Happy Saturday everyone! I hope you all had a good week :)
Thank you, as always, for all of the kudos and comments! I must say this every time but I really do appreciate all of the support - it's not easy to dedicate time to writing such a long story, but you all make it fun :)
Enjoy the chapter!
PS: Shoutout to silver-doe287 for being the best beta reader, as usual :)
PPS: I've gotten the rare complaint that I didn't do the coliseum, so I'll explain why I didn't (it makes sense, trust me) and what I'm planning on doing instead in the end notes. I think you all will enjoy what I have planned
There were three different types of quiet, and Tifa was familiar with all of them.
The first was the gentle silence that could be found between the sunlit valleys of Nibelheim and within the flickering light of a lonely campfire. There was a comfort within its quiet, a sweet nostalgia that stung the heart, and she wrapped it around herself like armor.
The second type of silence was a bit different. It could be found between the pages of family albums she did not own, beneath the floorboards of a house that had long since burned down, and upon the bloodstains on her hands that had long since been scrubbed clean. She heard it in the slum playground, after mothers and fathers would corral their children home. Later she would find that same silence within the dregs of a forgotten drink. The slums were never silent but there was a quiet, lonely place within herself, the kind filled with the gentle memories her heart did not pity her enough to forget, and she would sink into it much like a broken ship sinks into the sea: to be filled.
But there is also a third type of silence, and it was this kind that weighed heavily against her now. It permeated the air within the storage room Corneo's men had thrown her in. It was embedded into every old wine stain and every broken bottle, and she could see it within the fingernail scratches on the door knob. Its echo surrounded her. It didn't matter if she screamed; no one would hear, and so the silence was even heavier. It could not be broken.
As Tifa tried to open the same scratched door yet again, dread sank deep in her gut and settled there as a stone of anxiety, regret, and second thoughts. How many others? she found herself wondering as the door knob jangled in her hand. How many girls had Corneo…
But she cut that thought off with a firm shake of her head. Now's not the time, she reminded hadn't expected to be drugged, but nevertheless, she had successfully infiltrated Corneo's mansion. Now she had to find a way out of this cellar, get to Corneo's office, and look for any information on Cloud and Barret's bounty.
And then I'll head back to Seventh Heaven. She ran a hand along the wall, hoping for some sort of secret entrance or weak point. Maybe… Maybe Cloud managed to find his way back by now. She ignored the fact that if he never made it off of the upper plate, that meant it was more likely he was either captured or dead. Yes, she ignored that fact entirely. And when I get back, we can go into hiding until the bounty blows over…
Without warning, the door was thrown open and she – despite all her resolve – went still as fear trilled through her, high and shrill.
"Back to the wall," came a gruff voice. She recognized the voice as belonging to one of Corneo's henchmen, and after a moment she did as she was told. But she also balanced lightly on her toes. She centered her gravity as the door was pushed open a little wider, and her breath whistled between her teeth. The moment they brought in the next girl – there were supposed to be three candidates, after all – she would take out the guards and then follow through with her plan.
Grim resolve soothed her frayed nerves, and she clenched her jaw. As soon as their back is turned, she decided, and slowly drew one foot out behind her. As soon as they turn their back, I'll -
But then she saw a tuft of unruly, spiky blond hair, and all of her planning screeched to a halt.
Cloud.
The guards carried him inside. He was unconscious, undoubtedly from the same pink gas she had been subjected to, and though he was wearing a dress and had been dolled up in makeup, she recognized him immediately. Silvery eyeshadow graced his eyelids while mascara lengthened his already long eyelashes, and his parted lips had been painted a rosy red. Yet beneath all the foundation and blush and color, he still somehow managed to look like Cloud.
But… But how is he… A second guard carried in another woman, one who was wearing a daring scarlet dress that looked far more expensive than her own assemble, but she hardly noticed. He's… here?
She resisted the urge to rapidly blink, just in case the gas had affected her more than she had thought and she was now vividly hallucinating.
"Gotta be gentle with 'em," the second guard, the one carrying the woman in red, was saying. "They're Corneo's, after all."
"Only one is Corneo's," Cloud's guard replied. This one had a closely shaved head and dark eyes, the type that reminded her of a shark. "The rest are ours, once Corneo's through with them. And personally," he added with a sharp smile, "I'm hoping that he won't choose the blondie."
Blondie? Tifa thought, and then realized: He means Cloud. Her hands itched to form fists. For a moment she contemplated knocking them out, but she forced the spark of rage to cool. She'd have her moment. She'd have her justice.
She just had to be patient first.
"You like the blondie?" the guard replied. He glanced towards her, and Tifa forced her tight expression to smooth. "I like the dark-haired one myself. Speakin' of, how are you doin', missy?" His lips pulled back in a sneer, and she saw that his teeth – the few that remained, at any rate – were brown. "Holdin' up all right?"
A tic worked in her jaw, but she gently replied,"I'm okay."
"Sorry about knockin' you out earlier. Don't want any trouble, you see."
Too late for that, she thought, but instead said, "I understand."
The guard's rotted smile widened. "Good. We'll come back down soon to collect the three of you, once the other two -" he waved a vague hand towards Cloud and the other woman, "- wake up an' all."
"Then Corneo can pick one of you out," the first guard added with a dark chuckle. "Gonna be interesting to see which one he picks. Can't say I'd be displeased by any choice, to be honest. See this as a win-win situation myself."
Tifa didn't trust herself with a calm reply, so instead she flicked her eyes back towards her boots and said nothing. The man chuckled at her submission before he inclined his head to the other guard, and they both began to head out of the room. She counted their footsteps as they echoed across the floor, breath trembling, chest squeezing until she thought her ribs cracked.
The moment the door had been closed and locked, she threw herself to Cloud's side.
"Cloud." She placed a gentle hand against his cheek, wide-eyed with worry, only to go still when she noticed just how feverish his skin felt. She jerked her hand away as she thought, Is he sick? He was more pale than usual; she could clearly make out the blue of his veins snaking beneath his skin, and his heartbeat fluttered erratically against the gentle pressure of her fingertips as she checked his pulse.
Something's wrong, she knew.
Tifa lightly shook his shoulder, which was hidden beneath royal-blue silks. "Cloud," she murmured, more insistent now. "Cloud, please. You need to wake up."
His brow furrowed slightly in his sleep. His lips, little more than smears of red, lightly parted as his breath caught.
Tifa bit her lip. "Cloud."
His eyes snapped open without warning.
Yet the relief that flared within her went silent and cold when she noticed: His eyes are green. They were supposed to be blue, and they definitely were not supposed to be slitted. She froze as those slashed pupils flicked towards her and locked on, all the while dilating and contracting frantically, as if they were trying to focus but couldn't. The mako surrounding the slits flickered and flared like a fire. His expression, so pinched and pained before, went slack.
"…Cloud?" She hated that it sounded like a question.
He blinked once at her, long and lazy. "Mother?" he replied.
Then it was Tifa's turn to blink. Mother? Not only was it strange he'd mistake her for his mother, but Cloud has always called Ms. Strife Ma. "N – No, Cloud. It's me, Tifa," she began, hesitant. "Your mother… she isn't here anymore."
She didn't need to say anything more, and after a moment, Cloud's unearthly stare slid to the unconscious woman lying nearby. Tifa followed his gaze. The woman, who was dressed in a scarlet ball gown with ribbons flowing through her hair, was a stranger to her, so turned back to meet Cloud's eyes. She did her best to suppress the shiver than trickled down her spine when she saw those slitted pupils expand and contract.
"Cloud?" she managed. Her voice wavered; she pretended not to notice. "Who is she?"
She waited for Cloud to reply, but he never did. He only blinked once more, and when he opened his eyes again, their rabid, emerald-green glow had faded. They were no longer slashed, and their natural blue had returned. He looked… like Cloud.
Her chest tightened at the sight. "Cloud?" She sounded desperate, but she didn't care. "Cloud, you there? You okay?" And when he didn't respond, she then begged. "Please, Cloud… come back to me."
Something flickered across his expression, and his eyes flicked to meet her own. "Ti -" he began, but then his expression twisted. His breath hitched in pain as his hand flew to his temple, but before Tifa could even get a word in, he began muttering, "I'm fine, I'm fine. Was..." He winced. "Was drugged. But I'm okay. Are – Are you…?" His voice was raw. "Is everything…?"
"I'm okay," Tifa promised. "But… are you okay? Your eyes…"
But he continued as if he hadn't heard her. "Did Corneo…?"
His voice trailed off, and she heard what he couldn't bring himself to say. "Nothing happened," she soothed, and Cloud closed his eyes, his shoulders sagging in relief. "But… Cloud, how did you get here? How did you find me?"
Cloud opened his eyes. "Long story," he managed, and made a move to sit upright. She immediately reached forward to help him, taking no consideration that his corset was bound more tightly than her own, nor that the only color in his face was the faint pink that had been powdered on his cheeks. "Really long," he continued with a faint grimace. "I… had help getting off the upper plate. After the explosion. We went to the bar… and found Jesse. She said that you…" He shook his head, as if clearing it of cobwebs. "Said that… that you came here."
Tifa nodded as if she was listening, but all she heard was the choppy way he was speaking and the painful way he strung his words together. It reminded her of when she first found him slumped over at the train station. Once again, she remembered that hospital gown he had been wearing, and she wondered what he had been running away from.
She bit her lip. "Cloud..." she began, and he lifted his head towards her, one eyebrow lifted in question. "Are you sure that you're okay?"
"Headache," he replied after a brief pause, then smiled. It was a small, thin smile, yet the room seemed a little less cold because of it. "And I'm glad… you're okay."
Tifa couldn't help but return his smile. "Me too," she murmured. Her hands cried to hold him, to draw him close and hug him tight, yet the memory of his slitted eyes flashed across her mind. Unnatural, a part of her whispered. Wrong.
But I am too, another part of her answered,so in a moment of bravery, she reached forward and placed her hand over Cloud's. He went perfectly still at the touch. His gaze dropped to her hand, at the gentle lines of fingers, and he hardly breathed.
"Thank you for finding me," she whispered.
Tension stretched between them, and then Cloud was slowly twisting his hand so their fingers entwined together "I made a promise," he said simply. His voice was rusty and ragged and so hopelessly honest that it made Tifa's throat tighten to hear it, and that familiar shard of guilt wormed deeper into her.
She didn't deserve something like this. She wanted it anyway.
She squeezed his hand.
"Thank you," she murmured to the still air. "For being here."
Cloud raised his head from their tangled hands, and his voice was hoarse when he replied, "Always."
A sudden noise behind them broke the moment, and then Cloud's eyes went wide. "Aerith," he murmured, and then he was rising on unsteady feet. His footsteps were uneven as he made his way across the room and Tifa, bewildered, followed close behind. "Aerith, are you -"
"They knocked me out." The other woman, Aerith, pushed herself up on her elbows and placed a hand on her head, expression indignant. "They drugged me! Talk about rude."
"Yeah, they're definitely not the most polite," Tifa replied with the barest hint of a smile. She held her hand out to help the other woman off the floor; it still tingled where she had held Cloud's hand. "I'm Tifa, by the way."
Aerith impatiently brushed her hair out of her eyes, and Tifa was surprised to see the recognition burning there. "Aerith," she replied curtly and accepted the hand, only to wince the moment she was on her feet. "Ugh, my head..."
"It goes away," Cloud helpfully supplied.
"Hopefully sooner rather than later," Aerith mumbled and then glanced towards Cloud. "And you? How are you feeling?"
"Fine."
Tifa pursed her lips at the monosyllabic answer, but to her surprise, so did Aerith. "You sure?" Aerith pressed.
Cloud nodded. "Yeah."
"Positive?"
"Yes."
Aerith placed a hand on her hip. It was obvious she wanted to say more, but then after a pause she smiled. "Then want to tell Tifa about our awesome plan?"
Cloud's expression soured.
"What plan?" Tifa asked, when it became clear Cloud wasn't talking.
Aerith smoothed the wrinkles out of her dress. "A good one," she replied. "Basically, we had to jump through a lot of hoops to be able to audition tonight -"
"- Which we don't need to talk about," Cloud interjected, the flush high on his cheekbones.
Aerith grinned, as if there was a joke embedded somewhere in there. "- Which we don't have to talk about," she agreed. "But anyway, getting here was phase one of our plan, and now we're here and all together, we can begin phase two."
"Phase two?" Tifa echoed, and Aerith's eyes seemed to gleam.
"Escape," she enunciated. "It shouldn't be too hard, because -"
"But need to get to Corneo's office first," Tifa interrupted. When Aerith didn't seem surprised by this, she continued, "There's a bounty on Cloud's head, and Corneo should have more information on it."
"We know," Aerith stated, which had Tifa blinking, "and we'll find it. Easy. We didn't come here alone. You see, my boyfriend Zack is waiting for us outside." She glanced upward as if she could see him through the ceiling. "While we're auditioning or whatever, he's going to break in and take out all the guards. Then we'll corner Corneo and search the manor for that bounty letter, then get out."
But something in Aerith's explanation had snagged Tifa's attention. "Zack," she repeated. That name struck something within her, a distant chord of a familiar melody. Zack Fair had been the SOLDIER that had accompanied Sephiroth to her tiny town, and in the end, had been the SOLDIER who didn't stop Sephiroth, didn't stop her father's death, and didn't stop her home from burning to the ground.
But it was probably just a coincidence. There was more than one Zack in the world, after all.
Aerith nodded, oblivious to Tifa's inner thoughts. "That's right, Zack. He's pretty strong, so he'll be totally fine against Corneo's lackeys. And as for us," she added with a gentle pat on Cloud's shoulder, "we're pretty resourceful, so that bounty letter is as good as found."
Tifa glanced at Cloud, who only looked on edge. He hadn't said a word throughout Aerith's explanation; in fact, he didn't look inclined to say much of anything right now. Turning back to Aerith, she said, "You sound pretty sure about all of this."
"Of course," Aerith replied matter-of-factly.
Aerith's confidence smoothed something within Tifa, but she wasn't ready to let up just yet. "We should be careful when looking for the letter," she began. "There are powerful people pay-rolling the bounty. Probably someone in Shinra, considering how much the bounty is – not just anyone can throw away three hundred thousand gil, after all – and we don't want to be on their radar."
To her surprise, Aerith subtly winced. "Yeah… bit too late for that. So while Cloud was ensuring that he got into the audition -"
"Aerith," Cloud protested.
"I wasn't going to say it!"
Tifa's brow knitting in confusion, and she couldn't help but wonder, What happened while they were trying to find me?
Aerith subtly coughed, drawing the conversation back to herself. "Anyway, while Cloud did his, uh, thing, we might have royally pissed off the Turks at the same time."
Tifa went still. Did she just say… "The Turks?" she echoed.
"Yeah, the Turks," Aerith affirmed, her tone almost sheepish. But Tifa hardly heard. The air was ice against her skin, and there was a faint roaring in her ears. She could barely handle Corneo on her own, but having to deal with the Turks too? The Turks were ruthless, were unpredictable, and weren't afraid to make someone disappear entirely.
Drawing the attention of the Turks might as well have been a death sentence.
And if they were related to Barret and Cloud's bounty in some way, then there was absolutely no point to her being here. All the information in the world would be useless against Shinra's most elite team. There would be nothing she could do against them.
"Do they… have anything to do with the bounty?" she asked, already fearing the answer.
To her surprise, it was Cloud that answered her. "Dunno." The mako in his eyes seemed a little brighter than before. "We don't… don't know too much about them. But Zack does, though. He worked with them."
Tifa went pale. Zack's a Turk?
"But we'll get all the information we need tonight," Aerith continued, her tone almost cheerful "We just have to follow the plan."
"Is this our only plan?" Tifa managed to ask. She sounded like she was being choked.
Aerith's voice was even as she replied, "It is. But unfortunately," she added a beat later, "we didn't have much time to prepare."
Aerith's tone was gentle, but to Tifa, it still managed to sound like a jab. A deserved jab, and she bit her lip. She hadn't even considered that the Turks would be involved in some way.
But hadn't she always been like this? Whenever something terrible happened, she would throw herself at the first distraction came her way. When her mother died, it had been fighting. When her town burned down, it had been Avalanche. It was the same when Cloud had disappeared; she had assumed the worst, and infiltrating Corneo's mansion was just the thing she needed to forget about it.
Her gaze dropped to her hands. "I'm sorry." Her voice sounded small in the dingy, cluttered room, and then she added before she could stop herself, "I just didn't want anyone else getting hurt."
"But that's the thing," Aerith replied. "If you disappeared without saying good bye, then the people you left behind end up getting hurt anyway."
Cloud glanced towards the door.
"I… I just…" Tifa began, but the words died in her throat. She knew that. It was a lesson had ben engrained in her, except it was always someone else leaving her: her parents, her neighbors, her fighting instructor… and even hadn't even considered that she could be the one who could leave, or that there were even people that would care if she did.
But Barret would. Jesse would. Marlene would probably cry for days, and Wedge wouldn't have anyone to save him the leftover fries. Biggs would try to shrug it off, but she also knew that he kept the group photo they had taken in his wallet.
Tifa glanced towards the far wall to hide the shine in her eyes.
But then a hand suddenly covered her own. She looked down to see that it was Cloud's, with his hand over hers in the same exact gesture she had done for him a moment ago. She stared; his nails were painted a rosy pink, and as she lifted her gaze to his face, she noticed his cheeks were the same color.
"It'll be okay," he promised, and he gently squeezed her hand.
Warmth pricked her eyes, and despite all the contrary evidence, she found herself believing him anyway.
"I know," she replied.
He smiled.
Zack wasn't a fan of waiting. It was dull, boring, and gave him far too much time to think about things better left untouched. So he distracted himself. He was a trained SOLDIER who had participated in numerous Wutai infiltration missions, and so navigating Corneo's property proved to be a simple task. There were no armed guards patrolling the perimeter. There were no trees that a ninja could drop out of. There was no running water or muggy breeze that could distract him from the sound of approaching footsteps.
The only drawback was that he didn't have his Buster Sword, and though he missed its familiar weight, he contented himself with the knowledge that it was safe and secure back at Madam M's place. Besides, he was confident he could fight just fine with his fists, especially against a few untrained grunts.
The thought cheered him, and he couldn't help but grin… until he heard the sound of footsteps slowly trailing him.
He glanced over his shoulder. The harsh lines of the wolf mask weren't the easiest to see out of, but soon he could spot the familiar gray hair of Leslie.
A part of him deflated; he had been hoping for a fight. "You can come out," he called.
There was a pause, and then Leslie stepped out from behind one of the many dragon statues that decorated the property. The man's brow was minutely creased, the only outward sign of his displeasure at being found. "I'm impressed," he said. "I'm not easy to find what I don't want to be."
Zack shifted his weight to his other foot. "I'm a man of many talents."
"Apparently," Leslie replied coolly. "So want to explain what you're doing rooting around Corneo's mansion?"
"And why should I tell you that?"
Leslie lifted his head a little higher; apparently, this was the question he had been waiting for. "Because I know the mansion better than anyone else here, and I can help you and your friends take Corneo out. If you want," he added after a pause.
If Zack hasn't been through hell and back, he might have actually been surprised. "Let's say I agree. What's the catch?"
"The catch is that you leave Corneo to me," Leslie replied immediately.
Zack arched an eyebrow. "You want him dead?"
"I do," Leslie stated.
"Because?"
"My reasons are my own."
There was an entire story written in those five short words, and Zack crushed his curiosity the moment it flared up. He didn't have the time nor the energy to worry about anyone else's deep-rooted trauma. He had Cloud's and his own issues to worry about.
He crossed his arms against his chest. "Fair enough," he said, his tone clipped. "You want in?"
Leslie took a step closer. "I do."
Silence stretched between them as Zack noted fire burning in Leslie's expression. Zack had been wondering if this was some sort of trap, or if Leslie had been put up to this by Corneo, but… He really does want Corneo gone, Zack noted with cutting satisfaction.
Good.
"How well do you know Madam M?" Zack asked.
Leslie blinked in surprise, but steadily replied, "Well enough."
"She has all of our gear," Zack continued. "If you can grab that and haul it back here, that would help out way more than knowing the mansion interior." But only because I've already walked the exterior and deduced the layout. "Think you can handle that?"
"Easily," Leslie replied, sounding insulted by Zack's insinuation that he couldn't.
"Even if there are Turks walking around?"
Leslie smirked. If he was surprised that the Turks were here, he certainly didn't show it. Maybe he had run-ins with the Turks often… or maybe he simply didn't care. "I know the back roads better than any person here," he stated. "The Turks are good, but this place ain't their home."
Zack had to admit, he was liking Leslie more and more by the minute. "Glad to hear it. If you get our gear and get it back in one piece, Corneo's all yours."
"Thanks," Leslie replied, as if Zack was doing him a favor and not the other way around. "Consider it done."
Zack held out his hand with an unnoticed, crooked smile. "Shake on it?"
Leslie eyed Zack's outstretched hand, then raised his gaze. "Don't do that too often down here," he said, but grabbed Zack's hand and shook it anyway.
Just like that, they had a deal.
Cloud didn't notice when the door was forced open, and he was only dimly aware of being hauled to his feet and guided down a series of staircases and hallways. His hand still tingled from when he had held Tifa's hand, but the novelty was quickly fading. He knew that he was supposed to be silent. He also knew that he was supposed to walk with his hands clasped in front of him, his head bowed, and to look - how did Aerith say it? - demure.
Yet he could still taste the sweet tang of gas on his tongue and could still feel the guards' hands wrapped around his wrists. The sensations became tangled up with everything else; memories of a white room, his hands banging a glass wall and the harsh echo that followed, of being half-carried, half-dragged down some sort of maze. If he closed his eyes, he could see a pale woman suspended in a gas jar. He could hear her voice bounce around his skull like a child's rubber ball.
He fought to keep his expression lax as he, Tifa, and Aerith were ushered into a large room. Bamboo curved around the entranceway while ornate partitions divided the room in half. The characters for strength and luck hung on the walls, and jade dragons curved around straight-backed sofas that were piled high with crimson pillows. Cloud had a feeling that the few comforts of this room weren't for them.
"Okay my beautiful ladies!" shouted one of the guards. His voice scraped against Cloud's mind like a metal wire. "Time to line up for the Don!"
Tifa was the first in the line, and so she took her place at the end with her chin held high. Aerith stood beside her, calm and collected like she had done this a hundred times before. Only Cloud kept his eyes lowered as he drifted towards the far end, and his hands clammy clasped in front of him. The crimson carpet felt like it was swaying beneath his feet. The paper lanterns mounted along the room seemed far too bright suddenly. He squinted against their glow.
"Wait." The lantern light was suddenly cut short by a shadow, and Cloud flicked up his gaze just long enough to see a guard with a mohawk and leather vest stop in front of him. "You look kinda familiar..." He then turned to Aerith. "We haven't met before, have we?"
Aerith shook her head with a muffled no.
The guard scratched the back of his head, puzzled. "Eh, whatever," he finally said, and Cloud let his gaze drift back to the floor, relieved at the lack of attention. "All right, ya'll ready to go?" he asked, and then without waiting for a response, continued, "Then let's do this thing!" and gestured wildly towards the door. "Introducing Wall Market's most eligible bachelor… the one, the only…" A door opened, and Cloud lifted his head. "… Don Corneo."
A bald, tattooed head suddenly poked out from behind the wall. "Ladies?"
Shit, Cloud thought.
Don Corneo was in no way like Cloud had imagined. He had a tuft of blond hair that sat on his forehead like a reversed tail, and beside it sat a tattoo of an arrowed heart emblazoned with the word Love. His mustache had been waxed, his second chin warbled as he spoke, and his hairy chest was clearly visible thanks to his half-buttoned shirt. His rings glistened when he waved his meaty fingers towards them.
"Nice," Corneo hissed as he crept into the room. "Very nice!"
Cloud once again dropped his gaze to the floor. He didn't want to see what happened next.
"Whichever one shall I pick?" the Don continued as he danced up to them. He stopped in front of Aerith first, and he bent down low enough to see her ankles peeking out from beneath her scarlet ruffles. His dark eyes trailed up its slit, then around her waist, until he was eventually staring at her neckline. "Shall I pick you?" he asked, and then next he slid behind Tifa. His expression lit up when he saw just how nicely the ribbon was sashed around her hips, and then he made his way to the other side, where his eyebrows lifted when he saw the low V of her neckline. "Or maybe you?"
Tifa turned her head away in disgust, and Don Corneo laughed at her. "Or maybe..." He then made his way towards Cloud, and then paused in front of him. Corneo craned his neck like a bird, eyes narrowed and popping as he peered at the tight fit of Cloud's dress, and then without warning his hands snapped out. His meaty fingers entwined around Cloud's arms. He squeezed them, causing Cloud to jostle backwards, and then he was slapping his large hands all over his shoulders, touching and prying him, inspecting him like he was some sort of specimen –
Cloud couldn't help it. His breath caught, and Corneo's expression lit up at the sound. He hummed, low and sensuous, and then suddenly turned and was walking away. Cloud nearly stumbled; he could still feel Corneo's hands all over his arms. The room was spinning. He heard the clinks of test tubes and doors hissing as they opened.
"Cloud," Aerith whispered, low enough that only his sensitive hearing could pick it up. "You're okay."
There wasn't enough air in the room. He nodded in agreement anyway.
Meanwhile, Corneo continued to hum until he reached the center of the room, and then he lifted a finger in the air. He waved it around a bit as if in thought, and then suddenly exclaimed, "Oh yeah!" Cloud flinched at the sudden noise. "I got it! I've got it."
He spun around, his lips twisted in a sneer, and Cloud dropped his gaze once more. Don't pick me, he silently begged. Don't pick me. He was ashamed to think such thoughts, to even admit them to himself, but he just… he just couldn't right now.
Corneo snapped his fingers. "Today's bride-to-be is…!"
Aerith gasped beside him. "Today's?" she exclaimed.
"And tomorrow's, or the day after's – if the Don takes a shine to you," the guard said in response.
Tifa's expression hardened in disgust.
Corneo continued as if no one had spoken at all. "Today's lucky lady is…" He paused, letting the silence stretch out between them, and then lowered his outstretched finger. "… The girl in the blue!"
It took Cloud a moment to remember that he was wearing a blue dress. It took him an even longer moment to realize that Corneo was pointing towards him.
Horror flickered in his eyes. His lips parted, but no sound came out.
Corneo giggled at the expression. "Ooh, I will enjoy teaching you to have some spine." But Cloud hardly registered the words; he turned to look at Tifa and Aerith, who were also closely watching him. Tifa looked as sick as he felt, but Aerith subtly nodded at him.
Go, she seemed to be saying. You can do this.
Cloud slowly exhaled. I can do this, he reminded himself, and he steeled his expression. He tried not to react when Corneo grabbed his hand and physically pulled him into the back room. He tried not to stumble when the floor shifted beneath his heels.
"The leftovers are all yours," Corneo called over his shoulder.
Something within Cloud chilled. Leftovers? he thought, just as a chorus of cheers and whistles rose up behind him.
"Hell yeah!" one of the guards shouted, and then made his way towards Tifa and Aerith. Tifa's expression had gone blank; Aerith simply looked surprised. "Okay ladies," he told them, grinning all the while. "Ya'll coming with me."
Cloud's footsteps faltered. No. He wanted to reach his hand out towards them, to grab their hands and run, and yet he remained frozen. His feet refused to move forward no matter how Corneo tugged and pulled. Don't take them, he silently begged, but Tifa and Aerith were already being ushered out the door, their backs straight against the hands that pushed them forward.
He had promised that he'd rescue Tifa if she needed it. He'd also promised Zack that he'd take care of Aerith while Zack was outside the manor.
Both of those promises were broken the moment the door closed behind them.
"Oh don't look so sad, sugar," Corneo purred into his ear. "You'll forget all about them with me around."
But all Cloud heard was, You'll forget all about them, and something within him crumpled.
Aerith thought that being locked in the cellar was bad, but this was even worse.
"Ayo, fellas!" called the guard, who she had recently learned was named Kotch. His voice rang out in the dark, cluttered room, and several hopeful faces lifted in answer. "We've got guests! And y'all got the first chance at entertaining them!"
The way he said entertaining send shivers down Aerith's spine, and she glanced about the room to get her bearings. The dusty lanterns did little to light up the space, which was littered with stained mattresses and oversized pillows. Torn out magazine pages had been taped onto the flaking wallpaper and wilting boxes had been stacked against the walls. Cigarette smoke lingered heavily in the air, and she resisted the urge to sneeze.
"And of course," Kotch continued in that announcer voice of his, "all of this is courtesy of the ever-generous Don Corneo himself! Never forget – the Don provides."
A long yeaaah rose from somewhere in the crowd. There were at least ten guards scattered across the room. Some had been playing card games on a cracked table, others had been lounging on bare mattresses, but all had their undivided attention on her and Tifa.
Aerith crossed her arms against her chest in a futile barrier between her and their audience. Beside her, Tifa's scarlet lips pursed in revulsion.
One of the guards, a man in sunglasses and a gaudy green jacket, stepped forward. "So, ladies. Ready to… get to it?"
Aerith figured he didn't mean a game of cards. "Yeah!" she replied brightly, and then she glanced at Tifa. Surprise flicked across Tifa's expression, but then it was gone in a moment, replaced by something a little darker and a little harder. Satisfied, Aerith turned back to the man in green and continued, "I guess I'm ready to go whenever. How 'bout you, Tifa?"
Tifa hummed. "Ten guards between us… so five each?" She paused for a moment and then nodded, as if pleased by the odds. "Okay," she said, and she lowered her center of gravity. "Let's not keep Cloud waiting."
"Right," Aerith agreed, then turned back to the guard and kicked him in the shin.
Surprise was on her side, and he went down. "What the hell!" someone else shouted, and then Tifa was moving. Aerith had never considered fighting beautiful – it was a necessity sometimes in the slums, but there wasn't anything elegant or delicate about it. Tifa challenged that notion. She ducked beneath a swing and then rose up, her dress rising around her in ribbons of lilac and rose, and then swung around in a brutal, yet simultaneously graceful, kick.
"Nice!" Aerith shouted as the man hit the floor.
Tifa made a noise in response, too busy drawing the guard's attention to do much else. A couple of Corneo's men also ran for Aerith, and she squeaked before grabbing a folding chair off the floor.
The guard grinned. "That looks a little heavy for you, sweetheart" he said as she rose it above her head.
"You wish," she replied, and dragged the chair down as hard as she could. It smashed against the man's head and he went down like a sack of rocks, and the other guard bristled with outrage.
"Bitch!" he shouted, and then he was running towards her, one hand cocked back in a punch…
… but then a shadow drifted by her side. "That's no way to call a lady," said a dark voice, and suddenly the man was flying across the room. He slammed into the wall with a dull thud, leaving the rest of the guards to stare open-mouthed at the carnage.
Aerith sharply exhaled – What just happened? - and turned to the side, expecting to see some other enemy, but instead looked into the reflective silver of a familiar wolf mask.
Her lips curved into a smile. "You're late," she teased.
She heard instead of saw his grin as Zack replied, "Are you kidding?" He reached up and gently plucked his mask off; when he opened his eyes again, the mako within them was glowing bright and hot. "I think I'm right on time."
Tifa could smell the smoke of her hometown. She could taste its ash in the air and could hear the screams cry out in harmony, because he was here – Zackary Fair, SOLDIER First Class and partner to Sephiroth, was standing in front of her with a grin on his face and love in his eyes. Her newfound friend Aerith was smiling as well, and her smile only broadened when he turned around and told the guards that their entire room stunk of sweat.
What are the odds, she thought distantly. She could smell the smoke of her hometown burning.
Zack went on, commenting on the guards' appearance and how tacky it was, and then asked about their pay-grade. Couldn't be much, he figured; definitely wasn't worth it considered all the shit Corneo put them through.
But all Tifa could hear was her father choking as he died.
Then he took a step forward, and his black shoes reflected the dull light of the old lanterns. He was telling them that they could see the mako in his eyes, the ethereal glow that flickered in their dusty depths, and they would have already started running if they were smart. But they weren't smart, were they? Because if they were smart, they'd have already ask for a pay raise.
But all Tifa could see was her face reflected in Sephiroth's thin silver blade, at the hate raging there as her own words rang out in the reactor:
SOLDIERs, Shinra, Mako… I hate them all!
There was a dull thud as one of the guards hit the ground, and then Zackary Fair: SOLDIER First Class was across the room, one hand loosely dangling what looked like dog-tags while the other was clenched in a tight fist. He let the dog-tags drop, and yet before they hit the ground another guard was sailing through the air. The guard's back cracked against the wall.
Tifa flinched. She had heard that sound before; but it was her back, her losing fight against the most powerful SOLDIER in history.
Another hit, and another guard fell. Over and over and over again, with Aerith cheering on and occasionally trying to help. But Tifa simply stood there. Rooted. She knew how to fight and yet her hands were limp at her sides. Her balance was off-center and uneven. Her breaths were ragged against her throat.
Get a grip, she told herself. The past is the past, and this is the present. I need to focus.
Yet the room seemed to spin anyway, regardless of her plea. It had an epicenter, a clear divide; much like a hurricane orbits a single point, the room spun around the First Class SOLDIER.
She dimly noticed that Zack looked different now. While he had been nothing but smiles back then, the lanterns here painted him in a bloody light. His jaw was more defined, the lines around his eyes were deeper, and the mako in his eyes seemed to be trying to burn something away.
Her breath stilled at the sight of it. She may have no mako buried in her gaze, but she recognized that look. It was the unconscious cry of wishing for something more; the wild hope that everything could be better; the crushing realization that nothing would ever be the same. It was a fractured wish. It was a battle cry. It was a declaration to the stars that though he did not have a sword, he had a stick and therefore could fight. He would fight.
And Tifa could smell the smoke.
One of the guards threw a fist and Zack dodged, teeth bared back in a grimace. Another one of Corneo's henchmen ran up behind him while holding a rope, but before Aerith could shout a warning, Tifa was running. She crouched and then threw herself into the air, and then her foot was colliding with the man's face.
"Missed one," Tifa murmured when she stood upright again. She was only dimly aware that she and Zack were now standing back-to-back, with both of their hands extended in a fighting stance, their brows furrowed in concentration.
But there was no one left to fight and turning around to face Zack fully only solidified that fact. Her expression softened; a shadow flickered across his. Tifa wondered what that shadow meant. Did he also recall Nibelheim when he looked at her? Did he see the overly confident girl that led them to the reactor? Or did he see the poor, fatherless girl crying within it, with blood on her hands and a sword at her feet?
And still she could hear the echo: There was no one left to fight.
"I'm sorry," Zack whispered, breaking the silence between them.
Tifa's throat tightened, and for a moment, she wasn't sure what to say. Nothing seemed to fit. I thought you were dead, didn't feel right. Neither did a simple, I forgive you, so eventually she settled on:
"You have nothing to apologize for."
Zack blinked in surprise; clearly, he had been expecting her to say something far different, and it bolstered her.
"You have nothing to apologize for," she repeated, and her voice sounded a little surer. "I… It wasn't fair of me to blame you back then. What happened… It wasn't your fault."
She could feel Aerith's curious stare on her back. She ignored it.
"But…" Zack's mouth opened, closed, and then opened again. "Are you..."
"But we can talk about that later," Tifa interrupted. Hurt flickered across Zack's expression, and it pained her to know that she was the cause. But she couldn't have this conversation, not yet, and certainly not right here. There were other priorities right now. "Right now, we need to save Cloud," she continued, her tone gentler. "He's upstairs with Corneo. He's waiting for us."
After a brief pause, Zack nodded. "Of course," he replied, curt and clipped, and then made a move for the door. Tifa and Aerith were quick to follow, with Aerith shooting her confused looks all the while. "Was Cloud really chosen?" Zack asked after a pause.
"Yep," Aerith replied. Apparently, she had given up on her curiosity for now. "Corneo liked him the best."
They all ran up the stairs, two at a time. Zack made a sound that could have been a laugh. "Seriously?"
"That's right," Tifa replied. She tried to sound lighthearted, but it sounded forced. "Guess Corneo liked his dress the most."
Zack snorted, and then they were turning a sharp left and throwing open a door. Lights from Corneo's office and audition room spilled into the dingy staircase. "We should have Cloud dress in drag more often," he said. "Maybe we can make some money out of it."
Aerith shot Zack a horrified look. "Zack!"
"I'm kidding!" They rushed to the far end of the office, where two large statues seemed to be guarding the door to the back room. "And don't tell Cloud I said that," he added as he threw open the door. Another hallway stretched out before them. "Cloud would kill -"
"Oh, don't stop!"
Corneo's shout bounced off the walls and echoed in Tifa's head. She went white and shot Aerith a horrified look; Aerith mirrored her expression, while Zack stared open-mouthed at the next closed door.
"You depraved bastard," came a deadpanned response.
Then the mako in Zack's gaze flared bright enough to tinge his eyelashes green, and with Tifa's next blink, he was sprinting across the hall. She followed quickly in pursuit, heart pounding in her chest.
"Yes! Yes I am!"
Zack tore the door open with enough force to crack the wood and then he was storming the room, one hand reaching back for a sword that wasn't there, then other reaching forward with fingers splayed. But it turned out there was no need. Corneo had lunged at Cloud, but Cloud had been ready. His heeled foot snapped out and connected with Corneo's face.
Tifa skidded to a stunned stop as the wet sound of cartilage crushed against bone echoed through the room, and then Corneo was falling boneless onto the bed, completely unconscious. Even Zack stared, obviously surprised, but then he laughed. The noise was hysterical and breathless and choked all at once.
"Perfect form!" he managed as he ran up to Cloud. "Right in the kisser!"
Cloud only stared at him, just as surprised as they were. "Zack?" he said. "Tifa? Aer..." But his voice trailed off as his eyes clouded, and then he was wobbling backwards. He threw one hand back to stabilize himself against the wall, but Zack had an anchoring hand on his arm with his next breath.
"Yeah, buddy," Zack replied, tone gentle as he eased Cloud to the floor. Cloud had a hand pressed against his temple. "Sorry I'm a little late."
"Cloud!" Tifa hurried to Cloud's side as Cloud glanced at her, stunned all over again, only for recognition to melt his features as she skidded beside him. "Are you hurt? Corneo didn't touch you, did he?"
He shook his head in reply. The braids bobbed against his shoulders. "No," he replied simply. Exhaustion bled into his voice, and he allowed himself to lean back against the wall. His head connected with the wallpaper with a muted thud. "You okay?" he asked after a pause. "They grabbed you…"
"I'm fine." Tifa was speaking quickly, the words sounding as if they were running from something. "Really. We took out everyone downstairs, and the rest of the manor is empty."
"Corneo…?"
"Unconscious," came Aerith's proud reply. "You knocked him out good."
"Even broke his nose," Zack added, sounding just as pleased. He helped Aerith tie Corneo to the bed. "That's a hard thing to do in heels."
A smile fluttered across Cloud's expression. "Not hard," he murmured.
"It's a little hard," Zack grinned, and then glanced at Cloud. Another shadow passed across his expression, but it was gone a moment later. "Need a potion, Spikey?"
Potion? Tifa wondered, and she glanced at Cloud for any hint of an explanation. But none was forthcoming; clearly he had exhausted himself, and even seemed to be drifting off as he slouched against the wall. It worried her. She had known that he was unwell, but now she was questioning how deep that went.
Movement to her side had her glancing over her shoulder, and to her surprise, Zack had crouched beside her. A vial of green-tinged liquid sloshed in his hand, and she immediately recognized it for what it was: a potion. Her eyes widened at the sight of it. Potions were a rare commodity, especially in the slums, and it made her wonder how he had gotten it.
His mako-stained eyes flicked towards her. "I'll need to give him this," he explained plainly. There was something guarded in his tone, yet there was a tinge of something else as well, something that she couldn't identify. "It helps with everything."
Tifa obediently scooted back to give him room, but her gaze never left the glass bottle. "Helps with what?"
For a moment, Zack didn't reply. Tifa didn't think he would, but then he said, "It helps with the side-effects of mako poisoning." The potion hissed as he uncorked it. "There's a little mako in potions, so not exactly ideal for treating mako poisoning, but it does help with the mako withdrawals. It also repairs what the mako poisoning is, well, poisoning." He grinned then, humorless and bitter. "Well, you win some, you lose some."
Tifa could only stare. "Cloud has mako poisoning?" she echoed.
"You didn't know?" Zack asked. He sounded surprised.
"He..." Tifa shook her head. "He told me that he was in SOLDIER."
Zack's surprise faded into a broken smile. "Not quite," he quietly replied, then reached forward and gently shook Cloud awake – he had drifted off during their conversation. "But let's talk about that later."
Along with everything else, her mind automatically added. She nodded. They certainly had quite a lot they needed to talk about.
Cloud came to with a faint murmur, and then his eyelashes were fluttering open. "Zack?"
"Sorry for waking you, buddy. But -" Zack lifted the potion to Cloud's line of sight, "-you have to drink this."
Cloud looked as if he bit into a lemon. "Right… now?"
"Yep." Zack pressed the potion into Cloud's hands. Cloud seemed to hold onto it on instinct. "And the faster you drink it, the sooner it's over with."
"…Whole thing?"
Zack nodded with a small smile on his lips. "Pretty much, yeah."
Cloud made a face. "Hate potions."
"I know," came Zack's response, and then he was slowly getting to his feet. "Whole thing."
"Whole thing," Cloud quietly cursed, and lifted the bottle to his lips.
Tifa watched for a moment, still grabbling with the reality that Cloud had mako poisoning, before she glanced up to Zack. He was already walking back to Aerith, who seemed quite pleased by how thoroughly she had tied Corneo to the bed post. Clearing her throat, she began, "How often..."
"Half a potion morning and evening," Zack replied without glancing towards her. "More if it's bad."
Tifa glanced back to the whole potion Cloud was currently drinking, to the mako in his eyes that were burning hot enough to stain his high cheekbones a pretty jade green.
More if it's bad, her mind echoed, and her chest tightened. No; it didn't just tighten. It cracked, nearly to the point of collapse, until only thing keeping her together were her arms hugging around her chest.
"Tifa," Aerith said from the other side of the bed. "You need to find the bounty, right?"
The mention of the bounty snapped something within her. Of course; how could she have forgotten?
"Right," she said, and reluctantly got to her feet. "You two are taking care of Corneo?"
Aerith frowned. "For now, but he'll wake up soon. We need to find it quickly."
"Of course." Tifa glanced once more at Cloud – he was halfway done with his potion – and then tore her gaze away. Finding that bounty letter was the best way to help him, to protect him. And besides, wasn't finding the bounty letter the reason why she came here in the first place?
Yet before she made it out of the bedroom, her footsteps faltered and she found herself turning around. "Aerith," she began. She wasn't sure why she didn't look at Zack. "Would you mind watching..."
Her voice trailed off, and Aerith's expression softened. "Of course," she replied. "We're right here."
Tifa managed a smile. "Thank you," she said honestly, and then darted into the office before she could change her mind.
She had to find the letter.
She wanted to remain by Cloud's side.
But instead she ripped apart the desk like she was ripping open a wrapped present, and she tore through its drawers while trying to uncover its secrets. It was a lot of nonsense: Honey Bee Inn receipts, invoices for expensive foods like caviar, venison, and T-bone steak, measurements for custom tailored clothes. Worst of all, she found an album buried in the lowest drawer, and within it were pictures of his previous wives – all pale from living beneath the plate, wearing cheap eyeliner than trailed black down their cheeks when they cried, dressed in expensive clothes that seemed uncomfortable to be in.
It made her sick to look at so she threw it right in the trash. If the entire mansion hadn't been made of flammable wood, she would have burned it, too.
"Need help?" came a voice at her side, and she looked up to see Zack. He was once again wearing that guarded expression, the sort that made her wonder what he was trying to protect himself against.
She nearly said no, but then bit her lip and nodded. "I'd appreciate it," she admitted, vaguely gesturing at the desk. "Can you pick a lock? One of the drawers is locked tight, and I can't find the key."
"I can!" came Aerith's voice from the bedroom. Zack grinned in her direction, then immediately, pointedly sobered when he turned back to Tifa. It hurt, in a strange way, but she didn't know why.
"I can do you one better," Zack replied, then lifted his leg and stomped the lock right off the drawer.
"Gonna break your foot," came Cloud's muffled voice.
Zack grinned once again. "That was a one-time occurrence, Spikester."
There was a harsh sigh, then: "Not a Spikester."
"Spikester?" Tifa asked under her breath. She was grinning as well, though she didn't immediately realize it.
"Spikester," Zack agreed as he forced the drawer open. His expression wasn't so guarded any more, and his lack of walls made Tifa slowly drop her own. "It's Cloud's best-fitting, but most hated, nickname."
Tifa giggled. "I can't imagine why."
"It really is a mystery," Zack dryly chuckled, and then dragged a handful of paper out of the drawer. As she looked through them, most were old and stained, such as the impressive collection of tax records, client notes, and financial transactions. But there was one that was crisp and obviously new, and Zack dragged it out of the pile. His mako-stained gaze flicked across the lines.
And as he read, the paler he became.
"What is it?" Tifa asked. Tension bled into her tone.
Zack took a shaky step backwards. He didn't seem to have heard her. "No. No no no..."
"What is it?" Tifa said again, much more insistent this time.
Zack swallowed thickly, and then read in a halting voice, "A bounty of three hundred thousand gil is being offered to the successful capture of the following individuals..."
"And then?" Tifa demanded when Zack's voice trailed off.
Zack sharply exhaled. "… one tall, unnamed man with dark skin and a prosthetic gun grafted onto his right arm. The other is named…" Zack breath caught."… is named Cloud Strife, with blond hair, pale skin, and shorter stature."
"They know his name?" Tifa unconsciously lifted a trembling hand against her lips. "How do they know his name but not Barret's? We used fake IDs the entire time…"
Once again, Zack didn't seem to have heard her. "This is by order of Shinra Electric Power Company," he read. "by both the head of Public Safety and… and also..."
When Zack's voice faltered, Tifa placed a gentle hand on his arm. To her shock, he flinched; Zackary Fair, SOLDIER First Class and partner to Sephiroth, flinched.
Strangely, it made him seem more human.
"And then?" she prompted, her tone gentle.
Zack shook his head, as if chasing away an old nightmare, and continued, "...And also… and also the Science and Research Division." He said the title in a single gasp, as if the name itself was acid and it was eating at his throat.
"Which means Heidegger and Hojo are behind the bounty," Tifa surmised, brow furrowed, as that didn't make any sense. Heidegger she could see having interest in the explosion, as setting off bombs in the city was a direct threat to public safety. But Hojo? Why would the reclusive head of science care about an explosion or two?
But according to Zack's nauseous expression, maybe Hojo actually cared quite a bit.
"Don't… Don't tell Cloud," Zack finally said. He turned to Tifa and pinned her beneath his glowing, ethereal stare. "Don't tell him, whatever you do."
Tifa blinked at the intensity of his voice. "I – I won't," she relented. It didn't seem like she had a choice. "But why? He needs to know who's after him, so that he can pro -"
"No, he doesn't," Zack interrupted, and his tone left no room for argument. His lips were pressed into a grimace. "I'll take care of it."
Take care of it? Tifa's mouth opened as she tried to ask, What does that mean, exactly? but Zack was already walking back into the bedroom, eyes burning bright, paper crumpled in his clenched fist. Clearly the conversation was over, and after a lengthy pause Tifa followed him. She didn't bother to reorganize the desk behind her.
Cloud looked up as Zack approached. The potion bottle in his hand was empty, and his expression were clearer than before. "You okay?" he asked when Zack knelt next to him.
Zack blinked, caught off-guard, but then he smiled. It was meant to be reassuring, but it only looked sharp and brittle. "Yeah, buddy," he replied. "I'm okay. And you will be, too," he added after a brief pause.
Cloud arched an eyebrow at his serious tone, but Tifa heard what Zack wasn't saying; that Cloud was going to be okay only because he was going to ensure it, one way or another.
But how? she wondered. It didn't seem possible, but another part of her already knew what Zack had been referring to when he swore to take care of it:
Hojo was going to die.
So this entire chapter was soo difficult to write because I wanted to stay true to the much-loved Remake scenes, but I also had to change some things around so that it fits with our timeline and plot. Hopefully I managed to find a good balance between the two!
But anyway, about the coliseum. I didn't do it because it didn't make sense in this part of the story. Canonically, the coliseum scene takes place after the hand massage scene but before the Honey Bee dance scene. However, I switched all those around - I did Honey Bee first to grab Zack and get Cloud dressed up, and then did the hand massage scene with Zack in order to get Aerith's dress. But with everyone dolled up, they couldn't fight in the coliseum because they would ruin their outfits & that would drag the Wall Market arc out wayyy longer than I wanted. So instead, I'm going to blend the coliseum scene into the Gold Saucer arc and make that entire thing so much better and more exciting. Yeah, it'll take us a while to get there, but when we do it's going to be epic (and I've already outlined the entire thing lol).
Moving on: If you enjoy story updates or chapter previews, feel free to follow my twitter (Rand0mSmil3z) ! Links to my Ko-Fi page can also be found there if you'd like to support my writing, but there's absolutely no pressure to do so - if you're enjoying the story, then I'm happy :)
Until next time: Stay well, stay safe, and I wish you all the best :)
