This is a oneshot that came to me after I played through this part of FFVII. It's not that good, but I'm in a slump right now.
My poll's still open, so please vote on it!
Cloud's mind continued to reel as he ran through the Shinra building, the mysterious Red XIII and the beautiful brawler Tifa running just behind him. All the revelations and events that had occurred in Hojo's laboratory… Sephiroth's mother, Hojo's plan to breed Aerith and Red XIII, not to mention the heinous monster that appeared out of nowhere. He really didn't know what to think.
Barret would be taking care of Aerith; he knew that for sure. The girl had saved Barret's son from the falling plate, so he felt he had to pay her back somehow.
Tifa was with him, but Cloud knew that – should it come to it, which it probably would – she could take care of himself.
Red XIII, on the other hand, was a mystery wrapped in an enigma. All Cloud knew of the strange creature was that he was a specimen for the sadistic Hojo, could talk, was a powerful fighter, and an avid user of Materia. Other than that, he knew nothing.
"Cloud!" Tifa said sharply, knocking him out of his thoughts. "We've reached the elevator."
Red XIII looked around. "But where are the girl and that man?"
"They must have gone ahead," Cloud replied. "Let's just get in the elevator and get out of here."
Tifa nodded and stepped into the elevator, Red XIII and Cloud following her in.
The elevator was, for lack of a better term, cramped. Before the door could close, someone stepped in. The man wore a black suit and matching gloves on his hands; his ears were pierced multiple times over, and, even in the dark, he wore black sunglasses.
"What the…" Cloud muttered, looking up at the man.
The bald man pointed with one gloved finger. "Would you press up, please?"
Tifa looked at them. "Huh?"
"Turks…" Cloud growled. "Must be a trap."
That fear was confirmed when Tseng walked in, his face bland. "This must have been a thrill for you, correct? Well, I'm sorry, but it's come to an end here."
Cloud let out a noise that sounded as if it belonged in Red XIII's throat.
The two Turks led the three of them into the ridiculously large office. From the other staircase came Barret, pushed into the room by another Turk, who left immediately after the group were presented to the rotund President Shinra.
Cloud looked at Barret. "They got you too, huh?"
Barret glowered at him.
The former SOLDIER turned to Shinra. "Where's Aerith?"
"In a safe place," the president assured him. "I wouldn't harm an Ancient, I assure you." He began to walk around his desk, moving towards them. "As I just said, that girl is an Ancient, part of an ancient race. They called themselves the Cetra, you see, and they had a purpose in this world."
Red XIII's head shot up. "The Cetra? That girl is a Cetra?"
Shinra ignored him. "She will lead us to the Promised Land, where we will build Neo-Midgar, and our dreams will become a reality."
Barret spat at the man; the spittle landed on Shinra's scarlet suit. "Fuckhead! Quit yer dreamin'!"
Shinra glared at him, but proceeded to walk back towards his desk. "This concludes our meeting. Rude, if you would."
The bald Turk ran up. "Come on. Outta the President's way."
Barret struggled against his bonds. "You little shit! I ain't done talkin' to you, you bastard!"
Rude punched him in the stomach and started to drag him away.
Shinra looked after them, a nasty smirk on his face. "If you have anything else to say, speak to my secretary." He chuckled and moved to his desk, picking up the nearby phone. He dialled a number. "Scarlet. I've grown bored. I could do with your…company."
They'd decided to be nasty to the four of them by packing them into shared cells; it wasn't like they didn't have any empty ones, they just did it to spite them. To Cloud's left were Barret and Red XIII; while he wasn't exactly sure who was in the other nearby cell, he had his suspicions. As for Tifa, she now lay on the bed, her gloved hands tented behind her. Irrationally, Cloud started to look the brawler up and down. The plain white top she wore barely covered her ample chest and revealed her taut stomach; on top of that her black skirt was quite short.
He almost imperceptibly shook his head to clear those thoughts.
Tifa looked over at him, her amber eyes confused. "Are we gonna be able to get out of here?" she whispered.
Cloud nodded. "Leave it to me."
She smiled. "You're so brave, Cloud. Just like a hero."
Even though he didn't know why, he blushed.
Suddenly, a sweet voice he'd grown accustomed to came from the wall to Cloud's right. "Cloud? Is that you?"
"Aerith!" he said loudly. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah. After all, my bodyguard's here, right?" He heard her feet shuffle as she paced. "The deal was for one date, right?"
Tifa sat up with a start, then calmed down. "Oh…I get it," she murmured, seeming disappointed.
Clearly, Aerith had heard her, as her voice sounded shocked. "Tifa?! You're there, too?"
The brunette huffed. "Well, excuse me."
Cloud found a way to change the subject. "Aerith…I have to ask… Is the Promised Land real?"
There was a pause before she answered. "I don't know. All I have to go on is what my mom told me…my birth mother. She used to say that Cetra are born from the Planet, speak with the Planet, and… And when their time is at an end, the Cetra will go to the Promised Land, a place of peace and prosperity. If there's a way of getting there…I don't know it."
Tifa sighed and lay back on her bed again. Her face looked sad, resigned.
Cloud walked towards the bed, moving to say something to her, but Tifa shot him a look that told him he shouldn't try.
"Yo," Barret's gruff voice called suddenly. "If Aerith's a Cetra, like they say, then she can lead those Shinra bastards to the Promised Land, right?"
"If she were forced to, yeah," Cloud replied.
"All I know 'bout the Promised Land is the old stories. That place is prob'ly full of Mako, too, and Shinra'll do what it's done to the rest of the Planet – suck the Promised Land dry of Mako. Well, I ain't gonna let 'em have their way! I'm gonna start recruitin' new members! Me and you, Cloud. Tifa and Aerith, too." There was a pause, and Barret spoke to Red XIII. "What about you?"
The creature didn't respond; Cloud heard his gait moving across the cell.
Barret grumbled. "You just ain't no fun."
There was another pause, before a voice, clipped and serious, started talking. "Grandpa…"
"Grandpa?" Barret asked, incredulous. He laughed.
"What's so funny?" Red XIII demanded.
"Nothin'," Barret chuckled.
Cloud yawned. It was getting late. He moved to the wall opposite the bed and sat down, prepared to settle in for the night.
"Hey, Cloud?" Tifa mumbled. She was facing away from him.
"Hm?"
She moved until she was facing him. "I'm sorry for blowing up before."
He shook his head. "It's alright. It's no big deal."
"You know…" He looked at her and was startled to see her blushing. "You can sleep up here, if you want."
His Mako blue eyes widened. "You sure?"
Tifa nodded. "I trust you, Cloud." Then she giggled. "Besides, you said you sleep well next to me, right?"
He smirked. "I guess I did." He stood up and slowly lay next to her, one hand under his head, the other resting on his side.
Her head rested on his shirt as she dozed off. "Goodnight, Cloud," she murmured against him.
"Goodnight."
Tifa fell asleep almost immediately, but Cloud took longer to enter his dreams. His arm – the one that had been resting on his side – now snaked around Tifa's waist; not knowing why, he kissed her on the forehead. He fell asleep quickly after that.
A few hours later, Cloud woke up and disentangled himself from Tifa and sat up carefully. One thing seemed odd almost immediately. The door of their cell was open.
"What? When did the door open?" Cloud murmured, walking outside. He looked to his left and gasped.
Their guard had been slaughtered, his chest mangled by something unimaginable.
Cloud ran back into his cell and shook his cellmate awake. "Tifa! Wake up!"
She groaned and opened her eyes slowly. "Cloud? Did you…"
"No time for that. Come with me." He ran out of the cell again, towards the dead guard.
Tifa followed him and let out a strangled gasp when she saw the dead man.
Wordlessly, Cloud grabbed the keycard off the guard and opened the closest cell – Aerith's cell. "Tifa. Go get Aerith. I'll talk to Red and Barret." He ran towards the third cell and unlocked the door; Cloud rushed into the cell, met with shocked looks from the occupants.
"Cloud!" Barret shouted. "What the hell? When did the door open?"
The blonde just pointed out the door.
"Huh?" the man with the gun-arm muttered, before moving in the direction his friend had pointed. Red XIII followed him.
When Barret saw the guard, he said exactly what Cloud was thinking. "Holy shit…"
Red XIII sniffed at the corpse and his nose crinkled. "No human could have done this…" He looked at Cloud. "I'll scout ahead." Without another word, the creature sprinted out of the cellblock.
Barret tapped the single pauldron on Cloud's shoulder. "I'll clean up here. You and the ladies follow Red."
Cloud nodded as the girls joined them. The three ran out of the cellblock, following Red XIII.
And just like that, it was business as usual.