Author's Note – Thanks for your reviews and sorry for the delay. For all you Final Fantasy 7 gamers out there, do you remember that crazy carnival-ish music that kept playing while at the Gold Saucer? Ugh! It drove me crazy! I hated the thought of going back there just because I couldn't stand listening to it. But those were some good times. I plan to stick to the exact layout of the Gold Saucer as it was in the game, but I may change a thing or two, depending on whether it's critical to move the story along.

Happy reading!

Chapter 21 – The Gold Saucer

We left Healin in two helicopters. Reno flew the one carrying me, Tifa and Rufus. Rude piloted the second, much larger one carrying Elena, Tseng and ten guards in full Shinra uniform.

It would be a two hour flight to the Gold Saucer across the water.

The day before, Rude had made several trips to and from the Gold Saucer to drop off Shinra guards in plain clothes, just as Rufus ordered. They were there now, mingling with the rest of the park's visitors.

I wondered what Dio, the strange founder of the Gold Saucer, thought about the sudden increase in guests. Or maybe it didn't raise any red flags to him. The Gold Saucer was the only real establishment of entertainment in the world. Plus, with the word out that President Shinra would be there, people from all over would flock to the amusement park for a chance to see him. Hopefully Sephiroth's former mentor would take the bait and show up himself.

I really wasn't looking forward to seeing Dio. The man made me nauseatingly uncomfortable. Maybe it was his sleazy manner…or the fact that he felt completely at ease walking around in nothing but a red Speedo. He grossed me out! If his presence affected me like that, I wondered what young kids thought when they saw him for the first time. He was like a sick pervert who got a cheap thrill out of people, young and old, looking at him. If I could avoid him on this trip, it would be a miracle.

Tifa sighed beside me. "I hope Samurai will be all right."

Aeris and the kids had returned this morning and were surprised to learn that we were leaving for the place they had just come back from. Denzel and Marlene, of course, jumped at the chance to go back to the Gold Saucer, but Aeris shot the idea down quickly when I told her the reason we were going. I was glad she told the kids they couldn't go because I didn't want to be distracted from the real task.

The last time I was at the Gold Saucer with Denzel, we spent an entire day and a whole lot of gil in Wonder Square, playing Super Dunk and Virtual Battle. It was mainly my fault. He kept beating me. I was competitive and a sore loser. But I made up for it in Battle Square and won eight rounds against the captivity-raised monsters. I acted totally immature and rubbed it in Denzel's face that he was still too young to enter the Battle Square challenge. He didn't speak to me for two whole weeks after that.

"I wish I could have taken him with me," Tifa added.

I reached for her hand and squeezed it. "Don't worry, Tifa. Marlene will take good care of your kitten."

"I don't know. She seemed pretty upset that she couldn't come with us."

"She'll get over it."

"Denzel was even more upset. He told me he would rather go with you than Barret anytime."

"I know. Barret didn't play any games with him. If Denzel thinks I'm a sore loser, he should see Barret. The big guy's a crybaby when he loses." I pulled my phone out of my pocket and scanned through the missed calls. I had calls from Cid, Barret and Yuffie.

When I glanced at Tifa, she was turned away from me and was doing something I couldn't see. A minute later she turned back and gave me an chaste smile.

My cellphone rang and I looked at the display. It was Tifa. She had sent me a photo. I flipped my phone open and waited for the image to appear. My eyes widened when it came. It was a photo of her lying naked on the bed. I quickly slammed my phone shut and glared at her.

She continued to smile innocently.

I decided to text her because I didn't want to risk Rufus hearing our conversation. We spent the next few minutes texting back and forth.

Text to Tifa – Who took the picture

Text to Cloud – I took it on my phone this morning

Text to Tifa – Where was I

Text to Cloud – Taking a shower I have more Want to see

Text to Tifa – No

Text to Cloud – Why not

Text to Tifa – Cuz I'll get a woody

Text to Cloud – Mmmmmmmmmm

Text to Tifa – Stop it

Text to Cloud – Make me

Text to Tifa – I'll spank you later

Tifa giggled outloud and Rufus glanced over his shoulder at us. I put my phone away, wanting to make a funny face at him because I felt like I had gotten busted by my parents for looking at porn.

After Rufus turned to face forward again, I glanced at the black metal box resting on the floor between his feet. I was afraid to ask if there was actually a piece of Jenova in the box or if it was just a fake.

When this was all over, I'd force Rufus to destroy every last piece of the extraterrestrial's remains. It was just too dangerous having it around…and too tempting. If Zack hadn't gotten us out of Professor Hojo's laboratory when he did, I wondered what the injection of more Jenova cells in my system would have done to me. I had seen some disturbing things in the reactor in Nibelheim during the time Sephiroth went mad. There had been rows and rows of pods containing human specimens that had been exposed to high quantities of Mako and given high doses of Jenova cells. They had turned into hideous monsters.

Tifa reached for my hand and threaded her fingers with mine.

I turned to look at her and she mouthed 'I want you right now'. As much as I would have loved a quick romp in the back seat of the helicopter, I had absolutely no desire to do it in front of Reno and especially not in front of Rufus. I gave her my most reprimanding look, but I think it only fueled her even more because she licked her lips in a sensuous way. Shit, I created a monster. She was insatiable.

When we landed our helicopters on the platform outside the Gold Saucer entrance, there was a large group of people standing around waiting to catch a glimpse of Shinra. There was also a smaller group off to the side. That was our welcome committee. Dio was among them.

Tifa waited her turn to get out of the helicopter and she walked next to me behind Rufus and Reno. She leaned closer to me. "Who's the guy in the red underwear?" she whispered.

"That's Dio. He's the guy in charge of this place."

She started to laugh and I shot her a warning look to keep her quiet.

I couldn't blame her. Dio looked ridiculous. Red Speedo, fake hair, fake moustache, fake tan. The only thing that looked real on the guy were his muscles. But then again, maybe they were fake, too.

We walked up to Dio, who was standing among four well-built bodyguards.

"Welcome, welcome," said Dio, a slimy smile plastered on his greased up face. "Always a pleasure to have someone of great importance at the Gold Saucer."

Rufus was hesitant to shake the man's hand, I could tell. But he did and then discreetly wiped it on the side of his slacks. "I would much appreciate it if we can see our accommodations. I need some time to prepare my speech."

"Yes, yes. Of course. My men will show you to your suite," Dio said with a solicitous grin and motioned to his men to lead Shinra away.

Reno, Rude, Tseng and Elena fell behind them and following them were the ten Shinra guards.

I glanced around, wondering how close the guards out of uniform were. None of the faces in the crowd looked familiar, but I wasn't good at remembering faces anyway unless I had a reason to.

Dio's gaze fell on me before I had a chance to walk away. "Ha ha ha. I remember you, boy. Ha ha ha."

I cringed at him calling me 'boy'. I should have put on my goggles after hopping out of the helicopter. Maybe he wouldn't have recognized me.

He knew better than to shake my hand and didn't attempt it. "Perhaps you can entertain us in Battle Square later. Hmmmm? We have plenty of consolation tissues. Ha ha ha."

His laugh really annoyed me as much now as it did back when I was chasing after Sephiroth and had to stop here on the way to Gongaga. Even though it was only a year ago, it seemed like a lifetime and I had gained a lot of fighting experience since then. "I'm more in the market for new materia," I replied.

"Oh, we have plenty of that. Yes, yes, we do. I think a Quadra Magic will interest you, yes?"

Quadra Magic materia was very rare. It quadrupled the power of any spell caste against an enemy. I wondered how Dio got a hold of it. "Yeah, I'm interested. Maybe I'll take you up on a Battle Square challenge."

Dio looked at Tifa next. "And who is this lovely young flower?"

I turned to Tifa and noticed her eyes were focused below the man's waist. She was staring at his Speedo. Dio was about to touch her face. I grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her behind me before facing Dio again. "Don't even think about it, Dio. She's taken."

"Ha ha ha. By whom? By you, boy?"

I was done trying to be cordial with this fruitcake. "That's right. And I thought I told you the last time I was here to stop calling me boy." I didn't realize my grip on Tifa's wrist had tightened until she began to squirm behind me. I loosened my grip. "The name's Cloud. Call me boy again and I'll castrate you where you stand."

His grin fell just a hair, but it came back quickly. "As you wish, Cloud. Enjoy your stay."

I held his gaze for a moment longer, just to intimidate him. He pretended he wasn't, but I saw the sweat forming on his forehead. Why did I get the impression that Dio was going to be trouble? I pulled Tifa with me as I walked away.

She fell in beside me when we entered the tunnel into the park. "He gives me the creeps."

I gave her a side glance and decided to tease her a bit. "I saw you checking out his goods."

"What?" She glared at me in anger. "I wasn't checking out his goods. I was just trying to figure out why he thought he could get away with walking around half-naked like that."

"Cuz he thinks he's all that."

She wrapped her arms around my left one and leaned closer. "I think I'll buy you a Speedo."

"I won't wear it." I meant it, too. Maybe I was more humble about myself than I needed to be. As a kid, I was small and weak. I was still shorter than I wanted, but I wasn't weak anymore. My childhood insecurity still made me feel self-conscious and I tended to wear baggy clothes because of it. A Speedo was totally out of the question. I wouldn't be caught dead in one.

Tifa giggled. "Not even for me."

"If we're alone, maybe."

We came out of the tunnel into the familiar lobby with the large map and the circular entrances to each section of the park.

Tifa grabbed my hand and started pulling me forward. "Oh, Cloud, let's go to Wonder Square."

I reined her in and pulled her toward the Ghost Square. "Not yet, Princess. We can't just go gallivanting around. Dalton could be watching us."

She sighed heavily and allowed me to push her into the Ghost Square chute.

I jumped in after her. I wondered whose idea it was to make those stupid chutes to get around the different attractions in the park. Tifa was laughing like a little kid during the five-second tube ride.

When it ended, I was tossed on my feet right next to Tifa.

She looked warily at the dilapidated looking mansion on the small hill in front of us. "That's the hotel? Looks eerie."

I smirked. "Are you scared?"

"No."

I took her hand and led her up the path, watching her expression as her eyes caught sight of the tombstones on either side. While she stared intently at a scary looking statue, I leaned toward her ear. "Boo!"

She screamed and punched my arm. "You asshole!"

I laughed and she punched my arm again.

When we walked into the hotel lobby, Rude walked up to us.

"You're sharing a room with Elena," Rude said as he handed Tifa a key.

She immediately looked at me.

Rude handed me another key. "And you're bunking with me and Reno."

I frowned. "Is this some kind of joke?" My eyes wandered over to Rufus who happened to look right at me, a smile on his face as he headed up the creaky staircase. The bastard planned it this way. He was trying to keep Tifa and I apart. I wasn't going to let that happen.

After Rude walked away, Tifa turned back to me. "Cloud, I don't want to share a room with Elena," she complained. "I want to stay with you."

"Don't worry. I'll fix it later." I took her hand. "Come on."

We headed upstairs and walked into Rufus's room, having to weave through the ten guards along the way. Reno, Rude, Elena and Tseng were already there.

Rufus smiled again as Tifa and I approached. "Hope you like the accommodations, Cloud."

"You're a real funny guy, Shinra." Just to piss him off, I plopped down on his bed and leaned against the headboard, not bothering to take off my boots. "I think I'll just stay in this room." The Presidential suite was pretty nice and didn't have as many spooky decorations as all the other rooms.

A few minutes later there was a commotion out in the hall, followed by a loud argument. I recognized one of the voices. It was Cid.

"Out of my way!" he grumbled before walking into the room with Barret and Yuffie. "Dumbass!" he yelled over his shoulder.

Rufus blinked in surprise and immediately turned to me. "Did you call them?"

"'Course I did," I replied coolly. "You're gonna need all the help you can get."

He looked skeptical. I knew he tolerated me because he knew I would finish whatever job he gave me. But the rest of AVALANCHE? Well, there was no love loss between them.

Barret came up, his huge gun arm cocked and ready to fire. "Just so's you know, we ain't doin' this for you, Shinra. It's for Tifa and Cloud."

Shinra held his hands up defensively. "Good enough for me."

"So when're we getting this fucking party started?" Cid came up beside Barret, a cigarette dangling off his lower lip. "I am ready to kick some demented ass!"

I pointed to Rufus. "It's Shinra's show." Out of the corner of my eye I watched Yuffie pickpocket Rude. She saw me catch her and gave me a wink. I rolled my eyes. What the hell was I thinking when I invited her? At least Cid and Barret focused on the job. The little ninja from Wutai only had eyes for whatever materia she could get her sticky fingers on.

Vincent appeared almost out of thin air and grabbed her wrist before she could slip the wallet into her shorts. She gave him a disgruntled glare. He snatched the wallet out of her hand and turned to an oblivious Rude.

Rude looked down at the item Vincent had slapped against his chest. "Hey!"

Yuffie grumbled as Vincent dragged her to join Cid and Barret. She glanced around. "Isn't Aeris coming?"

I shook my head. "She stayed behind at Healin with Marlene and Denzel."

"Well, that sucks," she spouted. Then she smiled in Tifa's direction. "Hi, Tifa. Long time no see."

Rufus snapped his fingers in Rude's direction.

Rude cleared his throat before bellowing, "Everyone shuddup!"

The room immediately went quiet.

"Thank you, Rude." Rufus looked around. "Now that I have everyone's attention, let's see if we can put alittle organization in the next couple of days." He turned toward my AVALANCHE team. "We need to work together if we're going to be successful. I have a philosophy I like to live by. Allow me to explain it…"

I pinched the bridge of my nose, feeling a headache coming on. There he went again, belching out crap I was more than certain nobody wanted to hear. Not even his own people. When was he going to learn that you didn't need all these words to get your point across? Ah, hell…it was time for my nap anyway.

If I wasn't so adamant about finding Dalton, I would have been snoring like the guy next to me. I was sitting in the back row of the auditorium in Event Square. This was where they held all those boring performances people raved about. Aeris made me participate in a play once against my will. I just stood there, staring out at the audience, unable to remember any of my lines. Then the guy playing the Knight pissed me off and I clobbered him. The crowd cheered, but Aeris yelled at me for ruining her five minutes of fame.

Rufus was on stage, lecturing on the whole Jenova incident. He occasionally gestured toward the item on a small table next to him. It looked like an elbow, or a knee. I couldn't tell, but it was disgusting. My only thought was, how did Jenova's body end up in pieces? I mean, I knew how it lost its head. Sephiroth had decapitated the thing back in Nibelheim when he thought Jenova was his mother. It goes to show how truly insane he was. If I had found my mother, I wouldn't have taken her head off. Dumbass.

Some people seemed to be interested in hearing the story behind the grotesque piece of flesh. Others were bored, like the snoring guy to my left.

Also on stage, off to the left were Dio and his four henchmen. Standing closer to Rufus were Reno, Rude and Tseng.

I glanced around and spotted Tifa. She was seated between Barret and Vincent. Behind them were Yuffie and Cid. I was more than confident she was safe with my team. They wouldn't let anything happen to her.

Just then Elena appeared on stage and discreetly walked over to whisper something to Tseng. He quickly followed her off the stage and out one of the side doors.

I got out of my seat and decided to follow them.

Just outside the doorway, I found Tseng and Elena kneeling beside three dead Shinra guards. They were cut up by what looked like a sharp weapon. My first thought was Sephiroth's Masamune. But there was something about the wounds that made me rule out the long, thin sword. The wounds looked more like they had been made by one of my swords. Which couldn't be because both Apocalypse and Organics were safely tucked in the harness strapped to my back.

"You better check with the rest of your people," I suggested to Tseng and Elena. "It's time to end the lecture."

Just then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of black and silver falling behind me from a ceiling beam. I turned around, my eyes widening at the familiar face suddenly standing in front of me. The hair, the eyes, the stance…

"Zack…" I whispered, unable to believe my own eyes.

But it couldn't be. Zack was dead. He died right in front of me.

"Good to see you again, Cloud." He reached over his shoulder to retrieve a buster sword hanging from his back. It wasn't the same one I had used as a grave marker where Zack had died. That sword was rusted. The sword he held in his hands was new and looked slightly modified.

I reacted too slow as he advanced on me, ready to swing. If I hadn't tripped on my own feet, he would have taken my head off.

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