A/N: For those who are good at imagining voices, I picture Lailah being voiced by Kate Higgins. I mention this now because Lailah does get her voice back in this chapter. Hope you all enjoy! Love you all!!!
~✨Celestial✨~
••••••••••••••••••••

Lailah tried to keep her nervousness from showing as she walked through Corneo's mansion. Some of his lackeys told her to head to the last door on the second floor. While she ascended the staircase, she heard the vulgar remarks from the men. She felt irked at their vulgarity and had to dig her fingernails into the palms of her hands to prevent herself from toasting them with her magic.

She walked past the first door, which was being guarded by a man. When he catcalled her, she glared sharply at him. Her anger-filled gaze frightened him and he fell silent. She continued down to the third and final set of doors.

Walking through two sets of doors, she found herself in a room littered with random objects. Puzzled, she walked around the room to analyze the random objects. She felt like the room was more of a place to store junk than for an audition to take place.

Hearing the door slam, she gasped and made her way over. She yanked on the handles, but the doors didn't budge. They were locked.

Suddenly, a sweet smell caught her attention. She also saw a strange pink mist starting to fill the room. Within seconds of inhaling the mist, she was overcome by a sense of dizziness. Her vision started blurring. A weakness she never felt before overtook her limbs. Falling to her knees, she struggled to remain conscious. She tried to use one of the tables to push herself back up to her feet, but she was too weak.

Through her fading consciousness, Lailah heard the doors open and saw two men wearing gas masks enter the room. One kneeled in front of her while the other stood behind him.

"Well, I'll be damned!" The one kneeling laughed. "Those bastards were right! You're that shapeshifting chick from the reactor explosion. You're way hotter than in those pictures. Never expected to find you trying out for the don's audition."

He tried to touch her hair, but the second lackey smacked him on the back of the head. "Don't touch the goods, dammit! The don was perfectly clear when he said not to touch her until after we've administered that stuff he gave us. Something about sealing her magic and shit... Wouldn't want her to freeze us into popsicles."

"Damn... Almost forgot." The first lackey pulled out a syringe and injected the silver liquid into her neck.

That was the final touch.

Lailah couldn't hold on to her consciousness any longer and her world turned dark.

One lackey picked up her body and slung her over his shoulder. He carried her to the basement and haphazardly tossed her body inside a large room before closing and locking the door.

Fortunately, the room was the same one Tifa was locked in. She had witnessed the entire thing and rushed over to her childhood friend. "Oh, no. Lailah!" She checked on the shapeshifter and noticed she was unconscious. She tried to wake her, but she didn't open her eyes.

Not wanting to be rough with her, Tifa placed the girl's head on her lap to make her a little comfortable. She waited for her to regain consciousness, which wasn't long.

Ten minutes later, Lailah woke up.

Tifa sighed in relief. "Thank goodness... How are you feeling?"

The snowy-haired girl felt extremely weak and sick to her stomach. She wasn't sure what they had injected her with. When she tried to sit up, her arms wobbled and she slipped.

Tifa caught her. "Take it easy, Lailah. You're paler than usual. Why don't you rest for a little bit?"

Lailah placed a hand against her head. She decided to do just that. With Tifa's help, she made it over to a wall. They both sat down with their backs pressed against the wall. Lailah leaned her head against Tifa's shoulder and closed her eyes to try and recover from what those men did to her.

However, she didn't get to relax for too long.

The doors opened five minutes later. Four men entered the room.

Tifa got to her feet and stood in front of Lailah protectively. "What do you want?"

"This doesn't concern you," one sneered. "We're here for the other girl."

Tifa was still suffering from the effects of the gas, but that didn't stop her from protecting her friend. "Don't you dare lay a hand on her." Without her gloves, she couldn't fight back like she wanted to. Instead, she kicked the man in front of her between the legs. He squealed in pain and fell to the floor, grabbing his crotch.

The other three lackeys surrounded her. She was able to knock one more down before the last two managed to grab and restrain her. She tried to break free, but she still hadn't regained her strength from being gassed. She glared at the two men she struck down when they recovered and approached Lailah.

They grabbed the snowy-haired girl by the arms.

"C'mon, princess. The don's got a special room prepared just for you," one lackey said as he and his fellow henchman dragged her towards the door.

"Let her go!" Tifa hollered.

"Don't worry, your audition will be soon. Just you wait, sweetheart. In the meantime, we're gonna prep your little friend here as a special request from the don himself."

"Lailah!" Tifa watched in anger and fear as her childhood friend was dragged away.

The two lackeys hauled the barely-conscious Lailah up to a large bedroom upstairs. They tossed her on the bed before shackling her ankle to one of the posts. Once they were done, they left.

She curled up in the bed and fought against the nausea. She closed her eyes and hugged herself. She wanted to be with Tifa, Aerith, and Cloud. She wanted to leave this place. She didn't expect this when she agreed to the audition. It was a trap and she fell for it. She needed to escape, but they had made sure she couldn't use her magic or shapeshift. They knew just what to do to keep her from escaping.

She wasn't sure how much time had passed when she heard the door open. She feared the worst and opened her eyes, thinking Corneo himself had come or more lackeys. Seeing it was Leslie, she tried to push herself up and crawl away, but her arms were like jelly. She fell back down on her side against the sheets.

The silver-haired boy walked over to the side of the bed and put a small vial on the nightstand. He then slowly approached her.

She gazed at him, wondering what he was going to do. Although his face was stoic, she could see the turmoil of emotions swimming in his eyes.

Leslie turned to her. "You're dating that pretty boy, aren't you?"

Lailah couldn't answer. Even if she could talk, she wouldn't want to with how sick she was feeling.

He tugged his hat down further. "I don't care who you or your boyfriend is. I won't let the same thing that happened to me happen to someone else." He turned his back to her and walked towards the door. "Just hold on a little bit longer."

When the door closed behind Leslie, Lailah's gaze drifted to the nightstand. On it, she saw it was the vial of vellabloom her mother had given her. She didn't realize it had slipped out of her dress earlier.

Forcing her feeble body to move, she crawled across the mattress toward the nightstand. She managed to grab the vial and removed the top. Plucking one of the petals off the flowering herb, she held it up.

Remembering her dream before she awoke in Lloyd's house, she knew what the herb would do to her. It's pure healing properties were more potent than any healing spell. One petal, according to her mother, would heal her damaged throat and return her voice. However, she would be in excruciating pain. Her people never used the herb by itself. It was always combined with other ingredients to null the side effects.

Alas, she couldn't be picky. She had planned on using the herb when they returned to Sector 7, but she needed to escape. Whatever Corneo's men had injected her with should also be purged from her body once she ate the petal.

Putting the vial down on the nightstand, Lailah turned to lay on her back. She took a deep breath before eating the petal.

After she swallowed it, she waited for the pain.

It wasn't until a minute later did the pain consume her entire body. Her body felt like it was on fire. She grabbed at her throat, clawing at the skin and the scar. She couldn't bear the pain and passed out.

○◦───•❃°•°❀°•°❃•───◦○

Two lackeys ran out of the room, breathing heavily. Leslie saw their panicked expressions and questioned them. "What happened?"

"S-She's not breathing!" The man with the syringe shouted.

"The don wanted us to give her a second dose just in case, but we went in there and saw she wasn't breathing!" the other lackey explained.

Leslie pushed past the men and stormed into the room. He ran to the bed and climbed on it. He turned the girl over onto her back to see she was white as a sheet. He checked her pulse and couldn't find one. Like the men said, she wasn't breathing. He cursed under his breath and placed a hand against her cheek to feel her skin was cold to the touch. He gritted his teeth as he imagined Merle in Lailah's place.

The boy was wondering if there was something he could do until he heard a groan from Lailah. He looked back down at her face to see the color returning to her cheeks. His racing heart found relief when he saw she was okay. He watched as her eyes slowly opened.

"Cloud...?"

Leslie smirked at hearing her confuse him for her boyfriend. "So that's his name."

Lailah sat up and looked around the room. She held out her hand and tested her magic. Seeing she could cast spells again, she then moved to grab at her throat. "M-My voice..."

The silver-haired boy met her gaze, deciding not to question her strange behavior and what happened to her. "Your boyfriend's currently dressed like a girl and trapped in the basement with two other girls. He was so worried about you that he put on a dress just to get in here." He then looked over at the vial. "Whatever that stuff was, it helped you. Glad I picked it up."

"Thank you," she said just above a whisper. "I...was saving it for later, but I had no other choice. I need to get out of here and rescue the others."

"Then you'll need this." Leslie revealed the key to her shackles. "And this." He reached under the bed and pulled out her clothes.

She couldn't believe it. She had her outfit back and the bracelet with her chakrams. "How...?"

"Seems Chocobo Sam had your back. He dropped it off just before your boyfriend decided to show up in a dress." He put her clothes on the bed and put the key on top. "Make it quick. I won't be able to keep the other guys occupied for long."

She nodded. "Of course."

Leslie left.

Lailah unlocked the shackle around her ankle before changing. She tossed the dress aside and felt relaxed when she was back in her usual attire. She put the vial of remaining vellabloom in her pocket and slid the bracelet onto her wrist. She checked her chakrams.

When she activated the curved blades, the door to the room flung open. It was the two men who had found her in a death-like state.

"What the hell?!" One hollered in shock.

"Get the second dose ready!" the second man yelled.

Before either of them could take a single step toward her, she tossed her weapons and knocked them out. She then destroyed the syringe while walking out of the room.

Standing by the door outside the room, she found Leslie. "Thank you, again. Mind telling me what you meant earlier?"

He grabbed the rim of his hat and slightly adjusted it. "Shouldn't you be finding your boyfriend?"

"I'm sure he'll be fine for a little while longer."

He pushed himself off the wall. "Let's just say someone I cared about deeply was in the same position as you. She disappeared. After seeing the way pretty boy was acting, I didn't want him to go through what I did."

Lailah smiled. "You're too good for this place."

He grinned. "Maybe I am." He pulled his hat down so it obscured his eyes from view. "Your boyfriend's with the don as we speak. Those other girls should be heading up to Corneo's room with his clothes and weapon right now. Good luck, Lailah."

She smiled, having heard his name earlier. "Thank you, Leslie." She took off, not noticing his surprised expression.

As she made her way through the mansion, she saw the various men who were knocked unconscious. She figured it was Tifa and Aerith's work. She stepped over the bodies and soon found herself in front of the door leading to Corneo's private room.

She opened the door slowly to not alert the man. Inside, she found not only the don but Cloud, Aerith, and Tifa as well. The door clicked behind her, announcing her presence to everyone.

"Lailah!" Aerith smiled.

"You're okay!" Tifa added.

She met Cloud's shocked yet relieved gaze before coming to stand beside him. She then glared sharply at the don.

Corneo's chubby belly jiggled as he jumped to his feet and stood on the mattress. He jammed a finger in her direction. "How did you get out?! I made extra sure you wouldn't be able to escape!"

She said nothing, refusing to tell him about Leslie.

The man tugged on the small amount of hair he had left with a frustrated groan. "Dammit! And here I thought I had finally caged the most magnificent creature in all of Midgar!"

"Enough!" Tifa shouted angrily. She abhorred the man for the way he treated and talked about Lailah. "Now tell us what want to know. Why'd you have men in Sector 7 asking about Avalanche?"

Corneo tried to put on a facade. "Huh? Dunno what you're talking about."

"Don't play dumb with me. Let's try again. Why did you have men in Sector 7 asking about Avalanche? Spill the beans or..."

Cloud grabbed his sword. "I'll cut 'em off."

The don fell onto his back and grimaced at the threat. "All right, all right! I'll talk! I'll talk! Some guy with a gun for an arm—I was paid to find him!"

"Paid by who?" Tifa demanded.

"I can't tell you that! They'd hunt me down like a dog!"

"Well you better...'cause if you don't..."

"I'll rip 'em off," Aerith finished. She seemed to be more enthusiastic about the threat.

Finally, Corneo told them the truth after being frightened. "It was the director of Public Security! Heidegger! It was Heidegger!"

Tifa's eyes widen. "Shinra?! And what were they planning?"

"Some things are better left unsaid, ya know?!"

Aerith wasn't convinced. "See, I'm not so sure they are. Better keep talking..."

"Or I'll smash 'em," Tifa threatened.

This caused Corneo to squirm and laugh in pleasure. "Heh. All right, you got me. I could never say no to a sexy 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." By targeting the support pillar and blowing it up."

Tifa couldn't believe what she was hearing. "The pillar?"

"Did I stutter? The plate will come crashing down!" He mocked the sound of an explosion. "It'll be Sector 6 all over again. I'm sure you've been there and seen the wreckage for yourself. So you know exactly what Sector 7's gonna look like!"

She shook her head in disbelief. "They wouldn't..."

Aerith knew they couldn't hang around any longer after hearing what the don said. "Come on, guys! We gotta go!"

The four turned to leave but only made it so far before being stopped by the don. "Before you do!"

"No," Cloud snapped with his back turned to the man.

Corneo, now standing on his bed, held both hands up. "Please! This won't take long!" They all reluctantly turned around to watch the don. "As everyone knows, villains only divulge their plans in a certain situation. But what is that situation?"

Cloud pointed at him, knowing the answer. "When they think they've already won...right?"

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have ourselves a winner! You get an all-expenses-paid trip...to the sewers." Corneo pulled the leg of the gold-plated dragon displayed behind his bed.

The floor opened up beneath Cloud, Aerith, Tifa, and Lailah, causing them to scream. They plummeted to the sewers below.

Acting quickly, Lailah transformed into a wolf to act as a cushion. Using her dark magic, she used tendrils to draw them closer. When they were all on top of her, the tendrils vanished. She tried to adjust their position so she wound land on her feet, but it was too late. They hit the bottom. She crashed on her side with a whimper of pain while Tifa, Cloud, and Aerith landed on her opposite side. Their combined weight caused her left side to ache just as much as her right side.

The three groaned, most of the shock from the fall being absorbed by Lailah. They climbed off her once realizing what she did for them.

The snowy-haired girl reverted. She sat on the ground with her legs stretched out in front of her. She winced as she rubbed her right side.

"Aer you okay, Lailah?" Aerith asked worriedly, offering her a hand.

She nodded and placed her hand in hers. "Y-Yeah. Nothing a little healing can't fix."

Aerith accidentally let go of Lailah's hand when she heard her speak. The snowy-haired girl shrieked in shock when she landed back on the ground.

"Lailah, y-your voice...!" Tifa gasped.

"You talked!" Aerith gaped. She then realized what happened. "S-Sorry, I was so surprised I accidentally let go."

"It's okay," Lailah smiled. She got to her feet with help from Aerith and Tifa. She then caught a glimpse of Cloud's face. Out of all of them, he was the most shocked.

"When...?" the blonde asked.

Lailah combed a few snowy strands behind her ear. "Back at the mansion." She pulled out the vial of vellabloom. "This is a medicinal herb only grown in Tellus. It's quite potent. I wasn't planning on using it until we got back to Sector 7. But then, something happened at the mansion and I needed to use it..."

Cloud's bewildered expression morphed into one of vexation. "What did they do to you?"

Unconsciously, she rubbed the side of her neck. Her fingers grazed the area where the don's lackey had jammed the needle of the syringe into her skin. "They injected me with something that sealed my magic. I don't know what it was, but I'm okay now." She then noticed his anger vanish and be replaced with intrigue. She tilted her head in confusion at the way he looked at her. "What is it?"

"It's weird hearing your voice," he confessed.

She wasn't sure how to take his words. She awkwardly rubbed her upper arm. "Maybe I should stick to using the notebook..."

That was when he realized how careless he was with his words. "Sorry, didn't mean it like that. What I meant was, well..." He shyly looked away. "It's a good weird."

"So, my voice isn't weird?" she asked.

"Not even a little bit."

She smiled happily. "That's a relief."

Just as she was about to ask about Corneo, a strange noise caught her attention. The others heard it too. Clinking chains and low snarling came from the tunnel. As the sound drew closer, an abzu showed itself. It jumped down, its long tongue flicking back and forth as drool dripped from its mouth. Releasing a roar, the horns on its back started to glow.

"You gotta be kidding me!" Tifa shouted in disbelief at seeing the creature. She raised her fists and readied herself for battle.

Lailah activate her chakrams, igniting them with flames.

Aerith grabbed her staff and Cloud, his sword.

"Good to go?" the ex-SOLDIER asked.

"You bet!" Aerith chanted.

"Bring it on!" Tifa shouted.

"Let's do this," Lailah replied.

The battle against the abzu began.

Lailah kept her distance alongside Aerith while Cloud and Tifa faced the monster head-on. The abzu slammed its fists down in the direction of Cloud and Tifa, but they were quick to dodge the attack.

The shapeshifter threw her flaming chakrams at the monster's horns. Her attack had caught its attention. It charged at her with a roar. She was shocked to see it had turned to her so quickly. However, she was able to avoid the attack.

Seeing it had missed, the abzu focused its attention on Aerith next. Fortunately, Cloud and Tifa had delivered a few powerful blows before it could attack her.

Slowly but surely, the group was weakening the monster. Their barrage of attacks had enraged it and it jumped toward the wall, latching to it. Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith used spells to attack.

Lailah prepared to toss her chakrams when the abzu leapt from the wall and pounced on her. She didn't anticipate its attack and found herself pinned to the ground underneath it. She gasped in disgust as its long, slobbery tongue grazed her cheek. Unable to stand it any longer, she transformed.

She tested out her new form by using her strength to push the abzu off her. She flipped the tables by pinning it to the ground, using her slightly bigger body to keep it trapped. Casting a powerful fire spell, she watched as flames licked at the monster's body. It struggled to shove her off while roaring in pain from the fire.

The abzu finally broke free. It returned to the wall and used its power to flood a portion of the area. Sewage poured from one of the large drains. Lailah saw the sewage was about to hit Aerith and Tifa. To protect them, she placed a barrier around the girls. She then flew towards the abzu and tore it off the wall, tossing it back down to where the others could attack it.

Cloud, Aerith, and Tifa dealt the finishing blow.

Lailah flew back and landed next to the seemingly lifeless abzu. She thought it was dead until it got to its feet and barreled into her. While holding on to her, it broke through the wall.

Lailah changed back to her human form to slip out of the abzu's grip. She fell to the ground and landed on her rear end. She covered her head with her arms when a few remnants of the wall rained down on her. Once the rubble stopped falling, she watched the monster flee. Sighing, she remained seated on the ground.

"Lailah!" Tifa shouted as she, Aerith, and Cloud stormed over.

"Are you okay?" Aerith asked.

The snowy-haired girl nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay."

Cloud kneeled in front of her. He wiped some dust from the debris off her cheek. He saw she was a little bruised and scratched from the abzu ramming her through the wall. He pulled out a potion and shattered it, watching her body being bathed in the emerald glow. After the light faded, he saw the bruises and scratches had healed. He put his hand on top of her head, staring into her eyes.

Silently, Lailah smiled at him.

Tifa noticed the way they were looking at each other. She then gasped, eyes widening. "Wait, are those two finally together?"

Aerith giggled. "Yep. Guess that fall from the plate did something good."

Lailah had heard Tifa and asked, "What do you mean "finally," Tifa?"

Tifa responded before Cloud could stop her. "Cloud's liked you for years. It's about time he said something."

"Really?" The shapeshifter looks back at Cloud, only to notice he had stood and turned away from her. She stood up and tried to look at his face, but he kept turning to avoid her. She laughed at his behavior and decided to say, "I'm happy because I've liked you for a long time, too. And now that I have my voice back, I can—"

"Wait," Cloud stopped her, spinning to face her. He glanced over at Aerith and Tifa, noticing the two girls were pretending not to eavesdrop. "Tell me later, when we get some time alone."

This shocked her but she smiled. "Okay."