Chapter Text
"So, what can you tell us about where we're going?" Belle asked.
"Oh right, you're all new to Midgar," Aerith said. "We're headed for the underside of Sector 6. 'Wall Market'. A real special place. It took a lot of people to build Midgar, and they all needed to blow off steam. So some traders built an entertainment district: casinos, shops, bars, the works. Folks started pouring in from all over. Business was booming, money was flowing, which attracted the attention of some guys who… didn't much care for the law."
"And now there isn't any," Cloud cut in.
Aerith nodded. "Right. Instead of trying to solve the problem, Shinra decided to just wall it in. And that's how Wall Market was born. 'Out of sight, out of mind,' as the old saying goes. For the folks in charge, there's no better way to deal with it."
"Shinra turns a blind eye to anything that doesn't damage their profits," Cloud said in a dark tone. "Wouldn't surprise me if they have a deal with the Dons, taking a cut of their mob money in exchange for letting them have the run of the place, as long as they keep trouble from spilling over the walls. Saves them manpower policing the place and lines their pockets to boot."
"Sounds like you're not a fan," Aladdin deadpanned.
Cloud's jaw clenched. "I don't actually care," he said flatly. The other four exchanged a knowing glance, but said nothing.
"So, this Don Corneo, he's one of the people in charge?" Belle asked.
"He's bad news," Aerith said, shaking her head sadly. "If Tifa's going to his place, dressed like that… I doubt it's for anything safe."
"Tifa can take care of herself…" Cloud said, but he sounded unconvinced.
"…But, if you can help her, you're going to, right?" Aerith finished for him with a smile. Cloud just nodded. "Good, it's settled then."
The five of them kept walking, eventually making it to the entrance to Wall Market. All of their eyes widened in astonishment as they stepped onto the main thoroughfare; Ariel and Aladdin and Belle had never seen neon before, but even for Cloud and Aerith this was more than they had ever seen in one place. Wall Market was a bustling, noisy, crowded place full of unfamiliar sounds and unpleasant smells.
"Keep your guard up," Cloud said gruffly. "There won't be any monsters here, but that doesn't mean it's safe."
They found a place renting carriages like the one Tifa was riding in, and Cloud walked up to the hostler. "Where can we find Don Corneo?" he asked bluntly.
The hostler looked him up and down. "Who's asking?" he said simply.
"We have a meeting with him," Ariel cut in diplomatically.
The hostler looked over the party with an appraising eye. "I see," he said, nodding knowingly. He turned back to Cloud and said, "You'd best pretty those girls up first, if you want the Don to pay more than scraps for 'em."
Cloud blushed angrily. "That's not—"
"Thanks for the advice," Aladdin interrupted. "We'll make sure to do that before we get there, now, if you could just give us directions?"
The hostler held up a hand, rubbing two fingers against his thumb. Cloud sighed angrily, but dug a hand into a pocket and pulled out a few coins, handing them to the hostler. The hostler frowned at the coins, but when it was clear no more were forthcoming, he grumbled and pocketed them, nodding his head toward the road. "Take the main road up, take a right, then a left. Corneo's is the biggest of the mansions in the uptown area, the one decorated in red. Y'can't miss it. Though I warn ya, you'll get turned away at the door if you don't have an appointment, or if your girls aren't pretty enough."
"We'll keep it in mind," Cloud said shortly, then turned and started walking away in the direction the hostler had said. The others hastened to keep up.
"I begin to understand what kind of man we're dealing with," Belle said with a shudder, thinking of Gaston.
"He's the lowest of the low," Cloud growled. "I don't know what Tifa is up to, but I know I'm not letting her deal with him alone."
They made their way along the dirt and cobblestone road, pushing their way through the crowd. They passed storefronts with names like Madam M’s Massage Parlor and The Honeybee Inn, their garish neon signs reflecting in puddles of questionable liquid. The air smelled of cheap perfume, greasy food, and desperation. Following the hostler's directions, they eventually found themselves in front of a grand mansion.
Cloud didn't hesitate, walking straight toward the main doors. Two tall muscular men stepped between him and the door. "Where are you going, pretty boy?"
"I have a meeting with the Don," Cloud said gruffly.
The two men chuckled, and one of them said, "No you don't. Now beat it, kid, before we make you."
"I'm going in," Cloud said sternly, putting a hand on the hilt of his buster sword. "I wasn't asking."
The two men weren't remotely intimidated. "What, you gonna fight all of Wall Market? The Don owns everyone here. You're not just going through us, you'd have to go through every enforcer and bounty hunter in Sector 6. I don't care how good you think you are, nobody's that good."
Cloud faltered, realizing they were right, as the others came up behind him. One of the men looked over his sunglasses at the others and said, "Now, if you're bringing girls, that'd be a different story. For them at least, not for you. You'd get your finder's fee at the door and then scram, only fine ladies are allowed across this threshold." He looked the three girls up and down. "They're a little plain, but they got good bone structure. Pretty 'em up, and maybe the Don would see 'em."
Aerith huffed indignantly, but Aladdin stepped forward, talking quickly. "Right you are, my good fellows. Don't mind my associate here, he's always been more the brawn than the brains, I'm sure you can relate. Now, we'll be off to get our stock freshened up and beautified for the Don, we won't be back here until they're at their best!"
Cloud was clearly incredibly angry, but he allowed Aladdin to lead him by the arm down the steps away from the mansion. "Okay, frontal assault clearly not a viable plan here," he whispered once they were out of earshot. "So, what are we doing? How are we getting into Corneo's mansion?"
"Well, there's the obvious option: we do what the men said," Belle offered. "Pretty the three of us up, then get us inside and let us handle it. Aerith, I saw you cast feather fall when Cloud fell into the church, you have some amount of magical talent?"
"A little," Aerith nodded. "Mostly summoning and healing, but I have a few combat spells."
"Cloud and I can cause a distraction outside, give you a fighting chance," Aladdin suggested.
Cloud shook his head. "I'm not sending more of you into danger after Tifa. Whatever else happens, I'm going in and that's final."
"How do you plan to get in?," Ariel asked. "You heard what they said, only girls are allowed inside"
"I have a spell that can make someone invisible for an hour," Belle said.
"You do?" Aladdin asked. "Why didn't we use that in Maleficent's castle?"
"I figured it out after we left," Belle explained. "The jump takes 8 hours, I spent a few of those working on my spellbook."
Aladdin nodded. "Great, then you can make me and Cloud invisible—"
"I can only do one person at a time, and only for one hour," Belle clarified. "Magic has its limits you know."
They suddenly noticed that Aerith had been giggling to herself for a few moments. "What are you giggling at?" Aladdin asked.
Aerith leaned in close to Cloud, examining his face. "You know, the guards at the mansion were right, you are a very pretty boy."
"No." Cloud said shortly.
Aerith giggled again and continued, "Well, not as pretty as the three of us girls of course, but with the right dress and makeup—"
"No!" Cloud said again, blushing.
"We can put your sword in the Bag of Holding, then Aladdin can sneak it in while invisible," Belle suggested with a grin. "His magic shoes make him move silently, so if he's silent and invisible he'll be completely undetectable as long as he doesn't physically bump into anyone."
"You wouldn't want us girls to be the only ones going in all dressed up, would you?" Ariel asked Cloud teasingly.
Cloud's face was beet red, and he did not look pleased with the idea. "No. I'm not doing it!" he said with finality.
—
"I still say this is a bad idea," Cloud grumbled, his arms crossed tightly over his chest as he eyed the door to the dressmaker's shop. The blush hadn't left his face.
"It's the only idea," Aerith countered, her eyes sparkling mischievously. "Unless you've got a better way to get past a small army of mob enforcers into a fortified mansion?"
Cloud had no retort. He just scowled deeper.
"Alright," Belle said, taking charge. She pulled the Bag of Holding from her shoulder. "First, your sword, Cloud. We can't have you clanking around in a dress." Cloud reluctantly unstrapped the massive buster sword and, with a look of profound sorrow, slid it into the magically expanded bag. It vanished without a trace.
"We should probably put our things in there as well, in case they search us," Belle continued, unhooking her component pouch and pseudo-Keyblade from her belt. Ariel unhooked her own pseudo-Keyblade, handing it to Belle. Belle took something out of her component pouch before putting it and her spellbook and the two pseudo-Keyblades into the Bag of Holding, then turned and handed it to Aladdin. "You're our invisible infiltrator. Once we're inside we'll have one hour to find Tifa and get to someplace to regroup. I'll cast the spell just before we approach the mansion again." She plucked an eyelash from her eye and rolled it into the small piece of gum arabic she had taken from her component pouch, palming the prepared spell component.
Aladdin nodded, the familiar thrill of a risky plan humming in his veins. This kind of con was right up his alley.
"And for the rest of us," Ariel said, clapping her hands together with a determined smile, "we need to get pretty."
Wall Market, they quickly discovered, was an all-inclusive oasis for feminization. Their first stop was the dressmaker's shop, a cramped boutique bursting with garish fabrics. The shopkeeper, a flamboyant man with a pencil-thin mustache, took one look at Cloud's stormy expression and clapped his hands in delight.
"Oh, a tough one! My favorite kind of project!" He whisked Cloud behind a curtain before he could protest.
For Ariel, Belle, and Aerith, the choices were overwhelming. Aerith selected a gown of layered red chiffon that flowed like water. Ariel found a shimmering dress of seafoam green with a pair of purple seashell earrings. Belle chose a yellow and gold ball gown that reminded her of home.
From behind the curtain, they heard the shopkeeper's cooing and Cloud's increasingly strangled grunts. When the curtain was finally pulled back, the group stifled gasps.
Cloud stood there, stiff as a board, in a frilly dress of black and dark purple with a shimmering blue corset. It was surprisingly elegant, with a high neck and long mesh sleeves, but it was undeniably a dress. A pair of modest black heels completed the look. His spiky blond hair suddenly seemed even more incongruous.
"You… clean up nice," Aladdin managed, his voice tight with the effort of not laughing. Cloud's eyes promised murder.
Next was the hair. They found a salon nearby where a woman was willing to take them all in on such short notice. Cloud's hair was too spiky to do much with, but the woman did braid in some extensions, styling them into pigtails which she accented with two lavender bows, adding a large black bow to the top of his head as well. Belle had her hair coiffed up in an elegant bun, from which her hair cascaded down her back, falling just past her shoulder blades. Aerith had her braids undone and coiled into one great tight curl down her back, decorated with red ribbons and flowers. The stylist did little for Ariel but brush her hair and condition it a little to enhance its natural volume. "You don't need my help, dear," she said to Ariel with a smile. "No point in messing with perfection."
Last but not least, makeup. Aerith took charge here, enjoying giving herself and her new friends a makeover. The piece-de-resistance, of course, was Cloud. She applied foundation with a light touch, added a hint of color to his cheeks, and even convinced him to tolerate some eyeliner and a swipe of lip gloss. "Just think of it as war paint," she whispered, which somehow made him even more miserable.
With the makeup, the hair extensions, and the dress, the transformation was startling. He was striking, with a severe, androgynous elegance that lent him a kind of otherworldly beauty.
Aerith stepped back, beaming. "Perfect! We'll call you… Claudia."
Cloud—Claudia—let out a long-suffering sigh that seemed to come from the depths of his soul.
Once they were all ready, Belle quickly cast her Invisibility spell on Aladdin, who vanished from sight. "One hour," she reminded the empty air as she discarded the piece of gum arabic. "Meet us inside."
They made their way back to the mansion, a bizarre procession of three lovely young women and one tall, grim-faced "woman" who walked like a soldier marching to her execution. The same two guards were at the door. Their eyes slid over the four of them approvingly.
"Well, well," one grunted. "I see you took our advice. And you found a friend." He leered at Cloud, who stared straight ahead, his jaw clenched so tight Ariel feared he might crack a tooth. "Very nice. Your little boy toys were too scared to show their faces again, eh? No matter."
The other guard stepped aside and opened the door. "You can wait inside with the other one. The Don will see you when he's ready, and your boyfriends can come by later to pick up their finder's fee."
They all stepped inside, Belle making sure to take an extra second to give Aladdin time to slip in invisibly as well. Now all they had to do was find Tifa, and get somewhere out of sight before Aladdin's hour was up.
The inside of Don Corneo's mansion was an exercise in gaudy excess: velvet draperies in violet and crimson, red-stained wood paneling with golden accents, gilded furniture and statues decorating every corner… it smelled like cigar smoke and too much perfume.
"The other one is waiting downstairs. You can join her there or wait up here, just don't wander too far. The Don doesn't appreciate people exploring his rooms uninvited."
They made their way down a long flight of stairs into a basement room. The vibe here was completely different from upstairs, all stone walls and iron fittings and dark leather trim. The room, which could only be described as a torture dungeon, was dominated by a large central table with iron manacles on each corner, and there were hooks on the walls from which hung whips and chains and other implements of even less savory nature. Inspecting all of these things with a kind of horrified fascination was the woman they had seen in the carriage back at the crossroads.
"Tifa!" Cloud exclaimed, running up to her.
"…Yes?" Tifa replied, tilting her head.
"Thank the gods we found you. Are you okay?"
"Um, I'm fine…" Tifa said, clearly confused.
"Good, that's good," Cloud said with a relieved sigh.
Suddenly, Tifa's eyes widened with recognition. "Wait a minute… Cloud!?" she gasped. "Oh my gosh, that dress, and that makeup—"
"Nailed it, I know. Thank you. Moving on," Cloud said hastily, blushing furiously.
"Cloud was worried about you," Aerith said with a smile, "So, we came to help you out!"
"Now that we're in, and we found you, our next step is getting back out again—" Belle said, but Tifa cut her off.
"I can't leave before I get what I came for," Tifa said with determination.
"What did you come for?" Ariel asked.
"So, after we made it back to the Sector 7 slums, some guys came around asking all sorts of questions about Avalanche," Tifa explained.
"Avalanche?" Belle asked.
"The group Tifa and I work with," Cloud said.
"So I did some digging, and found out they were Corneo's men," Tifa continued. "They were cagey about their questions, I couldn't pin down why they were so interested. But we are fugitives from Shinra, so, whatever they wanted couldn't be good news for us. In my digging, I found out about Corneo's… appetites. So, I decided to use that as an in to come ask the man himself, go straight to the source. The only problem is, what if he chose one of the other girls? I had to guarantee he would choose me somehow, and I still haven't figured that part out yet."
"Well, that's not a problem anymore," Belle interjected. "We are the other girls, and we're all in on it with you, so it doesn't matter who he picks. Any one of us can ask him, or at least stall until the rest of us can join and we can all interrogate him together."
"No, I couldn't ask you to do that," Tifa said, shaking her head.
"You're not asking, we're offering," Aerith said. "In fact, we're insisting."
"Don't even try to talk her out of it," Cloud said with an exasperated sigh.
"Aw, Cloud gets me!" Aerith said, smiling and slapping his shoulder playfully. Cloud just rolled his eyes.
"…Who are all of you?" Tifa asked curiously.
"Friends of Cloud's," Ariel said. "We met when he fell through the roof of the church in Sector 5."
"But why would you help Avalanche?" Tifa pressed.
"We're not helping Avalanche, we're helping you," Belle said. "We're new in town, we don't know anything about Avalanche, but it's clear you're in trouble and you need help, so we're helping. That's what we do."
Aerith nodded and smiled at that. "Exactly."
"Well… thank you," Tifa said, finally smiling. "I appreciate the help. And hopefully, after we get out of this and you meet the rest of Avalanche and learn what they're about, maybe you won't mind helping them a little more."
"Them? So, you're not part of Avalanche?" Belle asked.
"Kind of. It's complicated," Tifa said. "Cloud and I work with them, but I wouldn't necessarily call us members, exactly."
"They're a pretty ragtag bunch," Cloud said with a shrug. "They're not the kinds to have official membership cards or anything like that. Me, I'm a merc. I help because they pay me. Nothing more."
"I'm a bit more involved than Cloud is, but not by much. I let them use my bar in Sector 7 as a hideout, and sometimes I go on missions with them if they need the help, but… I don't know." Tifa sighed noncommittally.
"You're putting yourself out on quite a limb for them here, you might be more committed than you'd like to admit," Belle said shrewdly.
"Maybe…" Tifa said thoughtfully.
"So, what is Avalanche? What are they about?" Ariel asked curiously.
"They're terrorists," Cloud said bluntly. "Or at least, that's what Shinra would call them."
"Barrett could explain it better, but, he believes that Shinra is destroying the planet by mining it for mako to turn into electricity," Tifa explained. "Avalanche fights back against Shinra by destroying their equipment and facilities. They try not to hurt anybody, but, well…"
"Shinra likes to get in the way," Cloud said. "They don't want their equipment destroyed, obviously. That's when the weapons come out."
"And we're guessing that Don Corneo isn't sending men sniffing around asking furtive questions because he wants to support the cause," Belle added with an understanding nod.
"Right," Tifa nodded. "I'd guess he's trying to get in good with Shinra by finding Avalanche for them, but I need to find out for sure what his angle is and how we can stop him."
The oppressive atmosphere of the dungeon was broken by the sound of heavy boots clomping down the stairs. A hulking man with a pockmarked face and a cheap suit filled the doorway. He leered at the gathered women, his gaze lingering on each of them with crude appraisal.
"The Don will see you now," he grunted. "Follow me."
As they all got upstairs, another guard said, "Alright ladies, line up for the audition!" Once the five of them were standing next to each other, he continued. "Introducing Wall Market's most eligible bachelor, Don Corneo!"
A squat balding heavyset man walked out from behind a curtain, leering at the five of them. He had a tiny upturned mustache, and wore a long silk bathrobe with fur trim. The top two buttons of his shirt were open, revealing his chest hair, and he wore a ring on every finger. "Well well well, what lovely ladies you've brought me! Whoever shall I pick for tonight's blushing bride to be?"
"Bride to be?" Belle asked.
"For tonight," the guard clarified. "And maybe tomorrow, if the Don takes a shine to ya."
"Pathetic," Cloud muttered under his breath.
"Oh ho ho ho, who said that?" Don Corneo asked, seeming more amused than angry. He almost seemed to slither as he walked around the five of them, examining them from all angles. "Which one of you dared to speak out against me, hm? He he he he… Was it you? Or maybe… you?" He got right up into Cloud's face, a wicked smile spreading across his lips.
Cloud continued staring straight ahead, not making eye contact, but he muttered under his breath again, "Disgusting."
"Oooh, praise me more!" Don Corneo cried out with a boisterous laugh. "You will be my lucky lady for tonight!" He put a hand on Cloud's arm and pulled, but Cloud remained motionless. "Still playing hard to get, eh? I like a kitten with claws. Come on now, no need to be shy!" He pulled again, and this time Cloud allowed himself to be led toward a back room. "You all can have the leftovers!" Corneo called over his shoulder as he brought Cloud through a door and slammed it closed behind them.
The guards in the room cheered and high fived as they approached the four women. "So, ladies, are you ready to… get to it?" One of them asked.
Aerith glanced at Tifa and smiled. "I'd say I'm ready whenever you are."
Belle glanced up thoughtfully and said, "Yeah, our hour is just about over anyway."
With that, there was a sudden thwack as The Keyblade appeared in midair, connecting with the skull of one of the guards. Aladdin became visible again, readying The Keyblade for another strike as he tossed the Bag of Holding to Belle. Belle quickly fished out her pseudo-Keyblade and brandished it like a magic wand, immediately tracing a rune in the air with it and sending a blast of multicolored light at a group of guards, blinding them with magic. Ariel used her voice, Tifa used her fists, and Aerith cast silvery bolts of magical energy from her hands.
The fight was over almost before it had begun. The five of them made quick work of the guards, and in a matter of seconds the floor was littered with the unconscious bodies of Corneo's enforcers.
"We'd better get in there and question him before any more guards show up to raise an alarm," Belle said.
"Right," Tifa nodded. "And before Cloud gets himself into any more trouble."
They burst through the door just in time to see Don Corneo lunging for Cloud, apparently attempting to go in for a kiss. Cloud spun and kicked at the last second, sending Corneo toppling back onto the bed.
"Hey! Who gave you permission to do that!?" Corneo yelled as he rolled over and got back to his feet, only to see six people all standing over him, glaring down at him menacingly. Cloud took this opportunity to reach into the Bag of Holding, drawing out his buster sword. "What are you all doing in here??"
"We'll ask the questions," Tifa said aggressively. "Like: why did you have men in Sector 7 asking about Avalanche?"
"…I don't know what you're talking about," Corneo said, turning away in a huff.
"Don't play dumb with me," Tifa said sternly, advancing forward a step. "Let's try again. Why did you have men in Sector 7 asking about Avalanche?"
"Tell her what she wants to know," Cloud said menacingly, brandishing his buster sword, "Or I'll cut it off."
That seemed to get Corneo's attention. "Alright, alright! I'll talk, I'll talk!"
"So talk," Cloud said, lifting the buster sword an inch.
Corneo flinched. "It was… some guy with a gun for an arm! I was paid to find him!"
"That's Barrett," Tifa whispered, then she pressed, "Paid by who?"
"I can't tell you that! They'll kill me!" Corneo pleaded.
"And we won't?" Aladdin asked, pointing The Keyblade at Corneo's throat.
Corneo eyed The Keyblade with fear in his eyes for a moment, then whispered, "It was the Director of Public Security. Heidegger! It was Heidegger!"
"Shinra!" Aerith gasped.
"I knew it!" Tifa growled. "And what were they planning?"
"…Some things are better left unsaid, y'know?" Corneo whimpered.
"See, I'm not sure they are," Aerith said with a gleeful twinkle in her eye. "Better keep talking… or I'll smash it."
"…He might actually be into that," Aladdin murmured with disgust.
Corneo started chuckling, quietly at first so it almost sounded like more whimpering, until it grew into a boisterous full bellied laugh. "Alright, you got me. I could never say no to a pretty girl. Since Avalanche blew up two reactors, Shinra's decided they ought to stamp them out, home base and all. And I mean stamp out. They just needed me to confirm what Sector Avalanche is based in; they're going to blow up Sector 7's support pillar! The plate will come crashing down, boom! Eliminating the slum there and everyone in it for good!"
"They wouldn't…" Tifa gasped, horrified.
"Come on guys! We gotta go!" Aerith yelled.
"Before you do—" Corneo called after them.
"No." Cloud said simply as they all turned toward the door.
"Please, this won't take long," Corneo said with a grin. "Why do you think a villain like me opened my big mouth and told you all about Shinra's plans, hmmm?"
A horrible sinking feeling came over Belle as she answered coldly, "Because you think you've already won."
"Ohohoho, correct!" Corneo laughed, then suddenly pulled a hidden lever at the side of his bed. The entire floor of the room between the bed and the door suddenly fell open, dropping all six of our heroes into a long chute. "Have fun playing with Abzu!" he called after them as they fell into darkness.