"So what do we do now?"
"I don't know, we've got practically the whole afternoon to decide."
"Let's do something as a group for a while."
"We can do that if you want to....." Red XIII sighed. "But I'm warning you now, it will end up in a lot of yelling and frustration."
The group was trying to decide what to do with the rest of their afternoon at the Gold Saucer - and they weren't having much luck. Yuffie wanted to play around, Cid just wanted to go back to his snowboarding game at Wonder Square, while Sephiroth couldn't have given a stuff what happened next.
"Why don't we try a game?" Cid suggested. "C'mon, I'll give you all a go at the snowboarding. But that doesn't mean I'll let you win."
"Hey, I'm pretty good at it, you know!!" Tifa defended.
"Okay, so you're good on the snowboard, Cid." Cloud said, folding his arms. "But can you handle the Crazy Motorcycle??"
"Hell no...." Cid smiled. "That's your area of expertise. You could beat me at that game with your eyes closed."
Cloud looked somewhat pleased with that answer, and decided to call off the argument going between him and Cid about who was better on the Snowboard Game.
Cid sparked himself a cigarette and began to smoke happily. "Oh yeahhh....."
"Are you even allowed to do that here?" Yuffie wondered. "I thought smoking was banned in all closed public spaces."
Just then, a Blue mechanical Chocobo bounded up to them and snatched Cid's cigarette away.
"HEY!!"
"Wark wark!!" The robot said angrily. "That is illegal."
"Told you so." Yuffie said indignantly.
"Hey, so what?" Cid shrugged, picked another cigarette out of his pocket and lit it. "It's not like it can do anything about it........."
The Chocobo once again attempted to take Cid's cigarette away, but Cid was too quick. He held it above the mechanical bird's head and laughed.
"Just pathetic, I tell you, guys." Cid mused.
Just then, three security guards ran onto the scene and surrounded the group. Two held firearms raised and aimed at them, while the other one began to cuff their hands behind their back.
"What did you say about the Chocobo not being able to do anything?!" Yuffie said through clenched teeth.
"OKAY!!" Cid hollered. "So I was wrong!"
Yuffie sighed. "A little too late to admit it, don't you think?"
"They look like they could pose a threat." one of the guards said. "Confiscate their weapons."
The other guard did as he was told. Sephiroth could only sit and fume while the guard unclipped his sword from it's place on his belt. He dumped it on the ground a small distance from the them with the rest of the group's weapons.
"I'll kill you!!" Sephiroth fumed. "That's my sword!! Who said you could touch it?!"
"Yeah!!" Yuffie squealed. "Don't throw my Conformer like that, you'll make blades get blunt!!"
"Be quiet." the security guard said, aiming his gun at Yuffie's throat.
"Okay!" Yuffie squeaked.
The guard stripped the rest of the group of their weapons.
"What's the big idea taking my Venus Gospel?! Why are you doing all this?!" Cid growled. "All I did was light a cigarette!!"
"The Chocobo warned you." One of the security guards said coldly. "It is a condition of entry that you do not smoke while in the Gold Saucer Area."
"I never remember reading that......" Cid said angrily.
"You didn't read the conditions of entry, period!" Yuffie snapped.
"Shut up, Yuffie!" Cid yelled. "There's no need to rub it in......"
"SILENCE!!" the security guard barked. "I'm afraid you're all going to have to come with us!"
"This is an outrage!!" Cloud yelled angrily. "I've done nothing wrong!! Your argument is with Cid, not me!!"
"Oh geez, thanks a lot, spiky ass!!" Cid roared. "Some friend you are!!"
"Guys!!" Tifa yelled desperately. "Just shut up and calm down!! We've been bound up like this, so we might as well just sit tight and go with it. There's not much else we can do."
"Yes." Aeris nodded. "Whatever happens, happens."
"Your whelp is intelligent." One of the security guards grunted. "But that won't help you when you face the management. Follow me."
"Whelp!?" Cloud hollered, seeing red. "Don't you call Aeris a whelp!!"
Tifa scowled.
"Oh shut up!" the guard snapped, and punched Cloud in the gut, making the blonde warrior yelp out suddenly in pain.
The guard began to walk off. The group silently followed. One of the other guards followed behind them, keeping his gun raised and ready to fire, while the other one picked up all the weapons and lugged them with him, wondering secretly to himself if he was in the wrong line of work.
---------------------------------------------------------
"Yeah boss, I got a group of suspicious slackers here. They set off the alarm on one of the Chocobos.... No, but one of them looks like he's from...... no?..... Yeah......OK..... wait a minute boss...."
The guard turned his back on them, walked into the office and closed the door behind him.
For the next few minutes, the group could hear nothing but muffled conversation.
"Who runs this place nowadays?" Red XIII whispered.
"What do you mean, Red?" Cloud asked, his voice a whisper also.
"The manager.... do you know who he is?"
"Last time I knew, it was Dio." Cloud answered. "But that was a couple of years ago...."
Just then, the door to the manager's office swung open, and out stepped the security guard, looking upset.
"You idiots!" a voice roared from the other room. "Remove the handcuffs from all those people, right now!"
"But one of them was smoking....."
"So what?! They should be applauded, not arrested!!" the voice roared. "They're close friends of mine! They can do whatever they damn want in my park!!!"
After backing out the door, the guard removed a small key off his belt. As he quickly unlocked everyone's cuffs, they looked at him with confusion.
"One minute you're angry with us, and now you're apologising??" Sephiroth said, shaking his head. "I do not understand....."
"Yeah, what's going on??" Yuffie wondered.
One of the other guards ran out and dumped all the group's weapons in a pile on the floor.
"My Conformer!" Yuffie cried happily, picking up her prized weapon and began to cuddle it. "I missed you so much!"
Sephiroth picked up his Masamune and clipped it onto his belt without a word. Cloud took his Ultima Weapon from the pile, swung it around a few times, then snapped it into place on his back with a smile. Tifa grabbed her Premium Heart gloves and quickly pulled them back onto her hands, Cid picked up his Venus Gospel, lighting himself a cigarette, while Red XIII picked up his Limited Moon comb in his paws and clipped it back onto his mane.
"Get out of here!" the man yelled from the other room, making the security guards cower. "You're lucky I don't fire the lot of you!!"
"That voice....." Cloud said thoughtfully. "I've heard it before......"
Just then, a brown haired man in a faded blue suit, wearing a red gingham tie appeared at the door.
"Hello. Long time, no see." he smiled.
"Reeve!!" Cid said happily. "Hey, nice tie."
"Thanks." Reeve nodded. "It was the tackiest one I could find."
"I knew that voice sounded familiar.... sorry for not recognising you instantaneously, Mr. Reeve sir." Cloud smiled. "But I'm so used to hearing your voice when Cait Sith was with us."
"Call me Reeve, Mr. Cloud sir." Reeve smiled.
Cloud chuckled.
"Is that Sephiroth with you?!" Reeve said, averting his attention to the grey haired man. "What's he doing here??"
"It's alright, he's with me." Aeris said, patting him on the arm.
"Owww!!" Sephiroth said, clutching at his bandaged arm. "Don't do that!!"
"Oh sorry!" Aeris yelped apologetically. "I forgot about your stitches!"
"Sorry about the security." Reeve said apologetically. "I think it's terrible that they had to drag you all here in handcuffs, just because one of you was smoking. That was really over the top. Then they had the nerve to deprive you all of your weapons......" he shook his head sadly.
"Oh it's alright. It's not like it's the first time I've been busted for smoking in an inappropriate place." Cid chuckled. "So Reeve, how'd you work your way into the management position at the Gold Saucer??"
"Oh, I didn't. I'm the assistant manager." Reeve smiled. "It happened after Dio approached me one day. He said he needed Cait Sith to be the park's mascot."
"But why would Dio want little old Cait Sith as the Gold Saucer's mascot??" Tifa wondered.
"Easy. Because Cait Sith was there when you guys saved the world from that Sephiroth character. Dio thought having a world hero as a mascot would really boost the park's popularity." Reeve chuckled. "And how right he was. We've had to build new attractions, and put more rides in. Hey, we even have three more squares!"
"We know, we saw them." Cloud nodded. "Grub Square, Casino Square, and Admin Square."
"You're in Admin Square right now." Reeve smiled. "Dio had this one built only because I wanted an office space to work in. You've already been to Grub Square because you've told me about meeting my Cait Sith copies..... the only one left to talk about is the Casino Square."
"What's the deal with that?" Cloud asked. "Barret told us that Cait Sith owns it."
"He does. And he always will." Reeve whispered. "That's where his mechanical body is on display as we speak."
"So that's what happened to Cait Sith?" Tifa asked. "We met a copy of him in the food court, and it said that the original Cait Sith is busted or something....."
"Yes, he is, for the most part." Reeve sighed sadly. "He just got old, I guess. Before I retired him, I backed up his personality on a couple of CD-ROMs."
"Oh that's awful...." Cloud said, shaking his head. "He was one of us.... in his own way."
Reeve nodded. "Cait Sith will return, don't you worry. I just have to build him another body."
"Why don't you just use one of the Cait Siths that roams the food court?" Red XIII wondered. "I mistook them for the real one."
"There lies the problem." Reeve sighed. "The original Cait Sith was like those robots.... it was first designed to hop along after you all, delivering information of your whereabouts live to the Shinra Building..... but after you all said you trusted him.... I.... I.... he sacrificed himself so you could get the Black Materia."
"Which Sephiroth promptly stole from us." Cloud said coldly.
Reeve cleared his throat loudly and continued. "The next Cait Sith, or Cait Sith2 as I called him, was much more complex than any of those robots put together..... but after it broke it's programming, it could think on it's own, and react like any normal person would. He was alive......"
"So why don't you just build another one?" Yuffie asked.
"I built the original Cait Sith when I worked for Shinra. They had both the technology, and the resources to make Cait Sith possible. Now, I have neither."
"All this fuss over a stupid machine...." Sephiroth grunted, shaking his head.
"Shut up Sephiroth!!" Cloud yelled. "You wouldn't understand anyway!"
"So what are you going to do now?" Red XIII said, trying to change the subject.
"I've hired a group that may be able to locate the required components for me." Reeve answered. "They say they're around the Ruins of Midgar a lot, so finding the parts for a new Cait Sith should be no problem. Or so they say."
"Sounds interesting." Cloud nodded.
"Maybe, but I had to agree to their demands." Reeve shook his head. "I had to organise a parade. It didn't seem like much to worry about, so I agreed."
"A parade??"
"I don't know much about it." Reeve nodded. "All I know is, they're doing something special tonight. That's why the Gold Saucer has to be closed to the public after 5:30pm today."
"Aaaah....." Cid nodded. "So we have to clear out?"
"No no no....." Reeve shook his head. "I could never just boot you out. I know, I'll book a reservation for you all at the Hotel right now. It'll be all booked out in a few hours....." Reeve picked up the phone and began to dial a number.
"But....."
"But nothing." Reeve said, hushing them. "You've all done more for me than you'll ever know. This is the least I can do...."
For the next few minutes, Reeve chatted on the phone. He made a reservation for 2 rooms, and scrawled a small note on a piece of note paper before hanging up.
"There we go." Reeve smiled, and hung the phone up once more. "When you want your room, just talk to Mr. Hangman. Give him this note, and he'll give you your room keys right away." he slid the small green piece of paper across the table.
"Thanks." Cid nodded, taking the note. He unfolded it and read it aloud.
"This note certifies that this group consisting of 6 young people and one red lion may lodge in the Ghost Square's Hotel, in the two rooms assigned to them for as long as they wish. Please charge any room services they make to my Gold Saucer credit account - 73383702226868. Don't mind Cid if he wants to smoke. If I hear him complain about you telling him to put it out, you lose your jobs, understand?? Oh, and Hangman? The Badger told me to tell you that your new station wagon is ready. Drop by my office sometime after this merry group hands you this note.... And the bottom of the note has been scrawled with Reeve's signature."
"Pretty cool." Yuffie smiled. "I can order as much room service as I want?"
"Uh-huh." Reeve nodded.
"Really??"
"Yep."
"So if I'm hungry in the middle of the night, I just pick up the phone and ask them to send me up an order of barbecue ribs??"
"Yeah."
"So let me get this straight.... I, Yuffie Kisaragi, can order as much room service as I want, whenever I want, for as long as I choose to stay here??"
"Yes." Reeve said, raising an eyebrow.
"Well just let me move my stuff in!" Yuffie said happily. "I could live like that!!"
"Don't take advantage of Reeve's kind hospitality, Yuffie." Aeris said quietly.
"Awwww!!" Yuffie whined. Reeve smothered a laugh.
Cid stuffed the note in his pocket. "Thanks for the note buddy, I especially like the part about me being able to smoke wherever I want."
"It's alright. It's the least I could do for them hauling your butts up here." Reeve shook his head sadly. "So what are you all doing at the Gold Saucer?"
"We're just having fun." Aeris smiled. "But we're having a hard time trying to decide what to do."
"If you all want to do something as a group, I have a suggestion...." Reeve smiled. "I'd stay here and chat for a while, but I've got a ton of paperwork to do. Why don't you all visit the Speed Square? We have a ton of rides you'd all enjoy."
"Hey, that's a good idea!" Aeris smiled. "C'mon, let's go!"
"Okay....." Tifa smiled weakly.
"Thanks Reeve!" Cid smiled, as they began to leave. "We'll be catching up to you later!"
"Don't mention it." Reeve smiled. "Hey Cloud, is your PHS number still 2255-25683?"
"Yep. Always will be." Cloud nodded.
"Great. I'll catch up with you all later on tonight after I finish work." Reeve nodded. "And I'll also call you as soon as Cait Sith is fixed. In the meantime, pay your respects to him at the Casino, won't you?"
Cloud nodded. "Anything for Cait Sith."
"When he's fixed and his personality has been uploaded into his databanks...." Reeve smiled. ".....I'll tell him you said that."
"Well come on, guys!!" Aeris squeaked. "We can't stand around here when there's fun to be had, can we???"
"Okay, bye then!!" Reeve waved goodbye as the group ran off and jumped down the pipe.
-------------------------------------------------------
"Let's try that ride first!" Aeris said, jumping up.
"The Merry-Go round??" Cloud asked, raising an eyebrow. "Why?"
"Because I love it so much... come on everyone, let's go!"
Aeris took Cloud by the hand and pulled him up to the ride. Yuffie, Cid, Red XIII, Sephiroth and Tifa followed.
There was no line for the ride, so they just got onto it. Sephiroth looked around the ride, with a look of slight annoyance on his face.
"Why is all this stuff so childish?" he asked, finally sitting on the back of a tiger, it's paint peeling away.
"Because It's a stupid kid's ride, that's why." Cid answered, sitting on a plastic plane. "Why look at this thing, it's wings are so stumpy, it would never get off the ground! It'd be like a flying brick!"
"It's supposed to be like that." Tifa shrugged. "Miniature things always appeal to children."
"Be quiet, Cid." Yuffie defended. "I like Merry-Go rounds!"
Red XIII attempted to sit on a sleigh, but quickly got off when the plastic began to crack and buckle under his weight.
"I guess this is another ride they don't build for everyone." Red XIII sighed once the ride had slowly started up. He eventually decided to sit on the floor.
Sephiroth rested his hands on his chin and began to fall asleep as fake organ music began to play and the ride began to spin around slowly. Yuffie stared straight ahead. When she looked anywhere else, it made her get dizzy. Cid put his feet up on the plastic seal in front of him and lit a cigarette. After a few minutes, the ride began to slow down.
"Did you have fun, guys?" Aeris said excitedly, after the ride had finally come to a complete stop and they had proceeded to the exit.
"Hell no...." Cid grunted.
"I didn't understand that ride." Sephiroth shrugged.
"Why not?" Tifa asked.
"The ride goes around and around, just like the name implies, but how is it merry? I found it to be very dull and boring." Sephiroth said. "And what's the point of going around in circles, anyway? I've had tests that are more exciting that that."
"The Merry-Go round is the elevator music of amusement park rides." Cid answered.
"Don't pick on the Merry-Go round!" Aeris said defensively. "It's my favourite ride in the whole park!"
"Okaaaay...." Tifa said.
"Why don't we ride something else, instead of argue like this?" Red XIII suggested. "I would much like to try a fast ride."
"Alright, good suggestion, Red." Cloud nodded.
Aeris looked around. Just then, a huge roller-coaster caught her attention. Huge black spires jutted to the darkening sky, along with black pipes in loops and a few corkscrews. The ride was appropriately called 'Space Jet'.
"Oooooohhh....." Aeris cooed. "Let's try this ride...."
"Alright." Red XIII said, looking up. "This looks like fun."
Yuffie took one look at it before backing down. "No way, you'll never get me on that thing!!"
"You're just a wuss, aren't you, girly?" Cid chuckled. "Can't handle a little spinning around and being turned upside-down, can you?"
"No!" Yuffie squeaked. "Just thinking about it makes me feel sick!"
"You'd be hopeless as an Astronaut."
"That's your area of expertise, Cid." Yuffie said, shaking her head. "I'm just a humble ninja, and a Materia hunter on the side!"
"Sephiroth? Will you be going on this ride?" Aeris asked.
"Why not?" Sephiroth shrugged. "Anything has to be better than that Merry-Go round."
"Hey!" Yuffie scowled. "I like the Merry-Go round."
"Then why don't you go on it again??" Sephiroth said coldly.
"I will!!" Yuffie snorted, stamping a foot on the ground. "I'll see you all later!"
She stormed off.
"Hey, I don't have to actually go on this ride, do I?" Cloud asked nervously. "I'd be happier just watching you all from down here."
"No, Cloud! I want you to sit next to me!!!" Aeris said, upset.
Tifa frowned. "I told you not to eat that chicken and corn roll, Cloud."
"No, that's not it. I'll be completely fine." Cloud lied. "I just don't like the dizzy feeling I get when I get off the ride, that's all."
"After pigging out on that chicken and corn roll, that'll be the least of your worries." Tifa told him.
"Come ON!!" Aeris said impatiently, as she began to push Cloud inside where the queue was. "Stop wasting time, we can't stand around forever!!"
Cloud couldn't shake the sudden feeling of dread that suddenly rushed over him as he went inside.
Since it was pretty late in the day, the line for the ride wasn't too long. But the group did have to wait about twenty minutes. At last though, they started climbing into the cars. Aeris jumped into the front car, dragging a moping Cloud with her. Cid sat in the back with Red XIII. Sephiroth spied Tifa sitting in one of the middle cars by herself. Tifa smiled as he sat down in the seat next to her.
"Oh hello, Sephiroth." she said, sounding friendly. "Nowhere else to sit?"
"No, you just looked lonely." Sephiroth answered. "Still got that little black box?"
"Yep, right here." Tifa said, producing the item from her pocket.
"Well hold onto it." Sephiroth nodded. "You wouldn't want to lose it without finding out what's inside, would you?"
"No no...." Tifa shook her head. She put it back in her pocket.
Just then, an attendant came around, checking seat belts. She strapped in Tifa and Sephiroth without a word. As she walked on, Sephiroth looked back and scowled at her.
"She could have at least ASKED me whether I wanted this restraint done up!!" Sephiroth complained.
"Oh calm down." Tifa giggled.
Just then, the car moved forward into the darkness. The sounds of people screaming and shrieking on the other car could be heard.
"Hold onto your f*ckin' drawers people, and don't piss in em'!!!"
Tifa burst out laughing.
"Who was that?!"
"That was Cid!" Tifa said happily. "Here we go!!"
--------------------------------
Sometime later, Cid and Red XIII emerged from the ride. They made their way over to a group of park benches and sat down. Red XIII curled up on the ground, resting his head on his front paws to quell the dizzy feeling in his head.
"That was even more f*cking boring than the Merry-Go round!" Cid laughed. "At least on that ride, I could see where I was going!!"
"Oh don't lie." Red XIII smiled. "You enjoyed every second of that ride, and you know it."
Tifa came out a moment later, giggling. Sephiroth walked out next, though he was stumbling slightly, still having not fully recovered from his bout with dizziness. Just then, Aeris bounded out to join the group.
"Where's Cloud?" Tifa asked, looking at Aeris with slight confusion.
"Oh, he's coming." Aeris smiled. "The ride just shook him up a bit, that's all."
Just then, Cloud appeared in the archway, and slowly made his way over to the group. He was... green. He had to hold onto the back of the park bench for support.
"My god, Cloud!" Cid chuckled. "You look like shit!"
"I feel like shit, too." Cloud looked back at him, bleary-eyed. "I want to die."
"You'll be OK." Cid replied, patting him on the back.
"Uugghh..." Cloud said suddenly, his hand clutched weakly at his stomach. "I'm gonna puke...."
He barely finished his warning before quickly covering his mouth, bolting over to a nearby garbage can, emptying the contents of his stomach of the chicken and corn roll and last night's dinner besides.
"Oh Cloud...." Tifa sighed, walking over to him. She began to rub his back.
"What caused him to do that??" Aeris asked.
"Cloud gets terribly motion sick." Red XIII answered.
"He does??"
"You didn't know that?" Cid chuckled. "Everybody knows that!"
"Well I didn't!" Aeris said defensively.
Tifa stood there, just rubbing Cloud's back gently until his stomach had calmed down once again.
"All done?" Tifa asked quietly.
Cloud nodded slowly. "Uhhhh huh....."
"Here, use this." Tifa produced a paper napkin from her back pocket, thanking herself that she'd taken some from the food court earlier. She handed it to him. He quickly wiped off his chin and mouth, crumpled the napkin into a ball and tossed it into the garbage can.
"You okay now?" Tifa asked, looking worried.
"Should be...." Cloud said weakly. "I just..... wanna sit down for a while."
Tifa nodded understandingly and walked him back over to the group. She made him sit on the park benches, out of the setting sun.
"Now stay here. I'll go get you something to calm down that upset stomach of yours....." Tifa said, and walked off.
Just then, Yuffie bounded over after spotting them.
"Hey guys, how was the riii...." she paused when she spotted Cloud. "My god, what happened to Cloud!? He looks terrible!"
"I feel it....." Cloud groaned.
"I made him ride that thing..." Aeris said guiltily. "I'm so sorry, Cloud."
"It's OK." Cloud said, shaking his head. "You couldn't have known..."
"But you asked if you didn't have to go on the ride...." Aeris said sadly. "And I forced you to. It's all my fault...."
"No it's not...." Cloud smiled weakly. "Tifa warned me not to eat that chicken and corn roll. I suffered for not listening...."
"Heh heh...." Cid chuckled. "You're one of the bravest men alive..... yet you get on one little ride and your stomach chucks a riot....."
Just then, Tifa arrived, a medium sized plastic cup in her hand. She handed it to Cloud.
"Now just sip it slowly." she said. "It'll make you feel a lot better."
"What is it?" Cloud wondered.
"Lemonade." Tifa said. "I stirred it with the straw before coming back here, so it's sort of flat. Best thing for an upset tummy."
"Thanks Tifa." Cloud smiled, and began to sip his lemonade.
Red XIII just lowered his head and smiled.
"This could turn out after all....."
"Okay, what should we do now?" Aeris said, jumping up. "I wanna go on another ride!"
"I'll go, just as long as it's not scary looking." Yuffie smiled. "And don't think I'll go in one of those Haunted Houses either..... those things freak me out!!"
"Well what about Ghost Square?" Cid chuckled. "Afraid of that, are we?"
"No, I couldn't give a stuff about Ghost Square." Yuffie shrugged. "It's all fake anyway."
Cid slapped his forehead.
"So we go on another ride, do we?" Aeris asked.
Sephiroth shrugged. Red XIII nodded. Cid lit a cigarette and gave her the 'thumbs up' sign. Yuffie smiled.
"Okay, so what about you guys?" Aeris asked, looking in Cloud and Tifa's direction. "You'll come with us, won't you?"
"Are you kidding?!" Tifa yelped. "Cloud doesn't even look good enough to stand up, let alone go on another ride!"
"So what are you going to do, Tifa?"
"I'll have to stay with him, of course." Tifa answered. "Someone has to look after him."
"No Tifa, you go off. I'll be alrii...."
"Cloud, I'm taking care of you and that's final." Tifa said sternly, interrupting him. "Go on everyone. We'll meet you later, up at the Hotel in the Ghost Square."
"Are you guys gonna go there now?" Cid asked.
"Yep." Tifa nodded.
"Then here, take this." Cid said, taking Reeve's note from his pocket. He handed it to Tifa. "You're screwed without that."
"Oh, thanks!" Tifa smiled. "So we'll see you guys later, come on Cloud."
Cloud just sighed as he watched the rest of the group walk away.
"Why are we going to the Ghost Square?" Cloud asked.
"Because you're going to lie down for a while." Tifa said, concerned. "I really think you should."
For once, Cloud didn't argue with Tifa. He was feeling that terrible, he was actually looking forward to it.
---------------------------------------------
A few hours later, after the sun had gone down, the group made their way up to the Ghost Square, Aeris clutching a large soft teddy bear. Cid walked up to the counter and slammed his fist down on the service bell. A lanky looking man suddenly hobbled out, looking mighty pissed off.
"There aren't any free rooms any more!" the man said grumpily. "The entire hotel's been booked out. Why the hell are you all still here, anyway? Didn't you know that you were supposed to be out of the park by 5:30pm??"
"We're the group Reeve said could stay here as long as we wanted." Cid said grumpily. "So are you gonna give us our rooms, or am I gonna have to tell him that you made me put my cigarette out?"
"Oh sorry sir!!" the man said suddenly. "I didn't realise it was you! Please, take these."
The man dumped 8 room keys on the desk.
"What the hell are these for??" Cid growled.
"Four of those keys are for room 1, the other four are for room 2, the biggest rooms in the whole hotel." the man smiled nervously. "Please, enjoy yourselves. I lose my job if you don't!! Come on, you have to! enjoy your stay!!"
"We'll see about that." Cid grinned evilly, taking the keys off the table. "Come on guys." He began to walk up the stairs.
"Gee, you're even more cold-hearted than Sephiroth sometimes, Cid!" Yuffie giggled as she jumped up the stairs after him.
"I don't believe that." Cid grunted, his eyes falling coldly on Sephiroth, who just shrugged in response.
-------------------------------
Tifa sat up suddenly as she heard the key turning in the lock. She jumped out of her chair and made her way over to the door.
"Oh hey, Tifa!" Aeris smiled. "How was your afternoon??"
"Keep it quiet..." Tifa whispered, as the group walked into the room. "Cloud's asleep, the poor guy."
"Oh gee, he must be really whacked out." Aeris said guiltily, looking over at the sleeping man sprawled across the bed on the other side of the room.
"Don't stand around, guys!" Tifa smiled. "Come sit down and enjoy yourselves."
"Well what are we gonna do with ourselves for the rest of the evening?" Cid wondered, as he sat on the edge of one of the beds. He dumped the handful of room keys on the dresser beside the bed. "I gotta phone Shera and tell her we're stayin' here for the night.... she'll get real upset if I don't."
Cid removed his small mobile phone from his pocket, punched in a 9 digit code and waited for the dial tone. He chatted with Shera for a few moments before hanging up.
"What did she say?" Aeris asked.
"She's alright with it....." Cid answered. "Jus' as long as I eat right and get enough sleep...."
"Gee, she'd make a good mother." Tifa smiled.
Just then, Cloud emitted a weak groaning sound. Tifa rushed to his side and began stroking the side of his face lightly, trying to soothe him.
"So would you, Tifa....." Aeris whispered.
"Cloud...." Tifa said kindly. "It's alright....."
Red XIII just chuckled lightly at the scene.
"Mmmm......" Cloud groaned as he sat up suddenly. He scratched his head and yawned.
"How are you, Cloud?" Tifa asked gently. "Feeling any better?"
"Yeah....." Cloud yawned. "I'm feeling hungry, actually....."
"That's good." Tifa smiled. "I'll call room service and ask them to cook up something for you......"
"Well I'm glad to see sleeping beauty's finally woken up." Cid chuckled. "Pity, if you had slept any longer, your Princess Charming would have had to wake you up with a kiss."
"What?!" Tifa yelped defensively, jerking backwards from Cloud. "Get out of here, I would never kiss him!!"
"Cid!!" Red XIII scolded, giving Cid an annoyed look. "Now come on, that was not appropriate."
The comment didn't seem to bother Cloud in the slightest.
He smiled as he faced Aeris. "Have I missed anything?"
"Not really." Aeris answered. "We went on the bumper cars though. Cid drove around like a madman, causing head on collisions a lot."
"Yes....." Sephiroth said bitterly. "He smashed his car into mine so hard, the steering broke."
"Oh cheer up Sephy." Aeris giggled.
"Don't call me that." Sephiroth said flatly.
"At least you won this big fluffy teddy bear!" Aeris said, giving her new teddy bear a cuddle.
"He did?" Tifa said, interested. "How'd you do that, Sephiroth?"
"On the coin toss." Sephiroth shrugged. "I just flicked the coin onto the plate, landing it on first try. After three or four 100 gil pieces, the guy running the stall practically threw it at me."
"And then Sephy gave it to me!" Aeris said, cuddling the bear tightly. "Isn't that a nice gesture??"
Cloud eyed Sephiroth suspiciously.
"Well what else was I supposed to do?" Sephiroth shrugged. "What's the Great Sephiroth going to do with a stuffed teddy bear?"
"You're not all that great." Cloud said coldly.
"Oh stop it, you two." Aeris scolded. "Now let's decide what to do with the rest of our evening."
"Well....." Cloud said uneasily. "I kinda wanted to talk to you....... about something on my mind...."
Aeris gave him a look of sudden interest. "Oh?"
"Yeah." Cloud nodded, lowering his eyes. "But I wanted to tell you somewhere private....."
Aeris nodded understandingly. Tifa turned her back on him and fumed. Cloud gave her a hopeless look.
"Please don't hate me, Tifa. Although, you'll probably have even more reason to after tonight......"
Cid picked up a key from the dresser and stuffed it in his pocket. "Well if you're all going off again, I'm gonna go back to my snowboarding!" he said happily. "I can't let those stupid amateurs play that game without me heckling them for too much longer! See you!" he slipped out the room quickly, shutting the door behind him.
"Well, shall we follow Cid's lead, Cloud?" Aeris smiled.
"Oh..... um...." Cloud swallowed hard. "Yeah."
"Well come on then...."
"Right....." Cloud nodded, getting up. "I guess we'll go then...." he began to make his way over to the door.
"Wait Cloud...." Red XIII said suddenly. "I want to....."
"What's wrong, Red?" Cloud asked curiously, turning to face him. "Something's on your mind?"
Red XIII paused for a long time before answering. "No Cloud, don't worry about it."
Cloud gave him a puzzled look. "No really, what were you talking about, Red??"
"Nothing. Go off with Aeris and have a good time."
Just before Aeris and Cloud headed out the door, Sephiroth shot Aeris a disapproving look.
"Sephiroth?" Aeris said aloud. But they grey haired man only scowled at her and turned away.
"Come on Aeris....." Cloud said, leering at the grey haired man. Aeris shook off her thought and followed him.
------------------------------------
"Outta my way, loser!" Cid yelled, pushing a scruffy haired blonde man off the snowboard game. "It's my go!"
"I do not take kindly to your pushy attitude, old man." the man said coolly. "I shall report you to the management."
"Do what you like, jerk-face!" Cid chuckled. "They won't give a sh*t what you say, I'm buddies with the assistant manager!!"
"So you have some friends in high places....." the man chuckled lightly. "Well so do I."
"Huh?!"
Cid glanced sideways at the younger man. The pilot took a step back when the blonde haired man turned to face him, red eyes glaring. A cruel smirk streaked his unshaven face. He didn't look like he was a day out of high-school. Cid guessed he was in either his late-teens or his early twenties. His hair wasn't in a particular cut - it just looked like someone had grabbed a hunk of blonde hair and dumped it on his head. Cid noticed what the man was wearing - a light blue tank top with a pair of tattered jeans, and his hands were covered by light grey gloves. But the most noticeable thing about him was his white jacket, bearing the words 'ShinRa Corp'.
"Who the hell are you?!" Cid barked. "And why are you wearing a Shinra jacket!?"
"I work for the company known as Shinra." he answered plainly.
"Didn't Shinra go out of business after that little incident at Midgar with Meteor?" Cid wondered. "And I thought all use of Mako Energy was outlawed!"
"Not exactly...." the man said quietly.
"What do you mean, not exactly?!"
"Wonder all you want." the blonde man chuckled. "You'll get no information from me...."
Cid glared into the young man's eyes, and noticed that they seemed to have a curious glow to them - much the same glow as in Cloud and Sephiroth's.
"You're a Mako freak!" Cid said suddenly. "That glow in your eyes..... You're a f**kin' mako bastard infused with Jenova cells, aren't you?!"
"Maybe....." the man shrugged, and began to walk away slowly.
"Where do you think you're going!?" Cid hollered. "Come back here!!"
"You haven't seen the last of me." the man chuckled. "Besides, you have something that belongs to Shinra. Something I've been sent to retrieve..... a state of the art aircraft known as the 'Highwind'."
"You'll never get my Highwind, understand!?" Cid yelled.
"Your 'Highwind'??" the man scoffed. "I think not."
"How do you know that plane is mine, anyway?!"
"We watched it land down just beyond the border of North Corel a few hours ago." the man answered. "It was like finding a pot of gold. Rufus thought we'd lost it forever, but...."
"Rufus?!" Cid interrupted rudely. "He's alive?! I thought that when the Diamond Weapon blasted Midgar, Rufus was in the direct line of fire. There's no way he could have survived!!"
"Did I say he was alive?!" the man snapped. "You all took off with his prized plane before he died, you know!! Now, enough talk. I have an important ceremony to attend to later this evening....."
"Important ceremony??" Cid wondered. "Is that why the Gold Saucer's closed to the public after 5:30pm!?"
The man just smirked wickedly.
"Is it!?" Cid yelled. "Answer me!!"
The blonde man just raised his left hand, the back of it facing Cid.
"What are you doing??" Cid growled. "Hey! Are you trying to flip me off?!"
The man chuckled lightly. "Hmmm.... I've never heard that one before...." He began to walk off.
"Hey!" Cid hollered. "Don't turn your back on me!!"
But the man had already left.
"Damn Shinra......" Cid cursed. "I bet they have something to do with this shindig....."
He looked around quickly and sighed.
"I guess I'll have to go report this to Cloud and the others....." Cid grumbled. He looked at the Snowboarding game screen and let out a cry of frustration.
"DAMN!!" Cid hollered. "That Shinra bastard beat my fastest time on the Crazy Course!!"
He left the games area with much reluctance.
------------------------------------------------
Meanwhile, Cloud and Aeris were enjoying the sights of the Gold Saucer. The cable car began to slow down as they cruised past the Chocobo Square.
"You must really like this ride, Cloud....." Aeris sighed with happiness. "This is the second time you've taken me on it today."
"That's not the reason I took you up here...." Cloud said quietly, scratching his head.
"It's not?"
"Nah....." Cloud nodded. "It's just.... there's something I want to tell you.... something I've been trying to tell you for the whole day......"
Aeris looked at Cloud with curiosity. "Oh??"
"Yeah....." Cloud let out a long sigh. "I.... I haven't managed to muster up enough courage to say this, but... I...... I want to....."
"Be brave, Cloud......" Aeris said, her voice almost a whisper.
Cloud gently took her hand in his. "I want to tell you that I..... I......." he paused.
"You what....?" Aeris whispered.
"I love you Aeris!" Cloud said quickly. "I...... I love you with all my heart, and I want us to be together forever............."
Cloud smiled warmly. Aeris froze.
Aeris looked down at her hand and slowly removed it from Cloud's.
"Cloud...." Aeris said quietly, lowering her head.
"A....Aeris.....?" Cloud stammered.
"Cloud...." Aeris could only shake her head. "....no....."
"But..... but...." Cloud stammered, and tried taking her hand again. But she wouldn't let him. She moved it to her lap and looked at him with a pained expression on her face.
"You're a very kind and gentle person....." Aeris sighed. "But I just don't feel the same way as you do."
"What....?" Cloud said, as a tear began to form in his eye. He brushed it away furiously, trying to hide his weakness. "But all those friendly gestures..... the giggling...... the kindness.... I thought you...... liked me....."
"I'm sorry if I gave you that impression..." Aeris said guiltily. "I'm really sorry, Cloud...."
"I don't understand....." Cloud began to sniffle quietly. "When we first came here.... you told me..... that.... even Cait Sith predicted......."
"It was wrong of me to do that....." Aeris sighed. "I thought I loved you back then, but I hadn't been with a boy for so long..... I don't think I was so much in love with you as I was in love with love, If you can understand that....."
Cloud looked up at her with a puzzled expression.
"My heart belongs to someone else..... I'm sorry." Aeris said guiltily. "I didn't mean to put you through this......"
Cloud just lowered his head.
"And Tifa......" Aeris sighed. "That poor girl......"
"Tifa??" Cloud said, confused.
"Now I know why she was so distraught....." Aeris said, sadly shaking her head. "Oh Tifa, now I understand why you've been acting so strange towards me...... you should be hating me so much, but.... you don't........."
"What does Tifa have to do with it?" Cloud said bitterly.
"You mean you don't know?" Aeris whispered. "I really didn't want to step in between you two....."
"Is this what this is all about??" Cloud said hopefully. "No, no, Tifa and I are just childhood friends. There's nothing between us!"
"So she still hasn't told you? Oh, that poor girl....."
"What....??"
"She's been keeping it locked up inside her for so long....."
"What is it?!"
"I'm afraid you'll have to find that out for yourself." Aeris sighed. "If she wants to tell you, she will. It may not even be true any more...... whatever the case, I know she's afraid......."
Just then, the cable car pulled into the dock.
"I'm so sorry, Cloud. I'm sorry it has to be this way....." Aeris whispered. "The closer you let those you love, the more you can get hurt....."
"Just leave me alone!!!" Cloud yelled angrily, then ran off, leaving Aeris behind.
Aeris shook her head sadly. "I understand, Cloud."
-----------------------------------------
Red XIII was curled up on the floor. Tifa just sat on the edge of the bed, just quietly looking at the spot where Cloud had lay asleep just a while ago. Meanwhile, Yuffie was inspecting a lamp with much interest. Sephiroth just sat in the corner, trying to look as removed as possible.
Red XIII looked up. "What are you doing, Yuffie?" he asked. "You've been checking that lamp over for the last half hour."
"I have??" Yuffie said, screwing up her face. "Wow......" she went back to her lamp.
"Excuse my ignorance....." Red said, getting up and walking over to her. "But what do you find so interesting about this lamp?"
"It rattles when I shake it." Yuffie answered. "It looks like there might be Materia inside."
"Why would anyone put Materia in a lamp?!" Sephiroth snapped.
"To make it work.....?" Yuffie offered.
"That is the stupidest......"
"No really!" Yuffie defended. "Look Tifa, there's no power cord. But yet, the lamp shines light into the room. Work that one out."
"Give me a look at that...." Tifa said, as she walked over to the lamp herself. She picked it up carefully and looked it over.
Yuffie folded her arms and looked smug.
"There's no Materia in this lamp, Yuffie!" Tifa growled. "It's battery powered!"
"Is not!!" Yuffie yelped. "You're just trying to hide the Materia from me because you want it all to yourself!!!"
"You guys!!" Cid yelled desperately, as he burst into the room. "Shinra!!"
"Shinra....?" Sephiroth said, sitting up.
"What?!" Tifa yelped, dropping the lamp to the ground. It smashed all over the floor. Yuffie quickly bent down and sifted through the pieces.
"No Tifa, you were right." she sighed. "There is no Materia in this thing."
"Shinra??" Red XIII repeated. "What do you mean, Cid?"
"The f*ckin....... Shinra...... they're......." Cid panted.
"They're what?!" Sephiroth yelled.
"I ran all the way here from Wonder Square....." Cid panted. "To tell you..... the Shinra....."
"Please, calm yourself." Red XIII said. "Sit down and catch your breath."
Cid sat on the bed, resting his hands on his forehead for a few moments, just slowly regulating his breathing once more.
"Now what's all this talk about Shinra?" Red asked calmly.
"Yeah Cid!" Yuffie said, folding her arms. "Tell us!"
"Shinra......." Sephiroth scowled deeply. "I hate them even more than my mother......"
"There's a guy...... he beat my high score!!" Cid yelled.
"Calm down, Cid." Tifa said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "It's not the end of the world, you know......"
"But he was wearin' a Shinra jacket!!" Cid yelled. "He was on the snowboard game and he beat my fastest time!!"
"What a tragedy....." Yuffie said sarcastically.
"Yuffie....." Tifa said with a hint of scorn in his voice.
"What's this talk of the man wearing a Shinra jacket??" Red XIII wondered.
"What colour was it?" Tifa asked.
"White." Cid answered.
"Hmph, that's no help." Sephiroth grunted. "All Shinra jackets are white. He could have stolen it from somewhere, you know."
"His eyes......" Cid said shaking his head. "They're the same as Cloud and Sephiroth's...... only red......"
"What do you mean by 'the same'??" Sephiroth said, raising an eyebrow. "Strife's eyes completely differ from mine. For starters, his eyes are blue. Mine are a turquoise colour....."
"No, I meant that his eyes seemed to give off a light of their own....."
"He had the glow of Mako in his eyes??" Red XIII offered.
"Yeah!" Cid nodded.
"Then he must be from Shinra!" Tifa said pounding her fist on her hand. "But I thought Shinra went broke after Midgar was destroyed by the Meteor...... I don't understand...."
"I don't understand either!" Cid said. "But he said he's gonna take my Highwind!!"
"Why's he gonna do that?" Yuffie asked. "As much as I don't like that plane, I would hate to see that happen......"
"He said it belongs to Shinra...... He reckoned he'd been sent to retrieve it....." Cid said angrily, clenching his fist and baring his teeth. "I'd sooner let him take my life than my beautiful Highwind!! It's Shera's and my home! We stole that thing fair and square, understand!?"
"Gosh, I know you like your Highwind, but there's no need to get that worked up about it!!" Yuffie snorted.
"F*CK YOU!!" Cid roared. As he sparked a cigarette and inhaled, a smile slowly spread across his face as he calmed down.
"No wonder you get so out of breath......" Red XIII said, shaking his head. "I don't know why you have to destroy yourself like that......"
"Do you have a problem, cat!?" Cid barked.
"No I don't." Red XIII said sadly. "But you're slowly killing yourself with those small rolls of shredded tobacco leaf."
"Oh don't nag me too, cat!" Cid cursed. "Shera hounds me every time I light up, godammit...."
"Because she cares about your well being." Red XIII said shaking his head slowly.
"So what do we do about this man from Shinra, you guys?" Tifa said.
"What else can we do?" Red XIII said calmly. "We have to find him."
"I want to meet him....." Sephiroth said, standing up. "If he's got the same Mako glow in his eyes, as does Strife and I, it's liable he's a product of the Jenova Project......."
"What's this?" Yuffie said, as her attention was drawn to a note stuck to the side table next to one of the beds. She tore it off and read it.
"Hey guys..... I think you should come see this."
"What??" Cid said suddenly, taking the note from her. He quickly read through it.
To you all,
I don't trust this group that's organised the parade tonight. Seeing as though you're here, could you check it out? Their parade starts at midnight, sharp, in the Speed Square area. Don't worry about not blending in with the crowds, I took care of it. You'll find it all in the cupboard. Sephiroth will know what to do with it.
-Reeve
PS: A couple of your friends showed up not long after you left. They're looking for you, and it was urgent.... something about your weapons?
"Check this out." Cid handed the letter to Tifa, who read it and passed it on to Sephiroth. As he read it, a confused look slowly appeared on his face. Shaking his head, he handed it to Yuffie and sat down on the edge of the bed. Yuffie just let the paper flutter to the floor for Red XIII to look at. He picked it up and read it quickly.
"What's wrong with our weapons?"
"Hmm........" Tifa said thoughtfully. "This could be bad. What do you suggest we do?"
"I wonder what he was talking about......" Sephiroth thought.
"What do you mean?"
"The item I would know what to do with."
"Well whatever it is, it's in this cupboard." Tifa said, walking over to the other side of the room, where a large cedar cupboard sat quietly. She pulled the door back slightly and paused when her eyes fell on the items inside.
"Well what's in there?" Yuffie asked.
"This." Tifa said, producing a weird looking coat-like black garment, and something long and brown that resembled a leather belt.
"What is that?" Yuffie said, screwing up her face. "How will that help us?!"
"I know what that is....." Sephiroth said, walking over. He took the black garment from Tifa, slipped his arms through the sleeves and clipped up the buckle on the front of it.
"So what do you think it is now?" he smirked.
"My God!" Cid choked. "It's yer freakin' black cape!"
Sephiroth nodded. "Of course, the outfit isn't complete without the shoulder guards, the stomach protector, a black pair of pants, my knee high boots, and my leather strap." he smiled faintly.
"With that Hawaiian shirt underneath the cape like that, it looks like you're doing charity work." Red XIII smiled. "Like those doctors who dress up as clowns in the children's hospitals......"
"Okay, so this cupboard is full of these black capes." Yuffie said, folding her arms. "So how's that gonna help us?"
"I think I know......" Sephiroth said thoughtfully.
"Oh yeah?!" Cid yelled. "Well I wish you'd explain it to me sometime!"
"Didn't you read the note?!" Sephiroth growled. "Can't you work out what's going on?!"
"NO!!" Cid hollered. "None of this f*cking stuff makes any sense!!"
"Okay, I'll explain it......" Sephiroth sighed. "At midnight sharp, there's going to be a parade. Now, that parade involves something to do with me......"
"What makes you say that??"
"Why else would that guy send us a heap of my outfits?" Sephiroth shrugged. "Look, it's all genuine." He picked up a shoulder guard and rapped his knuckles on it. It made a hollow metal clanging sound. "These clothes aren't copies.... they've come straight from Shinra's headquarters. Someone must have had access to the highest levels of the Shinra building to get these articles......."
"Some whino off the street could'a got it all, you know!" Cid said. "Don't forget, the Shinra building was blasted by the Diamond Weapon..... some idiot could have just found it, and just made off with all of it....."
"That's true...." Sephiroth nodded. "But whatever the case, this parade's focus is on me."
"Ceremony....." Cid said quietly.
"Huh?" Tifa wondered.
"The red-eyed guy.... he said he had to leave because he had an important ceremony to attend to later on tonight..... that must be the parade......"
"So Shinra's organising this parade?" Yuffie wondered.
"It would seem that way....." Sephiroth said quietly.
"But why would they have a parade in the Gold Saucer, then dress up like Sephiroth??" Tifa wondered. "It doesn't make any sense...."
"The Shinra never make any sense, Tifa!" Cid scowled. "That guy was the rudest person I ever met!"
"What, even over you?" Yuffie mused.
"Shut up!" Cid snorted. "No, that little bastard tried to flip me off!"
"He gave you the one finger salute??"
"Sort of....." Cid shrugged. "Only he didn't extend the middle finger."
"He just showed you his fist.....??" Yuffie said, confused. "But why?!"
"It must be some secret Shinra code or something....." Tifa said thoughtfully.
"That's just stupid." Sephiroth said, shaking his head. "The whole time I was in SOLDIER, we never had any hand signals whatsoever."
"Wait a minute......" Tifa said thoughtfully. "These things..... they have to go together somehow...."
"Now that I think about it, remember that stupid little girl back at the Battle Square?" Sephiroth said. "She was wearing a black hood......"
"So were those people who boarded the Ropeway before we did!" Red XIII said suddenly. "I definitely see a parade focused on Sephiroth here......"
"Too much to think about!!" Yuffie said angrily, clutching her head. "Let's just don Sephiroth's gear and find out what's going on!"
"I agree with that." Red XIII nodded. "But we really should wait for Cloud and Aeris. They could prove to be a world of help....."
"Well we can't wait around forever. The parade starts at midnight." Yuffie said, looking at the clock on the wall. "And the time now is 9:29pm. Midnight is only 2 and a half hours away!"
"And one minute." Red XIII added.
"We'd better get changed into this crap anyway...." Cid jumped up and grabbed a set of clothing from the cupboard.
"Crap....?" Sephiroth said, raising an eyebrow.
"Grrr.... I never thought I'd have to wear something like this......"
Just then, Aeris opened the door abruptly and ran into the room.
"Is Cloud here?!" she said desperately.
"No.....?" Tifa said, confused. "Wasn't he with you??"
"Yes...." Aeris nodded solemnly. "But....."
"But?!" Tifa snapped. "Where the hell is Cloud?!"
"I..... I don't know!!" Aeris shook her head, close to tears. "I've been so horrible to him....."
"Well that's just great, isn't it?!" Cid hollered. "We have a crisis on our hands at the moment and we can't even find our main man!!"
"Crisis??" Aeris wondered.
Tifa stormed over and thrust the piece of paper under her nose.
"This is our predicament." she said coldly. "And now, thanks to you, we're completely screwed."
"I'm so sorry Tifa...." Aeris sobbed, as a tear rolled down her cheek. "For so many things....." She took the note from Tifa, read it, and shook her head sadly.
"I have to go find him!" Tifa said suddenly. "We need him!!"
"Not completely screwed...." Aeris said, wiping a tear from her eye. "We still have someone with leadership qualities, every bit as good as Cloud....."
"Oh yeah?!" Tifa spat. "Who...??"
"Sephiroth." Aeris answered quietly.
"What!?" Cid choked.
"Does anyone have any objections?" Aeris asked, looking around the room. Cid folded his arms and pouted, Red XIII looked thoughtful, Yuffie looked confused.
"I do!" Tifa snapped. "Cloud's our leader, and we need him!!"
"Sephiroth? Has leadership qualities??" Yuffie said. "Since when?"
"Since I was a top ranking SOLDIER officer....." Sephiroth answered.
"I vote that Sephiroth leads this operation in Cloud's absence." Aeris said quietly.
"Aeris, how could you?!" Tifa yelled. "You upset Cloud so much that he runs away from you, then you don't go looking for him and just appoint someone else the leader?!"
"I never said I didn't go looking for him...." Aeris said sadly. "And what else can we do? There's no one else..... unless Cid....."
"No f*cking way, Ancient." Cid grunted. "I tried being a leader once, and I hated it."
"Tifa, I understand how you feel....." Red XIII said quietly. "But this parade tonight could spell disaster if we don't step in and take immediate action. Yes, it is true that Cloud's input is greatly needed, but time is not on our side here. Seeing as though Cloud isn't here, we shall have to continue without him. Sephiroth is our next best hope of leading this operation."
"Have you all gone insane?!" Tifa yelled, tears beginning to prickle her eyes. "Cloud's out there somewhere, and we need to find him!! We need him!!"
"Oh Tifa......." Aeris sighed. "I'm so sorry...."
"I........ I need him." Tifa whispered, as the tears began to roll down her face.
"Oh Tifa....." Aeris sighed, walking over to her.
"Don't touch me!" Tifa yelped, jerking backwards. She reached for the door handle.
"Where are you going?" Cid said suddenly.
"I have to find him....." Tifa said in determination. "I don't think I can do anything else till I do....."
"Tifa..... wait!" Yuffie yelped. "We need your input as well!"
"Go, Tifa." Sephiroth said quietly. "We'll meet up with you later....."
"Thankyou." Tifa smiled gratefully at Sephiroth, before bolting out of the room, down the Hotel's stairs and out the door.
"Have you lost it, Sephiroth?!" Cid yelled. "Something might happen to her!!"
"I doubt it......" Sephiroth answered.
"Tifa can look after herself." Red XIII nodded. "She's an intelligent person."
"Someone go after her!" Cid yelled. "We need her when we crash this party tonight!!"
"I think we'll manage without her....." Sephiroth said quietly. "If you just saw the look in her eyes that I did, I believe it would take a lot more than you to stop her."