Reunited with Tifa

Cloud woke up to a wondrous sight. His dream woman, peering over him, concern in her reddish brown eyes.

"Hey, can you hear me?" Tifa asked gently.

"Tifa!? You okay?" Tifa's eyes narrowed suspiciously, and Cloud realized she didn't recognize him dolled up as a girl. Then they widened again, in shock.

'Wait a minute. Cloud!? Is that you!? Oh my god, that makeup! And that dress!"

"Nailed it, I know. Thank you. Moving on," Cloud said, flustered. Aerith stood up gingerly, rubbing her head. She walked right over to Tifa,

"Hey, Tifa. I'm Aerith. A friend of Cloud's. We were worried and thought we'd come help you out," Aerith said cheerfully.

"Thanks…?" Tifa said, confused. "But we aren't escaping. After we made it back to the slums, some guys came around asking all kinds of questions. So I did some digging…"

"And found out they were Corneo's men," Cloud finished.

"Right. They were interested in Avalanche… But… I couldn't figure out why. So I thought I'd come and ask the man himself. Thought if I could find a way in and get some one-on-one time… But then I realized I'd only be one of three candidates. And that if he didn't pick me… it would all be for nothing."

"Then your worries are over, aren't they? Because the other two candidates are right here. Right?" she elbowed Cloud, sassy as ever. Cloud cleared his throat awkwardly, but nodded. "So yeah! If we're all in on it, then nothing can go wrong!"

"I dunno, Aerith. It feels wrong getting you involved in all this," Tifa said, looking guilty.

"Don't even bother trying to talk her out of it," Cloud said, sighing.

"Aww! Cloudette gets me! Took you long enough."

On cue, the door opened and a light came on. It was showtime.