I dusted off my jacket and headed for the Wall Market. My head still throbbed with pain and my jaw was pretty badly swollen up as well. I tried touching it to see if I could feel a break, but every time I did I winced in pain. For such a small young woman, Tifa sure had one hell of a kick on her. I would have to be more careful next time.

I limped across the playground. I stopped by the swing and sat down for a moment to rest. I had managed to pull out almost all the glass from my body but there was still some deep cuts left on my legs and in my hand where I tried to shield myself. I started to swing back and forth, but I was a little too big for the swing and I could feel it buckle under my weight. I thought I had better stop before the chain snaps.

I was in considerable pain but it was pride that hurt the most. I had failed in my mission. Kidnapping people is harder these days than it used to be. It was morning now, the sun glistened high above the slums, shining through the heavy smog and onto the dirty ground. All the Shinra Executives were expecting me first thing in the morning but I couldn't face them like this. I was beat up; my jacket was ripped and torn. I had a black eye, a cracked jaw and several cuts all over my body. Things weren't looking too bright for me despite the nice ray of sunshine that fell right into my eyes.

I tried not to think about what happened that night. I had no idea what happened after I passed out. I woke up about a mile away on a bed in an abandoned trailer. I don't know if Cloud, Barrett and Tifa felt sorry for me and carried me all the way there; or whether I managed to crawl my way there myself. I had no memory whatsoever. I couldn't believe that any member of Avalanche could ever do anything nice or decent. They would have just left me in the gutter to die, not carry me to a comfy bed and pull some of the glass out of my body.

Anyway, whoever it was, I probably would never know, so it was probably best not to think about it. I got up off the swing and instantly felt a rush of pain up and down my leg. I bent down and clutched it. I would have to get serious medical attention if I was going to kidnap Tifa. Luckily, the old pharmacy in the Wall Market had now been turned into a small medical clinic so that was where I was headed.

I saw my reflection in the swing's metal steel support frame, god, I looked a mess. I didn't even have my comb either. Everything fell out of my pockets during the little skirmish I had the previous night. My gun was gone – everything. I turned away from my reflection in disgust.

I limped and I hobbled. It was taking ages just to move a few feet but I knew I was going to make it. I was determined. I would not fail…..again.

When I got to the Wall Market, everywhere seemed quite busy. I had barely seen anyone in the slums over the last day but the Wall Market did good business and people always flocked to see the sights and the smells, no matter how unpleasant they might be.

The smog was much worse in the Wall Market than anywhere else in Midgar and I put my hand over my mouth to try and stop myself breathing in all the polluted air. There was a really bad smell as well; the local cuisine here was something quite special. They always cooked outdoors and the smell was of rotting meat and flesh, you couldn't get away from it. Combined with the dust and the smog, it left for a very potent atmosphere. That was what made the Wall Market so special.

It was so crowded and bustling with people. I was getting pushed and shoved whilst I stood still surveying the area. People didn't like to stand still in the place; this was the economic heart of Midgar.

I heard shouting coming from all sides and bells ringing. Advertising salesman were trying to get people to try their latest product, stay at their inn or even coaxing people into spending an evening with a lovely lady at the Honey Bee Inn.

The medical clinic was just up ahead and I limped in.

Inside there was a small bench, an old wooden table that still had nails sticking out of it and pictures on the wall of people's lungs and diseases. I knew I had come to the right place. The doctor came in through the curtain that was covering the other side of the clinic. He looked like a good, professional doctor; someone I could trust.

He had a thick black moustache. He was quite a short man but had a stocky build but at least he wore a white lab coat and held a clipboard in hand. Often in these kind of places the doctors looked so unprofessional, you wouldn't know whether you were actually in a medical clinic really.

He put down his clipboard on the old wooden table and extended his hand. I shook his hand but it caused great pain and I held my hand and hissed.

"Oh I see" said the doctor. "I can see what the problem is."

He scanned his eyes up and down my body. It was obvious to anyone that I had been beaten up pretty bad. Not exactly the doctor's prognosis that I was looking for.

"My, my, what happened?" he asked.

"T-Thugs, they jumped me" I replied.

It hurt to talk. I let him know by holding my jaw.

"I see. Well, Midgar can be a pretty dangerous place. You've gotta be careful in this day and age. Here let's see if we can fix you up."

He gestured towards the old wooden table with nails sticking out of it. I looked back at him confused and he smiled back.

"Please take a seat, young man."

I thought he was kidding but I guess he wasn't. The table wasn't very high and it didn't cause that much pain to sit down on it. But it was very uncomfortable. I could feel my ass getting splinters as each second passed by.

The doctor put his face right next to mine and then shone a torch into my eye. He circled it round my entire face. My eyes couldn't really take the light that close up and they were watering like mad.

"Ok, this shouldn't be too hard to clear up." The doctor said. "Now, I'd like you to lie down on the table."

I looked down at the table beneath me with all the rusty nails and splinters.

"Lie down here?" I asked.

"Yes, don't worry. The budget had to be cut back in this place. But don't worry you won't feel a thing."

I lay down on the table. Whatever the doctor had in mind it had better have been good. The doctor went away for a moment and came back pulling a huge machine. I couldn't see it properly. But it looked like some kind of giant robot. I tried to sit up but the doctor put a hand on my shoulder encouraging me to lie back down again.

"This is the latest Shinra technology" he said. "Professor Hojo gave it to me last month. He says it can cure any minor injury."

I sat up again to look at it. It had arms and metallic pincers. This was no medical practice, this was Hojo's punishment for me for failing to kidnap Tifa, I knew it. He was going to kill me off.

"Now just relax" said the doctor. "Obviously I'm going to have to put you to sleep as this operation would be far too painful to have conscious."

No, I thought, no. I couldn't let Hojo and this doctor kill me off. I had too much to live for. The mission wasn't failed; it was just on hold for a while. But before I could react, the doctor placed a mask over my nose and mouth. There was nothing I could do, as I drifted off to sleep.

I opened my eyes. I expected the worse. I was just praying that my arms and legs were still attached to my body. The doctor helped me to sit up.

"So, how do you feel?" he asked.

Strangely, I felt fine. There was no pain at all. I put my hand to my eye: the swelling was gone. I then put my hand to my jaw and it didn't feel cracked and I felt really healthy and energetic.

"I'm cured!"

"That's right. Such is the wonder of Shinra technology."

"But how?"

"That's a secret. If I told you that then all the doctors would be doing it and I wouldn't get any business around here. Professor Hojo did it as a favour to me because we went to the same medical college together. He's a brilliant man and he is only going to get better. He deserves to be head of Shinra."

"Business? How much will it cost?"

The doctor chuckled. "Normally I charge about 10,000 GP for an operation like that. But from the looks of things you probably don't have any money on you. Looks like you were mugged as well. You look like a nice chap; I'm going to let you have it for free."

"Thank you" I said. "Thank you very much."

"And what's your name, young man?"

"Rufus" I replied. "Rufus Shinra of the Shinra Corporation. I'm the late president's son. At the moment I work as technical support for the executives but one day I hope to be the top man in the company."

"President Shinra's son?" he cried. "Why didn't you say? You don't look like him."

I figured my hair and clothes were still a mess and I probably looked more like a hobo than a president's son.

"Here, I am good friends with Hojo and other Shinra executives and I would hate them to think you walking round in the state you're in. I mean, what are people going to think?"

The doctor pulled out a wallet from his lab coat and pulled out a note. He then handed it to me as I looked on quizzically. It was a 20,000 GP note. This was enough money to last a whole month.

"Are you sure?" I asked. "This is an awful lot."

"No problem. I get a lot of funding from Shinra anyway for trying out their products. There's plenty more where that came from, my friend. Most people round here in Midgar distrust Shinra but I know better. They are good people who are always trying to do what is best for the people of Midgar. They are always researching new medicine or new weapons to defend us with."

"Yes, I know. The Shinra is a great company and I think it's only a matter of time before people realize that."

"Here" said the doctor. "You might want to use some of that money to get yourself some new clothes. There are plenty of really cool clothes shops round here at the Wall Market. And you might want to buy a wig too to cover up your messed up hair. You can buy all sorts. I even saw this stupid blonde spiky wig the other day. I mean, who in the hell would want that? You can get fake Soldier and Shinra uniforms too. This place is mad."

"Yeah, I'll look into that, thanks."

I got up from the table and shook the doctor's hand. I thanked him again before leaving.

When I got outside I realised once again how humid it was with the thick smog and the terrible stench of rotting meat. But I had money in my hand so it wasn't all bad. I had a new plan too. If I could get a spiky blonde wig and an old Soldier uniform then I could pretend to be Cloud. It was a long shot but it was better than any other ideas I had.

I thought I could do a pretty good convincing impression of Cloud that could fool most people. The question was, could it fool Tifa Lockheart? The plan would have to be fine –tuned obviously but it was a start. Going in there with guns and soldiers didn't work so I thought a sneaky approach might work better.

I headed off to the clothes shop with a smile on my face through the crowded streets of the Wall Market. I had a new motivation and I would kidnap Tifa Lockheart by nightfall. If not by nightfall, then the next day definitely. No later.