Cloud savored the
wonderful feeling of a real bed. "It's been so long since I've slept
on a bed like this," he thought, trying to remember the last time.
His thoughts brought him back to his house in his hometown, resting on
the bed while his mother worked in the kitchen. "My, how you've grown,"
she admired. "The girls must never leave you alone." "Not really..."
Cloud replied sleepily.
"Do you really have to go back to SOLDIER?" she
pleaded.
"Yes..."
"I wish you would just settle down and have a nice
girlfriend."
Cloud shook his head.
"You should have someone older and more mature than
you...someone who can watch over you."
Cloud thought of Aeris. Aeris! Cloud
woke up with a start. What time was it? Good...still dark.
"I can't let Aeris get involved in this," he thought. Knowing that
he might never see her again, he searched in the dresser drawer for a momento
to remind him of her. He found a golden feather that was incredibly
soft and glowed with a mysterious light. He wasn't sure what it was,
but he knew that it certainly reflected Aeris personality. Carefully
putting the feather away, he slowly tip-toed down the stairs and silently
left the building.
Something caught his eye. It was a woman walking
around staring at the ground. Curious, he went up to her and asked
what she was doing. "Materia is everywhere. I always look down
because you never know when you might miss one." Cloud made sure
he remembered her advice and looked around for anyone who could give him
information about Wall Market. As if in answer to his thoughts, someone
called, "Hey, you there, do you know about Wall Market?" He turned
around and saw a man looking his direction. He went up to him and
replied, "No." "It's a place where you can buy almost anything,"
the stranger explained. "It's really easy to get around once you're
inside. The road to Wall Market is another story, though. It's
full of monsters." Thinking of the man's words, Cloud decided he
needed to be ready for anything that he might meet. First, he entered
a dwelling near the hole leading to Aeris's house. There was a man
watching TV, but he didn't seem to pay too much attention to Cloud.
Cloud went up the stairs and found a boy on a bed talking in his sleep.
"Top drawer," the boy mumbled. "Then the bottom drawer...no one will
find my secret drawer." Intrigued, Cloud examined the innocent-looking
dresser and found a secret drawer just as the boy had described.
He opened it and found 5 gil. "This is probably the kid's life savings,"
Cloud thought. "What kind of person would I be if I just took it?"
Cloud quietly returned the drawer to its original position and left the
building. Satisfied with his good deed, he quickly bought some supplies
and armor and headed for Wall Market. He found Aeris blocking his
way.
"Up a little early, aren't you?" she said accusingly.
Cloud sighed and shook his head. "I couldn't
let you get involved. It's dangerous out there."
"I grew up in the slums. I'm used to danger.
Besides, you'll need all the help you can get."
Cloud sighed again in resignation. "Yeah,
I guess..."
"Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go!"
They found themselves in a junkyard, a maze of machinery.
Cloud was finding his way through the scrap metal when he heard a groaning
sound behind him. Seeing nothing, he went on his way, though at a
noticeably faster pace. He hadn't gone far when he heard the groaning
noise again, considerably louder this time. He turned around, but
before he had a chance to react he felt a massive object collide with him
and knock him down with tremendous force. "Cloud!" cried Aeris, running
to help him. The thing spared no time, and quickly leaped on Cloud,
squeezing his breath out and crushing his body. Enraged at the coward
who had attacked while he was defenseless, Cloud slashed blindly at his
foe. Aeris quickly soothed his wounds with her Restore Materia and
Cloud got a better look at his opponent. It was a huge metal house.
Somehow, it had been brought to life through the evil forces dwelling in
the slums. Now it sat motionless. It seemed that Cloud's blind
strike had paralyzed the structure. Together, Cloud and Aeris quickly
finished it off to make sure it could not terrorize any innocent people
ever again.
No sooner had they finished when a pack of purplish,
carapaced creatures pounced on them. They seemed to be highly evolved
parasites, obviously nourished and mutated by the toxins and metals in
the junkyard. They attacked relentlessly, slash after slash.
Terribly injured, Aeris started glowing mysteriously and a strong refreshing
breeze blew over the two, healing their wounds and raising their spirits.
Renewed in strength and spirit, the party fought with new vigor.
Cloud cleaved one in two while Aeris impaled another with her staff.
Cloud quickly incinerated a third with a Fire spell and eliminated the
last one with a stab of his huge sword. Exhausted from the consecutive
battles, Aeris dusted herself off and recovered from the excitement, while
Cloud couldn't help but strike a little victory pose.
Escaping, the two ironically emerged into an old playground. "This brings back so many memories," reminisced Aeris in a wistful voice. She climbed up a slide shaped like a large cat's head and signaled for Cloud to join her. Feeling a little foolish, Cloud shrugged and climbed onto the slide with Aeris. They both sat there for several moments, thinking of what to say to the other. Right when Cloud had gotten enough nerve to talk to Aeris, he heard the sound of a wagon behind him. He turned around and saw a garishly decorated wagon pulled by a large Chocobo. But Cloud wasn't looking at the wagon. He was looking at the beautiful girl standing at the back of it. "Tifa?!" he exclaimed. She didn't see or hear Cloud. She seemed too sad to notice. "Tifa?" echoed Aeris. "So that's what she looks like. What's she doing there?" "I don't know," replied Cloud, equally confused. "But we're gonna find out."
