Did you ever think that the ending to Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children was a little TOO dramatic? Well, here's why.
Suspenseful music played in the background in the Forgotten City. The three brothers stood tense against the background of white trees, their hair almost blending into them. Kadaj held the Souba loosely in one hand, eyes sharply glaring at Cloud who stood opposite him with the First Sword compounded into one and in a guard position. Yazoo stood to Kadaj's right, both Velvet Nightmares cocked and aimed at Vincent who stood across from him, his own triple-barreled shotgun loaded and ready. Finally, Loz was on Kadaj's left, the Duel Hound's trigger in his palm and ready. Reno grinned, standing opposite him with the tazer extended and resting on his shoulder.
Kadaj gritted his teeth, glancing back and forth from his brothers to his opponents. Yazoo's eyes flicked back to him for a moment, then re-focused on Vincent. How to settle this? Kadaj thought. He knew Loz could take Reno without a problem, but Yazoo would definitely have problems with Vincent and he would probably have issues with Cloud, even with the geostigma affecting him.
"Having troubles boys?" Startled, all six men whirled, weapons wavering between sworn enemies and a new threat. "Relax," the woman said, flipping long brown hair over her shoulder, which just drew attention to the two shotguns criss-crossed across her back.
"We're not a threat," a second spoke up, raking a hand through shoulder-length red hair.
"Your appearance contradicts that," Vincent said softly, eyes sweeping up and down her body, almost every inch of which had some kind of blade harnessed to it.
"Tch Vincent," the last woman said, fingers gripping the katana sheathed at her side. "Surely we're no match for all of you."
"Perhaps," Vincent answered, asking Cloud the question with his eyes. Meanwhile, Cloud had detached one of the serrated swords from his massive blade and held it in his off hand, blue-green eyes flicking back and forth between the three women and the brothers.
"Now now, everyone just calm down," the woman with the shotguns said. "We're just here to offer a more…probable solution. By the way, let me introduce us. I am Natalia. This is Zariel," the redheaded woman with the blades. "And this is Jesimae," the brunette with the katana.
Cloud's eyes narrowed, and he settled a little, both blades lowering a fraction. "What are you talking about?"
Zariel grinned and nodded to Jesimae, and both women made a gesture with their hands. A structure shimmered into existence, and the waves made it difficult to see at first. Then another gesture was made and a round table also came into being. Six chairs were seated around it, three facing three.
The silver-haired leader finally spoke. "What's the meaning of this?"
Natalia grinned, and turned to the wooden structure behind her. Reno followed her movement.
"Is that a bar?" he asked.
Zariel and Jesimae both grinned and stepped behind the now revealed bar. Natalia gestured to the chairs.
"Please. Sheathe your weapons and have a seat gentleman."
"Negotiations?" Yazoo hazarded, refusing to lower his weapons until Kadaj ordered him.
Zariel choked back a laugh behind the bar as she began setting out shot glasses. Jesimae followed behind her, pouring tequila into the glasses. Loz just watched them stupidly, still not certain what was going on. Surprisingly, it was Reno who first caught on.
"A drinking match?" he asked, tapping the tazer thoughtfully against his shoulder.
"Yup," Natalia said, placing her hands on the table. Unfortunately for the men, this just brought attention to her well-endowed chest that was being shown off by her low-cut leather corset. Reno's jaw dropped, Cloud's eyes widened, Vincent actually looked at her for the first time, Loz drooled, Yazoo chanced a glance, and Kadaj smirked. To all of their astonishment, three shot glasses flew through the air, each one hitting it's intended target. One clinked off Reno's temple, another smacked Yazoo on the cheek and a third hit Kadaj smack on the nose. All three men jumped, which jolted the others out of their trances.
"What the hell was that about?" Kadaj snarled.
"You were staring at Natalia," Jesimae said with a shrug.
"So were Cloud and Vincent," Reno protested.
"But Cloud and Vincent were claimed by Natalia, so that's ok," Zariel said, which really didn't explain anything to them.
"We're claimed?" Vincent said softly.
"Yup," Natalia said with a smug grin. "You're claimed by me, as is Cloud. Reno and Yazoo have had claims laid by Zariel, and Kadaj by Jesimae. So just deal with it."
Yazoo had a trace of a smile on his face as his gaze switched to Zariel, who was wearing a similar outfit to Natalia's. She smirked back as she sauntered over to set the glasses on the table. Cloud and Vincent were careful not to watch her, as was Kadaj, who was in turn eyeing Jesimae.
"But on to other matters," Natalia continued. "Here's the deal. We pour you shots of whatever we choose. Whichever team passes out first, you lose in the movie. Deal?"
Cloud eyed the alcohol for a moment, then suddenly sheathed the sword in his back harness. He crossed his arms and nodded to Vincent and Reno. Both men looked at each, shrugged and put away their own weapons. "I'll do it."
Kadaj looked at them in astonishment for a long, drawn-out moment. Then, he let out a long laugh, tilting his head back. With a wicked smirk, he sheathed the Souba in a fluid movement. Yazoo hesitated a moment, then flipped the guns up, uncocked them and sheathed the weapons. Loz shrugged and flipped the trigger of the Hound back, then pulled out a chair and flopped down in the seat. Kadaj and Yazoo followed a little more gracefully, the smirk still on both their faces.
Reno grinned and did the same, leaning his chair back on two legs while Cloud unharnessed his sword and stowed it in the bike. Meanwhile Vincent bowed to Natalia. "May I be of assistance?" he asked quietly.
Natalia smiled sweetly at him and placed a hand on his forearm. "Why Vincent that's so sweet of you," she purred, then removed her hand and wrapped her arm around his. "Certainly you can baby." She handed him a couple of shot glasses and then walked back to the bar. He watched her for a moment, head tilted, then abruptly shook himself and sat at the table where Cloud joined him. He slid the shot of tequila to Cloud and then sat back, contemplating the amber liquid in front of him.
He looked around for a moment, finding out where the women had gone. Jesimae had positioned herself behind Kadaj, leaning on the back of his chair and whispering something in his ear, to which Kadaj let out a soft laugh. Zariel was nearly sitting in Yazoo's lap, playing with his hair. Vincent almost jumped at the feel of fingers running through his own hair, then a soft voice at his ear.
"Something wrong?" Natalia whispered.
"No, nothing," he replied immediately.
"Well then," Nat said, standing straight again. "Girls," she gestured and both women reluctantly detached themselves and stood to either side of her, hands clasped behind their backs. "Well, on three boys. One, two, three."
With a simultaneous intake of breath, all six men downed their glasses. Both Loz and Reno choked a little bit, while Cloud shook his head to clear it. All of them sat back, taking a deep breath to keep the liquor down.
"Well?" Zariel asked, eyebrow lifted.
Kadaj leaned back, twirling the shotglass between his fingers. "I'm ready for the next shot. Big brother?"
Cloud glared at him and slid the shot down the table to the women. "Bring it on."
The three women glanced at each, grinned and went back to the bar. "Next up, vodka," Jesimae announced, filling the glasses as Zariel set them out.
Natalia walked around the table, picking up the empty shots and occasionally leaving a kiss on Cloud's lips or whispering something in Vincent's ear. Vincent actually smiled at her words, while Cloud was just stunned. Kadaj meanwhile, was relaxed and leaning back, eyes glancing sideways to watch Jesimae in her leather pants serve the drinks. Reno was now openly goggling at Zariel's outfit, which consisted of the corset and leather pants which flared from the knees down, but had lacing up the sides which showed off the skin along her thigh. Yazoo had apparently decided to alternate between shooting death glares at Reno and watching Zariel appreciatively. Loz, on the other hand, was slumped against his chair, glaring at all three men who sat across from him.
This time it was Jesimae who served the drinks, sauntering amongst the men in her own unique outfit of skin-fitting black pants with black leather boots that laced up her calf. She leaned down beside Kadaj, smiling at him as he got a good view of her cleavage. The silver-haired man smiled at her, running a hand up her thigh, proof that the alcohol was getting to him.
With a smug smile, Jesi finished serving the drinks and stepped to Natalia's left. Reluctantly, Zari detached herself from Reno and moved to her position to Nat's right. "On three. One, two, three." All six men downed the shots, Cloud coughing a little now along with Reno and Loz.
The blonde man leaned back, to find himself staring straight in the eyes of Natalia. She smiled, tracing a finger down his cheek. "Want something to wash that down?"
He nodded and she handed him another drink. As he leaned forward to take a sip he noticed that Jesi and Nat had also passed out drinks to help chase the vodka. He sipped it, then took a gulp. "What is it?" he heard Loz ask blurrily.
"An amaretto sour," Zari answered, sitting in Yazoo's lap.
"Tastes almost as good as you," Yazoo whispered, leaving a kiss on Zari's cheek. She grinned and returned it, then swept up the shot glasses and went to pour the next round. Nat joined her this time, as Kadaj had swept an arm possessively around Jesi's waist and was whispering something to her.
"What next?" Zari half-mused and half-asked Nat.
"Another tequila," Nat answered after a moment's thought. They swiftly poured the glasses and distributed them amongst the table. This time it was Reno that grabbed Zariel, though in a rather inappropriate place. To his surprise, a gun was suddenly pointed at his forehead.
"Let her go," Yazoo hissed softly, crouched on the table in front of him with the other gun cocked and ready. Cloud had half stood at the action, although Vincent obviously thought Reno was getting what he deserved.
"Now settle down baby," Zari crooned to Yazoo, gently pushing his hair back while detaching Reno's hand. "It's a cease fire right now after all."
Yazoo sent one last glare to Reno, then was abruptly back in his seat, fingering his next shot. Nat and Jesi raised an eyebrow at Zari, and she shrugged. The next shot was drunk and the cycle began again.
It was 6 shots later that the first one passed out. Surprisingly, it was Loz. Well, not really since the girls had been handing out various chasers throughout the night, including the amaretto sours, the sex on the beaches, the mudslides and other drinks. Reno grinned triumphantly as the silver-haired man passed out and slid to the ground. However, he soon followed, slumping over the table while Zari chuckled quietly and laid him out gently on the ground with his jacket as a pillow.
The drinking contest continued, with now Cloud, Kadaj, Vincent and Yazoo still in the game. Kadaj was getting more and more extravagant in his gestures as he told his stories of coming to life and how he had been told to find Mother. Cloud and Vincent listened quietly, at first gathering info but after a while just trying to follow his increasingly disjointed tales.
A new development occurred which began disturbing Cloud, but which amused the rest of them quite greatly. It all began when Cloud asked Kadaj, "But why do you look like Sephiroth?"
Of course, at this point Cloud was getting too wasted to realize he'd just realized something important, but that's not the point. Kadaj grinned at him, then slowly stepped onto the table, the flaps of his pants brushing the wooden top. He slowly twirled while Cloud and Vincent watched him, though his brother continued trying to pull Zariel into his lap.
"Oh I don't look entirely like him, although I suppose that I resemble him. I think I'm better looking personally, don't you agree Cloud?" The question aimed specifically at him, doubled with the sultry look that Kadaj was sending him was making Cloud a little nervous.
"Um…well…I don't really think I'm the one to judge," he began but was interrupted by Natalia.
"Oh come on baby. Don't you think Kadaj is hot?" He whirled and glared at her. But she simply grinned and went back to pour him another shot.
After this incident it was becoming quite clear that Kadaj was hitting on Cloud, although at least Jesi had gotten him off the table. Vincent and Yazoo simply continued with their drinks, ignoring the looks between the two men, Kadaj looking entirely too sexy while Cloud was getting increasingly angry.
Finally the blonde man stood, slamming the shot on the table. "Look," he slurred. "I don't go with men. Got it?"
Kadaj sauntered around the table, fully aware of all the eyes on him. "Ah, but haven't you ever wanted to…experiment?" The last was said as he trailed a finger down Cloud's chest. Cloud gulped, then stumbled backwards and tripped over his chair. He fell on his back, which gave Kadaj the perfect opportunity. All three women were watching avidly now, while the other two semi-sober men had gotten up to pour their own drinks, now involved in a silent drinking contest.
Kadaj walked over Cloud, then knelt, straddling his waist. "Now see," he purred. "It could be fun, couldn't it?" Cloud choked, then scrambled backwards on his elbows, trying to get away from the silver-haired man. Kadaj just smirked and kept pace with him, until Cloud ran smack into his bike. Somehow pushing Kadaj off him he clumsily pushed the button to open the sword holster and managed to pull a sword out. He held it to Kadaj's throat, though his arm wavered.
"Leave…me….alone," he croaked. Kadaj started to say something, when a solid object struck him on the back of the head. His eyes rolled back and he slumped to the floor, his last conscious sight that of a red cloak. Yazoo looked up as Vincent strolled back to the bar.
"Sorry about that," the red-clad man said off-handedly.
Yazoo shrugged. "Brother can be a little…persistent." Meanwhile, Jesi sighed and somehow produced a pillow and placed it under Kadaj's head. Zari went back to Yazoo and circled his waist with her arm, while Nat watched Cloud warily.
The hero wavered for a moment, then the sword clattered to the ground and he collapsed as well. Unfortunately for Kadaj, Cloud fell right on top of him. Soon, both men were snoring as Kadaj unconsciously snuggled up to the warmth above him.
Vincent and Yazoo looked up briefly, then shrugged and went back to their drinks. Zariel somehow managed to drag Yazoo to the floor and was helping him chug out of a wine bottle. Vincent was seated with his back to the wall while Nat was curled up in his lap, hand clutching a bottle of rum. Meanwhile, Jesi was snapping pictures of the sleeping men.
Yazoo glanced up at Vincent, then slurred something unintelligible before passing out in Zariel's arms. Vincent rested his head against the wall, then said, "What'd he say?"
Zari sighed while stroking the silver hair. "You win."
Vincent smiled. "Good." Then he joined the rest of the unconscious.