Author's Note: Chapter 6, should evoke sadness, but it may not, I'm not sure. Anyway, within just two days of posting chapter 5 I got ten reviews, which is quite pleasing. I'm glad that so many people still enjoy and look forward to this story. I wish that Victim retained its old enthusiasm. One of the reasons that chapter 5 took so long to finish was because all of my ideas were formed in chapter 6, so I needed to finish chapter 5 before I could get them down on paper. If that makes any sense, to be honest I have a bit of a hangover as I write this so I'm not totally sure if this author's note makes sense. Oh well, enjoy the next chapter!


The sun was bearing down increasingly strong, much more so than usual for the time of year for the city in question. Beads of sweat glistened on the backs of the shirtless men who, with each powerful swing of a shovel, dug deeper into the red soil of Gonganga.

One of the youngest on the crew, a striking man of twenty-one, lifted his dirt-stained forearm to wipe the sweat from his brow. He took a deep breathe before returning to his work, unaccustomed to the extreme heat that he was now forced to endure for a measly paycheck. It had only been three months since he started working for the construction company, but it already felt like he had been digging his entire life. Because Gonganga was such a small town, and since until this point it had refused Shinra's monopoly of machines and services, large equipment was scarce and what was on hand was terribly outdated and in need of repairs, so the bulk of services were done by hand.

Cloud thrust the shovel into the earth once more, exhausted from the heat and barely able to see through his sweat enclosed eyes. He could feel the perspiration dripping from his forehead onto his eyelashes as he shook his head to remove it, noticing Zack next to him rubbing his own forehead and breathing heavily. Cloud took solace in the fact that he wasn't the only one weary from the heat. Zack lifted his chin to acknowledge the new crew member before returning to his own work.

What continued to get Cloud through each day was not the need for a paycheck but the image of the Shinra building in the dirt as he stabbed the earth with his shovel. He had barely worked for the company and been sold out. When at last he felt himself giving in to the sun's desires, and his shoulders began to sway with fatigue, he heard the call of a bell to toll the end of the work day and proceeded into the contractor's quarters to clock out.

Cloud, with his tanned skin and his toned upper body, reached for his white tank top from his back pocket and slid it over his head, instantly soaking the fabric with his sweat. He waited for Zack to punch out before the two headed out to the nearest bar for a few drinks before returning home.

"So are you ever going to tell me about that girl?" Zack asked without even looking away from his drink. Cloud looked at him with a furrowed brow, giving Zack a look that said 'stop now.'

"What girl?" He asked, taking a long sip from his beverage. Zack smirked and cocked his head to the side.

"What girl? The one you dream about when you stare off into space. The reason you're here. That girl."

"She's no one." Cloud responded before finishing his glass and ordering a new one.

"C'mon, man. You've been here for three months and I don't know why. What did Shinra do to you?"

"Fine. You really want to know?" Zack nodded redundantly. "Alright, I was working one night as a security guard and ended up babysitting the President's daughter while she was drunk. She took me to a party and I got blamed for wrecking her car and fired for something one of the Turk's did." Cloud reached for his new drink and drained the whole glass. Zack sat stunned for a moment before speaking.

"Wait, the President's daughter? Isn't she totally gorgeous?" Cloud could see where this was heading and decided not to continue the subject further.

"Nothing happened." He stated to end the conversation. He could tell that Zack had a million questions but he didn't pursue the answers any longer, taking head of Cloud's stern glance.

"So you got screwed by the man himself, huh?" Zack prodded. Cloud nodded slightly and through down some Gil to pay his tab.

"You know what the strange part was?" Cloud asked, almost rhetorically. "She really did seem different than you'd expect her to be." He stood up slowly, nodded to the bartender and headed for the door.

"Do you think about her?" Zack asked, already knowing the answer.

"Everyday." Cloud replied as the door closed behind him.


Colored lights flashed on and off in random patterns across the dance floor over the hundreds of people that were crammed into the building. They danced without inhibition, too drunk to realize who they were dancing with, or how ridiculous they looked doing so either. Their grunts and moans from exaggerated dancing were drowned out by a clamoring drum beat intertwined with a keyboard to create the dance music.

People piled in to the point of sheep waiting to be sheared in a holding pen, packed in like sardines. Navigating from the dance floor to the bar proved to be more of a feat than a simple task. Groups of single girls pushed their way through the crowd single file and holding hands to keep from getting separated. Scores of men watched and waited to pounce on an unsuspecting drunk in the hopes of waking up the next morning satisfied.

The bartenders mixed drink after drink while the security guards prowled the grounds breaking up arguments. Two young women forced their way through the crowd and out to the dance floor, where they were unrecognizable.

Tifa had finally decided to enjoy herself by going out dancing after months of feeling guilty for what happened to Cloud. After waiting for Reno to exact his revenge on her she was still a little edgy about going out in public. Aeris tried to remedy that by taking her friend to the hottest, and most crowded, night club in town.

"Forget him." Aeris screamed over the roaring beat.

"I already have." Tifa responded while raising her arms above her head and shaking her hips to the music.


"Hey Zack…if we build that reactor to shit, won't it disrupt the Mako?" Cloud asked one night after work.

"We're just building the outside, as long as those Shinra eggheads build the controls right everything is fine." Zack responded before taking a drink from his beer.

"But what about the last one?"

"Since when do you ask questions?" Zack said with a smirk. "The last reactor blew cause some idiot used a shitty lever. It broke and the thing stalled. End of story."

"Yeah but if the container was crap wouldn't it explode?"

"What are you, a scientist? We're building the damn thing quickly, if a few nuts and bolts get lost here and there, no problem. But we know it's not up to standard, no harm done, right?" Zack reassured, tilting his head and shrugging his shoulders.

"Whatever you say." Cloud responded, downing the last of his beer.

"So that Shinra girl…she as hot as everyone says?"

"Forget it man. I'm done with all that." Cloud stated without looking at Zack.

"I'm just wondering."

"Well stop. I told you nothing happened. I took her home and the Turk's trashed her car. End of story." Cloud said, mimicking Zack.

"Whatever you say." Zack said, repeating the favor.


"I'm gonna go for drinks." Aeris stated, her breath heavy with alcohol.

"No don't worry about it, I'll go. You want a Citrus Coke, right?" Tifa responded, already pushing her way through the crowd.

"Yeah." Aeris said, unaware that her friend didn't hear.

Tifa struggled to force her way out of the mass of bodies and off of the dance floor. After finally reaching the slightly less crowded bar area she strolled up to the counter to order her drinks.

Reno had been going to the hottest clubs in town just to wait for her. He was not the type of person to let a grudge go, no matter who it was against. While sitting on a bar stool with his bald friend Rude, and an exceptionally drunk young woman, he noticed Tifa walking toward another bar area. Immediately his eyes narrowed in on her and he gritted his teeth. This was the woman who cost him his job and his future. If it hadn't been for her he could have taken over in his father's shoes and been the head of the Turks. He could have been one of the most powerful men in the world. But she had taken that away from him. He got up to walk over to her but Rude stopped him.

"Hey where are you going?" He asked with a hand on Reno's shoulder.

"She's here." The redhead responded.

"No man, c'mon, are you seriously gonna do this?" Rude asked, looking around to see if anyone was eavesdropping. Reno looked around as well and glared at Rude.

"She ruined my life." He sneered.

"But do you really have to do this?" Rude leaned in and tried to whisper.

"Yes, I do. Now let me go."

"I'm sorry man. I can't let you do this." Rude said, digging his fingers into Reno's shoulder a little deeper.

"I said let me go."

"Let her go."

"You got a thing for her?" Reno suddenly snapped. Rude just looked away without saying a word, then looked back at Reno with his tongue pressed into his cheek. "Well fuck you man!" Reno snarled, lifting his fist to Rude's jaw and sending the man back a couple steps. "I thought you had my back. Guess I was wrong." And with that, Reno slipped into the crowd undetected to follow Tifa.


"So which Turk was it?" Zack asked, resting his hands on the handle of his shovel.

Cloud put his forearm to his brow and squinted his eyes in the sun. He looked up out of the trench he was in to see if his boss was nearby. He placed his hands on his hips for a moment, contemplating whether or not to indulge in this conversation. He shook his head in disgust with himself and picked up his shovel once again.

"Reno." He stated while flinging a pile of dirt out of the trench. Zack threw his head back and laughed.

"That's the shit who screwed me too! Oh wow, that bastard gets around!" Zack said while shaking his head in disbelief.

"Oh yeah?" Cloud said, lifting his head up to meet Zack's gaze. "What'd he do to you?"

"There was a terrorist attack on one of the reactors in Midgar a few years back. Me and a few other Soldiers were sent to catch the bastards. But they got away. We chased them across the valley and towards Kalm, but when we got there we got a phone call telling us to come back. When we did we all got fired. Reno told some board member that he had evidence that I had aided the terrorists, and I sentenced to death, but since I had never done anything wrong before they let me go on the contingency that I never go back to Midgar."

"Why'd he do that?" Cloud asked, scratching the back of his head.

"I caught that asshole forging company documents. If he got rid of me then I had no credibility and he could get away with it. Why'd he get rid of you?"

"He tried to hurt Tifa. I stopped him."

"And she blamed you for it?"

"No. Her best friend said that I tried to rape her."

"Wow, you're a regular soap opera actor aren't you?" Zack smirked. Cloud punched him hard in the arm and glared.

"Shut up man." He said, shaking his head.


"A Citrus Coke and a Cherry Popper." Tifa told the bartender. She rested her arm on the bar while she waited and looked around the room for any signs of Reno.

Reno watched from a distance as she took a sip from the Cherry Popper and paid the bartender. He watched her like an animal stalking its prey, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Tifa was focused on getting into the middle of the dance floor without spilling her drinks, and while her gaze fell on the crowd in front of her, Reno made his move.

"Hey!" Tifa snapped at the man who bumped into her.

She didn't see his face with all the swirling lights but she heard her drink spill a little. She sighed deeply and shook her head at the incompetence of some of the other people in the bar. Now a little peeved, she forced her way through the crowd with determination.

"Let's go." Reno told Rude when he found his friend once again, still rubbing his sore cheek.

"Did you do it?" Rude asked in a panic.

"We've got to get out of here, now." Reno reiterated. Rude threw his head back and sighed.

"Oh shit, you didn't. Goddamn you you shitty motherfucker!" Rude yelled.

Reno grabbed his arm and practically dragged him out of the crowd. The music luckily drowned out the sound of Rude's voice and allowed them to sneak out of the club without suspicion.

"What the fuck is your problem?" Rude screamed once the two men were out in the parking lot. "You think you can just go around doing this shit?" He brought his hands up to rest on the top of his smooth cranium as he turned his back to his friend. "Shit. Shit, shit, shit. Fuck!" With the last swear he raised his arms in the air, then brought them to his knees as he bent over in anguish. He looked over at his friend and began to breathe heavily. "What the fuck were you thinking? You are screwed, no, we are screwed!" He continued to look at the ground as if it held the answers. Reno walked over with determination and slapped Rude across the face.

"Will you shut up for a minute? Nothing's gonna happen. She didn't see my face and no one knows who we are. Everything's fine. So quit crying like a little girl and let's get outta here." Reno snarled, and then walked toward their car. Rude stood up to catch his breathe and shook his head.

"We're going to hell." He said under his breathe, and then ran to catch up to Reno.


"Hey! Here you go." Tifa called over the roar of the music, handing Aeris her drink. Aeris took a large gulp and then noticed her friend's beverage.

"What'd you order?"

"A Cherry Popper." Aeris' eyes lit up.

"Oh my god I should have ordered that, can we trade, please?" She begged.

"Yeah, sure, no problem." Tifa nodded, handing Aeris the other drink.

Tifa began to dance again, being careful to not to spill her drink. She knew that the whole night there had been eyes on her from every direction. She couldn't go anywhere without turning heads and she had become so accustomed to the stares that she no longer paid attention to exactly who was looking at her. She watched as Aeris finished her drink in one large gulp and smiled.

"That was so good!" She commented.

Suddenly Aeris shook her head and blinked her eyes. She placed her hand on her forehead to try and steady her sight as the room began to spin. No mixed drink had ever done that to her before, especially one as simple as a Cherry Popper. Never before had such a small amount of alcohol gone to her head so quickly, and she knew that something was wrong.

"Are you okay?" Tifa asked as she saw her friend start to wobble.

Tifa reached out her arms to try and steady Aeris but her friend collapsed to the floor almost instantly. The crowd moved out of the way but continued to dance, being used to people collapsing on the dance floor. But Tifa was not used to Aeris collapsing so suddenly, and after just one drink. She kneeled down beside her friend and tried to wake her up by tapping her face lightly.

"Aeris. Aeris…" She said softly, shaking her friend and trying to get her to stir.

But Aeris didn't respond. Tifa shook her again, this time more violently, a knot forming in the pit of her stomach. Aeris' head rolled to the side and Tifa began to breathe heavily.

"Aeris. Can you hear me? Come on you have to wake up. Come on Aeris just say something." She could feel tears in her eyes at the moment that she realized that something was really wrong. She stood up and pushed her way through the crowd as quickly as she could to find help. She found a security guard and put a hand on his shoulder to catch her breathe.

"My friend…she collapsed…something's wrong. Please help me." She pleaded, looking into the man's eyes and letting the tears slide down her cheeks. The man nodded and followed her to Aeris.

The crowd had moved aside and was waiting for some drama as Tifa and the security guard returned. Tifa instantly fell to her knees and tried to wake Aeris again as the security guard, seeing the problem, pulled out his phone and called the police.

Tifa lifted Aeris' head onto her lap and listened to her heart, but heard no sound. Aeris hung limply in her arms as she pulled her friend close to her and hugged her. She let out a loud cry as she realized that whatever had been put in the drink was intended for her and not Aeris. She felt herself become racked with guilt, if she hadn't traded drinks, Aeris would still be here. Tifa lifted her head and screamed as loud as she could, frightening the crowd into taking a few steps back until the paramedics arrived.