Fantasy Twist
Chapter Twenty
"You all got caught too?" Cloude whispered to Bernie as the President walked around his desk. But Bernie did not answer, her eyes telling the blonde one thing – well, obviously.
The President stopped in front of them and smirked. He looked at them in turn, looking them all up and down, sizing them up. Once again, his eyes lingered a bit too long on Cloude and Bernie.
"Where's Aris?" Cloude snarled as the silence sped long enough.
"Somewhere safe" the President replied softly, leaning on his desk. "He's the last surviving Ancient, don't you know!? They called themselves the Cetra, and lived thousands of years ago. But now are forgotten pages in history"
"Cetra?" Red muttered, looking at the humans, "That boy . . . a survivor of the Cetra?"
The President continued as if not interrupted, "The Cetra or the Ancients will lead the way to the Promised Land! As the last of his kind, I am expecting a lot out of him"
"The Promised Land?" Red said, "But . . . that is just a legend"
"Even if that is true . . . it was too good of an opportunity to pass up" the President said, "It has been said that the Promised Land is very fertile. And if that is true . . ."
"Then there's gotta be Mako!" Bernie hissed angrily.
"Exactly" the President smirked, "That is why our Mako Reactor is necessary. This is where our plan, Neo-Midgar will be built. Shinra's new glory!"
"Bastard!" Bernie roared, making the rest of them jump, "Quit dreaming!"
"Oh?" he smirked, going over to stand right in front of the black woman, "These days, all it takes is a little money and power to make dreams come true" he turned away and went back over to his desk, "Well, this concludes the ending of our meeting"
Rita stepped forwards standing to their right. They all watched her as she called them over, "All right" she said, "Come on, outta his way"
Cloude, Trey and Red, realising that they were fighting a losing battle, moving aside where Rena and the other Turk was stood. Bernie however did not move.
"Hold it" she snapped at the President, "I got a lot I wanna say to you!" she stormed over to the man who didn't seem to be in a rush to move, but as Rita slammed into Bernie and pushed her back, he didn't really need to.
"Get off me" Bernie screamed as Rita dragged her away, "Get your filthy hands off me! Oi, Shitra! This ain't over!"
The President sighed and brushed down his suit, "If you need something else, talk to my secretary".
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
It was later in the day. Morning had risen but they could not see it. The four of them had been separated into different jail cells, two in each. Cloude and Trey in one and Bernie and Red in another. Cloude sat on the floor of theirs, leaning against the wall as Trey was spread out on the only bed, arms tucked behind his head, ankles crossed. A single bed and a toilet were the only objects to accompany them in the cell, the walls cold and grey and the floor made of hard wood.
Yawning, Trey turned his head and looked at Cloude, "Do you think we'll be able to get out?" he whispered.
"Sure" she replied, "Leave it to me"
Trey smirked and looked back at the roof, "I always do. You're the brains of this team"
Cloude looked at her feet, "Not really" she sighed, "I'm just . . . reckless and lucky. My plans don't usually work out. You're the smart one"
Trey blinked but did not answer, his mind going blank. Cloude got to her feet, but in doing so, she smacked the wall behind her accidently with her elbow, making her hiss out in pain.
"Cloude?" came a voice muffled through the wall, "Trey? Bernie? Red dog thing? Is that one of you?"
"Aris?!" Cloude spluttered, turned to the wall and flattening herself against it, "You're safe?!"
"Yeah" came his reply, "I'm good. I knew that you and the rest would come for me"
"Yeah" Cloude smiled, "I'm your bodyguard remember?"
She heard Aris chuckle, "The deal was one date, right?"
"Oh". Trey sat up quickly on the bed, the springs bouncing and slamming together. Cloude looked over her should to see that Trey was staring at the wall in front of him, his features hard and still. "I get it" he said sternly.
"Huh?!" Aris spluttered, "Trey? Trey, you're in there too?"
"EXCUSE me" Trey said, like he had just barged into a private conversation. He turned on the bed, and sat sideways on it, his arms resting on his legs. "You know, Aris. I have a question"
"W-what?"
Gritting his teeth, Trey opened his mouth but no words came out. But what he did ask seemed to be something that he forced himself to say, something that he didn't originally want to ask, "Does the Promised Land really exist?" he asked lamely, looking at the floor.
Aris let out a sigh, "I don't know" he said softly, they heard him pace his room, "All I do know is that the Cetra are born from the Planet, speak with the Planet and unlock the Planet. And then . . . the Cetra will return to the Promised Land, a land of supreme happiness"
"What does that mean?" Trey grunted, now glancing up.
"More than words" Aris replied, "I don't know"
"Speak with the Planet?" Cloude said as Trey turned on the bed and laid back down into his original position, his face still void of emotion.
"And what exactly does the Planet say?" Trey asked, the tone he used it in was almost scorning, comical even.
Aris however, did not hear the sarcastic tone, "It's full of people therefore it is noisy" he replied, "That is why I can't make out what they are saying"
"You can hear them now?" Cloude asked, amazed.
"I heard it back in the church in the Slums" Aris sighed, "Mother said that Midgar was no longer safe. This is . . . my real mother". They heard the bed springs ping so they assumed that Aris had either sat or lay down. But he continued talking, "One day, I'll get out of this city and speak with the Planet and find my own Promised Land . . . that, that is what mother said. I thought I would stop hearing her voice as I grew up, but . . ." he stopped taking. The silence telling them that their conversation was over.
Sighing, Cloude pushed herself from the wall. Trey however, spoke up instead, "We should also check up on those two" he said dully, raising his fist and banging on the wall next to him.
They heard a small tap back, "Hey" said Bernie, "I heard it all. Aris is an Ancient and the real names of the Ancient's are the Cetra, huh? So, since Shinra are searching for the Promised Land that only the Cetra can lead to, and Aris is the last one? I heard stories about the Promised Land, so I wonder if it really exists" she sighed, "It's meant to be full of Mako, right? If Shinra get a hold of it, the Planet will wither away, become weaker. We can't let that happen! We'll grow stronger, we'll recruit more members! Me, you two and Aris . . . what about you?"
Cloude suspected that the last bit was directed at Red because they heard a yawn and Bernie say softly, "So damn boring".
"Grandma . . ." they heard the animal say dreamily.
"Grandma?" Bernie muttered, "Ha ha, Grandma!"
"What's so funny?" Red snarled.
Bernie chuckled, "Nuffin"
"We should do as Red is" Trey whispered, still glaring at the roof like it had wronged him somehow, "Get some sleep. Do you want the bed?"
"No" Cloude replied, "The floor will do"
She went back over to the wall and slid down it, hitting the floor with a little bump. She didn't feel like sleeping but she thought that she should relax her body for whatever was planned for the next day. Before she knew it, she was asleep.
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
Her eyes flittered open; Treys still form blurry as her vision adjusted. He came into more focus, Trey presenting her his back as he had rolled over to sleep. She was still in the sitting position she was in when she had drifted off into a dreamless slumber. She slowly got up, stretching out her back as she did so, the sensation feeling odd as she no longer had her sword to weight her down. She thought about maybe using the toilet as Trey was asleep, but something new caught her eye. She turned her head to her left and her eyes widened. The door was open, the light above it now blue rather than the red it had been before she fell asleep. Curious as to why it was open, she cautiously went over to it, just peeking her head out of it. She looked right and saw a wall and the door leading to Bernie and Reds cell, also open, then left where Aris's door was also not locked. But outside Aris's cell door was a red clad man on the floor, not moving.
Turning back, she went over to Trey and shook him awake. Trey grumbled about not wanting to wake up, but Cloude shook him harder until he opened his eyes and grumpily looked at her.
"What?" he grunted.
"Door is open" Cloude replied as he sat up, "But that's not all, something weird is happening. Just look outside"
Trey's face contorted with confusion as he pushed himself from the bed and went outside, eyes wide. Cloude followed him as they went over to the fallen guard covered in blood. Trey bent down and pressed his fingers against the man's neck, after a few moments, Trey shook his head and stood up.
"I wonder what happened" he muttered as Cloude bent down and picked up her sword, obviously this guard was on duty to not only keep guard on them but also her weapon. Feeling a mixture of pleasure but anger, she attached it back where it belonged.
"I dunno" Cloude replied, "You go wake Aris and I'll go get Bernie and Red"
Trey nodded mutely as Trey ran into Aris's room and woke him up as Cloude ran to the bottom cell where her footsteps woke Red up who looked up drearily.
"Something is wrong" Cloude said as she shook Bernie awake, earning a glare from the black woman who soon looked worried. "Come on"
"How did you get in?" Bernie asked.
"Why was the door open?" Red replied, getting up from the floor and walking over.
"I dunno" Cloude said as Bernie got up, "The guard outside is dead. I just woke up and all of the doors were open. Come on, we need to get out here fast"
The three of them left the jail cell just as Trey and Aris were leaving the first one, Aris still a little sleepy but confused.
"What's happening?" he muttered, clumsily putting his shoulder length auburn hair into its ponytail.
Cloude shrugged as Bernie and Red examined the guard's body with disgust.
"What the hell is goin' on?" Bernie snarled.
"No human could have done this" Red grunted, "I'll go on ahead"
She turned and went down the corridor that was down the side of the jail cells. The four of them watched her go until she was out of sight, the light from her flame tail still visible even if she was not.
"You guys go on ahead" Bernie said, "I'll clean up here. We can't have Shinra blaming us for this too. DO NOT let anyone capture you"
Cloude turned to the men of the group. Trey looked confident even if a little scared but Aris looked a little reluctant to do anything, his eyes glued to the dead man, whose body Bernie was hoping to hide.
"We'll follow Red" Trey said confidently.
They went down the corridor and turned right, automatically coming to another dead employee sprawled on the floor. Aris gave a little whimper as they ran past him, coming to the place where they first saw Red and where Jenova was being kept. The room was a complete mess, dark red blood covering the floor and splattered up the walls. A shredded man lay on the floor next to the container that held Jenova but that too was trashed, looking like someone had forced themselves inside. Red was sat in the middle of the blood covered room, staring at Jenova's container, Jenova nowhere to be seen.
"Jenova" Cloude whispered, "Did it get away?"
"Jenova Specimen" Red said, "Looks like it went to the upper floor using that lift for the specimens" and leading the way, Red ran around the corner and over to the lift that they had used when saving Aris. All four of them crammed into the lift and Trey pressed the up button. They entered the room where they had found Aris where Red ran out first, stopping at another dead man on the floor. A trail of blood leading through the doorway at the back.
"It's leading up" Red said mournfully.
"We'll go ahead" Cloude said, "Stay here"
Following the line of blood, they went through the doorway and up the stairs leading to the next floor. They came to a mass of rooms, the trail leading them around like a maze. It lead them to the entrance room and up a set of stairs, the purple carpet now stained red. The next floor was President Shinra's office, the trail of blood stopping at the top of the steps. They went over to the desk where there was a slumped figure lying across it. As they drew closer, they all gasped in horror at the sight. It was President Shinra, his eyes wide open in shock, his mouth open with blood and a long, thin blade sticking out of his back like a flag pole.