think?"
"Aerith…"
"Don't you want to find out what the heck Tifa's doing there, too?" Aerith added, watching Reilena for an answer. Dropping her eyes to the ground, Reilena finally sighed, and Aerith grinned. "Then it's settled. We'll head there with him, get Tifa, and everything will be all right. So…you never answered me. What do you think of this dress?" she said. Reilena glanced up at Aerith and gave her thumbs up.
"Looks nice, sis," she replied, turning back to the dress racks. She listened for Aerith to go into the dressing room, and flipped through the garments with a sigh. I can't believe I'm doing this, she muttered under her breath; nonetheless, she laughed quietly, listening to Aerith fuss with her gown in the other room as she tried to choose one for herself. There really wasn't much there, though…her eyes widening, Reilena slowly pulled a dress off of its hanger, holding it up in front of herself. A deep ebony colour, the dress was off-shoulder, with long sleeves and a princess neckline - and somehow looked familiar to Reilena. Swallowing back her breath, she turned toward a mirror, holding the gown up to herself; the skirt dusted the ground, and the dressmaker came up behind her with a smile.
"Gorgeous choice there, young lady," the dressmaker said. Reilena turned around in surprise, and the older man laughed. "In fact - since you and your friends have helped me out of my depression, whichever dresses you choose, you may keep."
"You're kidding, right?" Aerith called from behind the dressing room curtain. The tailor shook his head.
"No. Consider it a token of gratitude," he replied; Aerith walked out of the room, holding the scarlet gown in her arms.
"Thank you so much!" she said. "May I take this dress then?" Before the tailor could make his reply, the door to the shop swung open, and heavy footsteps plodded over to the trio. Both Aerith and Reilena burst out laughing at the look on Cloud's face; he glared at both girls.
"You owe me in the biggest way. Do you have any idea what I had to go through?" he cried, rummaging through his pocket to show them what he had gotten. "And all for this!" Eyes widened, the girls glanced at the skimpy underwear Cloud held in the air, and then burst out laughing. Cloud glowered, shoving the undergarment back in his pockets. "Yeah, you laugh - you're the people that wear this kind of stuff!"
"Maybe girls do, but most of the ones I know don't work at the Honey Bee Inn," Aerith replied, hiding her laughter behind her hands. Cloud strode toward the dressing room, sighing at the rest of the disguise he had to put on, and pulled the curtain closed. The tailor chuckled, sitting behind his counter, and Aerith and Reilena glanced at each other, smiling; Aerith noticed the dress her sister held, and gestured toward it. "What dress did you pick out, Rei?"
"Huh? Oh, this one." She held it before herself so that Aerith could get a good look at it; the older sister looked over it with an approving smile. "Yeah, I know it's a little dark - gothic even - but I like it. It's…"
"Elegant," Aerith finished, glancing up at her sister. "It'll look wonderful on you." The curtains to the dressing room were pulled open, and Cloud shuffled out into the room, holding his violet skirts before him. Aerith and Reilena looked over him with wide grins, nodding slowly.
"Well…he does make a cute girl," Reilena said. Cloud glared at her through narrowed eyes.
"Shut up."
"She's right," Aerith agreed. "Now all you need is a bit of make-up, and then you can head up to Corneo Mansion as soon as Reilena and myself have changed." Cloud's eyes widened in shock.
"First you accompanied me here, and now you're going to Corneo Mansion?" he asked, exasperated. Aerith nodded, and took the lipstick Reilena handed her, silencing Cloud.
"Yes we are, and there's no changing our minds." Aerith glanced over at Reilena, gesturing toward the dressing room. "Rei, you go change while I make Cloud look like a dashing young woman." Reilena nodded obediently, stifling her laughter; Aerith turned back to Cloud, and raised an eyebrow at the furious look he shot her. "Oh hush up. You make it seem so much worse than it is."
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
He raised a bushy black eyebrow, glancing over the trio of women before him with a grin. "Well, hello there ladies. Here to speak with the Don, I presume?" he said in a courteous tone. Aerith strode to the front of the group, smiling prettily at the guard.
"Of course we are!" she chirped. "It is okay if we go in there and talk to him, isn't it?" The guard smiled, laughing under his breath.
"Well, you may go inside and wait in the main room until the Don summons you to his chambers," he replied. "It shouldn't be too long though - it is almost evening after all, and the Don will be making his choice soon." Stepping aside, the guard held the door open for the women, looking over them as they walked into Corneo Mansion. Once the door shut, he turned back toward Wall Market, whistling to himself.
"There's one obstacle out of the way," Aerith breathed, glancing around the front room of the mansion. Cloud nodded; he'd been told by both Aerith and Reilena to remain silent so as to not ruin his façade.
"Yeah…now what?" Reilena asked. Aerith looked around with a shrug before turning to face her sister and Cloud.
"You're both here for a reason, at least. Go look upstairs for Tifa. I'll wait here in the foyer," she replied. With a curt nod, Cloud walked up the stairs as quickly as he could, Reilena following close behind; Aerith remained on the first floor, looking around absentmindedly, and noticed a darkened door on the leftmost wall. She turned to call her companions back; they were already heading down the stairs, shaking their heads.
"She's not in any of those rooms," Cloud said in a low voice. Reilena shrugged in agreement, and Aerith gestured toward the door.
"I found something that might help though. C'mon," she said, turning toward the basement door. Cloud and Reilena glanced at each other in surprise; Reilena shrugged again, and then went to follow her sister. Cloud rolled his eyes, lifting his skirts again so that he could walk down the stairs.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Tifa rolled her eyes, tucking a strand of dark brunette hair behind her ears. She'd arrived on the scene, found an indigo gown from a local shop to wear here, and had been stowed in the basement of Corneo's Mansion. "What a fun night this is gonna be," she grumbled to herself, smoothing out her skirts so that she could sit down on a wooden chair. Just as she sat down however, the door to the upper level opened up, and she braced herself; the guard had said that he'd call for her when the Don was ready. Instead, several footsteps climbed down the stairs amind hushed voices, and Tifa turned toward the entrance, her eyes widened in shock when she saw who it was.
"Rei?" Reilena Gainsborough nodded, holding up her ebony skirts as she walked over to Tifa.
"Yeah, it's me. Aerith and Cloud are here too," she replied, gesturing behind herself. Tifa looked over her friend's shoulder, giggling when she saw Cloud; Cloud immediately stood in a corner, arms folded irritably as Aerith joined her sister.
"Well, here we are. What are you doing here, Tifa?" Aerith asked calmly. Tifa shook her head, standing up.
"Corneo's men have been casing my bar for some time, and we think the Don himself has some suspicious ties to Shinra," she began. "I decided to come here and infiltrate the mansion by putting myself up to be chosen by the Don as either his partner for tonight or for the Honey Bee Inn." Another sigh, and she flicked her hair behind her shoulders. "I've spent at least an hour down here, waiting for a guard to tell me when it was time for me to 'show my face to the Don.'" Tifa laughed contemptuously, glancing over at Cloud in the corner before facing the Gainsboroughs. "So why are you guys here? This isn't the greatest place on earth for you to be, and I want to know why the hell Cloud's in a skirt over there…and you look lovely too!" she called in a teasing tone. Cloud rolled his eyes, unmoving, and Aerith cleared her throat.
"Cloud actually dropped into the church yesterday," she began; Tifa's eyes widened.
"The explosion didn't hurt you too much, did it?" Tifa said to Cloud; Aerith and Reilena both stared at Tifa in surprise.
"Explosion?" Tifa shook her head.
"I'll explain later. Tell me why you're all here first." Nodding, Aerith continued.
"Cloud helped Reilena and myself when Rude and his henchmen from Shinra came after us again, and I brought him to our house to rest. He wanted to get to your bar, and I told him that I would help him there. Reilena overheard Elmyra telling him to leave without us though, and so we snuck out before he left and met him at the entrance to Sector 6, intending to just bring him to Sector 7, but when we saw you on the back of the Chocobo cart, we came to Wall Market to find out what you were doing here," she finished, exhaling deeply, and pushed her ponytail back over her shoulder. Tifa turned to Reilena, who nodded silently, and folded her hands.
"You guys know what you're getting into?" she asked. Both girls nodded, and Tifa excused herself. She walked over to Cloud, smiling lightly, and stopped before him, speaking in a low tone. "So you came here to find out what I was doing, and you were going to go back to the Seventh Heaven?" she asked. Cloud nodded, and Tifa smiled, fixing his braids as she continued. "So you haven't forgotten your promise; thank you, Cloud." She brushed her hand along his cheek, but before she could say more…
"Hey! Get up here!" a guard called. "The Don will see you now!" He left the door open, and the troupe glanced amongst each other with simultaneous shrugs.
"Let's go," Tifa said, picking up her skirts so as to climb up the stairs. Reilena followed, Aerith and Cloud taking up the rear, and were led to the second story of the house. The guard threw the red and gold doors open, allowing the women to enter before him, and closed the doors. He then strode up to the front of the room, beside the ornate gold chair. Aerith, Cloud, Reilena, and Tifa stood in line, standing up tall, and stifled their obvious surprise when Don Corneo strode out. A portly, balding man with blonde hair and blue eyes, he walked over to the women, beaming happily as he looked over each one.
"Hello my beauties," he said in a slightly deep voice, his hands behind his back. "And how are we doing this evening?"
"Quite well," Tifa replied, smiling. Don Corneo walked over to her, his eyes looking up and down her with a smile.
"As am I, as am I." He looked up into Tifa's dark eyes; her smile was unmoving, and he finally chuckled, walking over to Reilena. Although he raised an eyebrow whilst looking over her, he glanced up at her with a small smile. "Very nice, altough I'm not in the mood for a gothic woman just now," he said. Reilena bowed her head, biting her tongue even as she smiled, and the Don moved onto Cloud. Corneo seemed to be taken in by Cloud, and strode over to Aerith, giving her the once-over before setting a hand on Cloud's shoulder.
"I have made my choice for the evening," he proclaimed. "The silent blonde is the one for me tonight." Aerith, Tifa, and Reilena tried not to laugh as the Don leaned toward Cloud, whispering in 'her' ear. "Go behind the chair, through those curtains. I will be in there shortly." Cloud nodded, stoic, and walked out of the room to where the Don told him to go to; Corneo chuckled to himself and glanced over at his guards. "For such a wonderful job on this evening…you may take the remaining girls," he said, waving a hand in the air as he left for his chambers. Grinning widely, the three guards eyed the remaining girls, who backed quietly out of the Don's meeting room and into the hallway.
"So, Wills…which one do you want?" the burly guard in the middle said. Wills cocked his head thoughtfully.
"I like the talker," he replied; Tifa raised an eyebrow, wagging a finger in his direction. Wills smiled, walking up to Tifa. Before he could react, Tifa wrenched an arm behind his back, forcing him to his knees. She glanced over in Aerith and Reilena's direction with a quick nod; both girls promptly pulled out their weapons, brandishing them readily. The guards immediately held their hands up in surrender.
"Knees. Now," Tifa ordered; the guards knelt without hesitation. Aerith and Reilena circled the men, and then pulled the ropes out of the decorative curtains in the hallway in order to bind their wrists. Tifa smirked, as did the Gainsboroughs; the man she held let out a shaky sigh.
"What's the big idea here?" he asked. Tifa glared back down at him, shaking her head slowly.
"We need to speak with your boss, without your help. Gotta get our friend out of there," she replied in a low voice. "So, if you and your comrades keep quiet Wills…" she gestured for Reilena to toss her a knife, and then held the blade underneath his chin, "I won't have to silence you all for eternity." She waited a moment; Wills' eyes widened, and he nodded. Smiling victoriously, Tifa held a hand out; Aerith handed the brunette a cord of rope, and she bound Wills' wrists together as well. Once she was finished, Tifa brushed her hands off on her skirts, gazing over the trio of fallen guards as Aerith and Reilena joined her.
"Was the death threat really necessary, Tifa?" Aerith asked calmly. Tifa nodded.
"These are bar boys, Aer. They need to be controlled the hard way," she replied. She glanced over herself and her friends, and then nodded in the direction of an open room.
"What do you say we change out of these gowns and bust Cloud outta the Don's bedroom?" Tifa was met with two quick nods, and the three women headed in the room, leaving the guards in the hallway, helpless.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
I can't believe I'm doing this, Cloud thought to himself, tossing a blonde braid over his shoulder. He could hear the Don in the next room, most likely talking to his goons. Bored, Cloud wandered around the gaudy bedroom - bright lights kept the room aglow, and a giant paper lantern hung at the foot of the bed - and knelt down just in front of the lantern, having spied a bottle of Hyper.
"Ahh, we're finally alone," the Don said. Cloud shot up, quickly pocketing his findings, and took a step back as the Don leapt onto his bed, crawling toward Cloud with the same lecherous grin he'd had in the other room. "All right pussycat…come to Daddy!" Cloud raised an eyebrow, but continued to back away from Corneo; the Don ignored Cloud's attempts to dodge him. "You're so cute, I never get tired of looking at you," Corneo murmured, watching Cloud maneuver out of the corner. "Do you…like me, too?"
In your dreams! Cloud thought; to the Don, he smiled as girlishly as he could while nodding slowly. Corneo's grin grew, and he reached out to Cloud, pulling 'her' onto the bed. His eyes wide, Cloud quickly sat up on the edge of the mattress, straightening out his violet skirts.
"Wonderful! For a moment there, I thought there was someone else on your mind," Corneo whispered; Cloud tried not to grimace. "Now how's about you give Daddy some sugar now?" Cloud shuddered, but the Don was already leaning in. Slamming his eyes shut, Cloud prepared himself for the inevitable.
"Cloud!" A familiar voice; opening his eyes, Cloud glanced toward the doors and saw Tifa standing there, along with the Gainsborough sisters. "You weren't about to…" Cloud shook his head rapidly, and turned to see Corneo shooting him a confused look.
"Dear? What's going on?" Shaking his head, Cloud leapt off the bed, landing beside Aerith, and tore off the dress and wig to reveal his normal clothing. Corneo's eyes widened, and he growled angrily.
"You tricked me…somebody, get in here now!!" Corneo hollered. Aerith and Reilena laughed to themselves, while Tifa shook her head, clicking her tongue.
"Unfortunately, no one'll be coming to help," she replied. "Rei, Aerith, and myself took care of your goons. They're a little tied up, so to speak." Corneo's eyes narrowed.
"And you're the girls from before," he retorted. "Wh-what the hell's going on?"
"Shut up!" Tifa snapped, holding up a gloved fist. "We're the ones asking the questions now." Tossing her hair back, she glanced over at Cloud before continuing. "What did your assistants find out about Sector 7?" Corneo shook his head, arms crossed in defiance, and Tifa narrowed her eyes. "Talk! If you don't tell us anything…"
"I'll chop them off," Cloud finished. Corneo's eyes widened in fear, and he shook his head, dropping his arms toward his groin protectively.
"No! Not that! I'll talk! I'll tell you everything!" he cried.
"So…talk," Reilena shot back. Corneo glared in her direction, but shied back when Cloud took a step toward him menacingly. He cleared his throat, wiped his eyes, and began.
"I…I made 'em find out who the man with the gun-arm was," he breathed. "B-but that's what I was ordered to do!"
"By who?" Tifa asked, her eyebrow arched in suspicion.
"No!" Corneo wagged his head in defiance. "If I told you that, I'd be killed!" Tifa sighed irritably.
"Talk!" she growled through clenched teeth. "'Cause if you don't…"
"I'll rip them off," Aerith threatened; both Cloud and Tifa shot surprised looks at the usually docile Aerith. Corneo, however, was freaking out; his face turned bright red, his eyes bulged, and he grasped at his throat.
"Eek! Okay, okay," he sqeaked. "It was Heidegger of Shinra! Heidegger, the head of Public Safety Maintenance!"
"The head of Public Safety Maintenance?" Cloud retorted, eyes narrowed; Corneo nodded maniacally.
"You're serious, aren't you?" His question was met with silence, and his breathing quickened. "Ohboy, ohboy, ohboy…I'm not fooling around here, either, you know." Corneo took a deep breath to try and keep himself from hyperventilating, wiping at the sweat on his brow. "Shinra's trying to crush a small rebel group called AVALANCHE, and want to infiltrate their hideout. And, and they're really going to crush them…literally, by breaking the support holding up the plate above them."
"Break the support?" Tifa asked; her eyes widened and she clenched her fists. Corneo nodded, a tiny smile creeping across his lips; he'd struck a nerve.
"You know what's going to happen?" he asked, sitting up with slightly more confidence. "The plate'll go ping, and everything's gonna go BAMM!! I heard their hideout's in the Sector 7 slums," he added. "I'm just glad it's not here in Sector 6." Corneo took out his handkerchief, wiping the sweat off his face as he watched the troupe before him. Tifa turned to Cloud, Aerith, and Reilena, a look of absolute fear written on her face.
"They're going to wipe out the Sector 7 slums!?" she murmured to herself. Tifa glanced up at Cloud, covering her mouth as the thought struck her, and dropped her hand a second later, taking Cloud's in hers. "Cloud, will you come with me to Sector 7?" Cloud nodded.
"Of course, Tifa."
"We're coming with you too," Reilena spoke up; Cloud gazed toward the Gainsborough sisters and gave them a curt nod. Tifa smiled, mouting 'thank you' to the girls.
Unbeknownst to the small group, Corneo was inching closer to a hidden lever just underneath the huge paper lantern at the foot of his bed. He grasped behind himself, felt the wooden switch, and smiled to himself. "Just a second!" he called. Cloud glared over his shoulder at the Don.
"Shut up!" Cloud barked. Corneo put on a hurt face, and Cloud rolled his eyes, motioning for everyone to turn around.
"It'll only take a second, I promise," he said, and waited until he had everyone's attention. "How do you think scum like me feels when they babble on about the truth?" Confused, Aerith, Cloud, Reilena, and Tifa glanced at each other. Corneo's grin grew wider, and he threw the unseen lever. "Woo-hoo! Right!" A loud creak echoed out, and before they could react, the floor underneath the troupe gave out; they plunged into darkness, the last sound they heard being Corneo's high-pitched laughter.