Chapter 5: The Robbery

June 13, 0011

On a more positive note, this story does end in a wedding; a destination wedding on Eros Nova, to be exact.

But events leading up to that were presently occurring in a bridal shop in Nibelheim.

Shera stood in her tee shirt, jeans, and her bridal veil. She looked at herself in the mirror, scanning her body from head to toe. She knew her reflected image looked incomplete without a wedding dress, but that was less than a concern. Right now, her focus was her ivory, high-heeled bridal shoes.

And how to walk in them.

She turned one hundred and eighty degrees and began to walk forward.

Heel toe. Heel toe. Heel toe.

So far, so good.

Heel toe. Heel toe. Heel toe.

She had walked a yard.

Heel toe. Heel toe. Heel toe.

Then two yards.

Heel toe. Heel toe. Heel toe.

And then, after the third yard, she began to lose her balance.

Her friend, Elena, caught her as she fell.

"My hero!" Shera laughed as she slipped off the shoes and back into her sneakers.

"I'm a girl," Elena reminded her. "The proper term is heroine."

"I don't like that term," Shera admitted. "It sounds like a drug to inject."

The wedding day, August 13, 0011 was just two months away.

Shera was having butterflies in her stomach as the day drew nearer. She and Cid had gotten engaged on Christmas Day, 0008. Since then, they had been planning their destination wedding in Eros Nova.

"I wonder if I should wear my glasses," Shera said to herself.

"Given those shoes," Elena replied, "I would suggest glasses."

"Do most brides who wear glasses wear glasses at their wedding?"

Elena shrugged.

"You're the only person who wears them," she replied. "Do you always wear them?"

"I really can't see without them," Shera answered. "So, yeah. Except in the shower."

"Do you wear them when you're having fun?" Elena asked.

"I'm having fun now," Shera replied.

Elena sighed.

"I meant naked, in bed, having what you call coitus with Cid fun," she clarified.

"I wear my glasses during coitus all the time," Shera answered. "Cid likes smart girls."

"How long have you known him, anyway?"" asked Elena.

"Eleven years," Shera replied.

"Eleven years?" Elena echoed. "But you're only twenty-one."

"Tifa was twenty when she got married," Cid pointed out. "Cissnei was twenty-five."

"That's not what I meant," Elena clarified. "You were only ten when you met him?"

"I was," Shera replied. "I ran away from home because my dad was patriarchal to the extreme. More so than the Downings. He caused my mom to hang herself."

"Ouch," Elena said. "I'm sorry."

"Needless to say," Shera continued, "he's not invited. He'll miss everything. The vows, the kiss, the reception, and the big finale."

"Big finale?"

"We thank everyone for coming, and we run," Shera said.

"Run?" the perplexed Elena asked.

"Yes, run!" Shera repeated with a smirk. "Off we run until we cross the border to the nude side, and then, off come our clothes!"

"What if we see you?" Elena asked. "That island is open to all. And I do mean all."

"Then you'll see me," Shera replied. "What's the big deal? They're just breasts and a vagina."

"Suit yourself," Elena said. "But who would pick up your wedding dress?"

"I didn't actually think of that," Shera laughed.

"Looks like we have a roadblock," Elena laughed back.

"Maybe I should just skip the dress and just get married naked on the nude side," Shera suggested.

"That's disgusting!" called a voice from behind.

Both Elena and Shera recognized the voice.

From television.

It was Danica Downing.

At nineteen, she was engaged to marry her fiancé, Hiram Tuggs, aged twenty-one. Both her parents, Dirk and Dana, were with her.

And the Downing children were, at that time:

David, 21

Daniel, 20

Dane and Danica, twins, 19

Delilah, 18

Devon, 17

Donna, 16

Derick, 15

Dakota, 14

Dawn, 13

Deke, 12

Daphne, 11

Dallas, 10

Demi, 9

Dante and Damien, twins, 8

"You guys," Elena greeted.

"Busy bodies minding our own business," Shera sighed.

"Your body is only for your husband," Dana reprimanded.

"Then show yours off for Dirk," Shera insisted. "It's that simple."

"But you!" Danica insisted. "I know you're fornicating with him."

"We are having coitus," Shera bluntly informed her. "You should try it. You'll like it."

"No thanks!" Danica dismissed. "Hiram and I are going to wait until our wedding night. That will be the ultimate thrill you'll never have!"

"Is that so?" Shera retorted. "Cid and I are going to end our wedding day by streaking on Eros Nova!"

"We don't have time for this!" Dirk finally interjected. "We're having a wholesome wedding. Enjoy your hedonistic, sinful lifestyle!"

With that, Dirk and Dana Downing led their over-protected daughter away.

"See that?" Shera sighed. "This is exactly what I ran away from. If Dana ever leaves him or does something worse to herself, I would not be surprised."

There was a long silence; anyone who encountered the Downings was left practically drained.

"Well," Elena finally said, "should we look at bridesmaid dresses?"

"I think "I've had enough," Shera sighed. "I don't think anything could ruin the day more."

And then, Shera felt a buzz in her jeans pocket.

"Don't tell me you jinxed it," Elena suggested.

Shera cautiously pulled out her phone.

"It's Cid," she replied. "And he said we've been robbed. My regenerator's been stolen."

"Your what?" asked Elena.

"Something I invented," Shera replied. "To keep the crops healthy longer in case we don't eat them right away."

"You invented something?" Elena inquired. "Why didn't you tell me? Or patent it, for that matter?"

"It's a long story," Shera admitted as she felt her phone buzz again.

This time, it was a picture of a figure from the surveillance footage; presumably the thief.

It was Sephiroth.

"Guess who's back?" Shera sighed.