The monster before them was an abomination; possibly an experiment that had gone very wrong. It was bipedal and formed from a conglomeration of different creatures. Its legs looked canine, strong and muscular and covered in a thin coat of fur yet its feet were completely different; huge and deformed with thick black claws jutting out like blades. Cloud couldn't place what kind of creature they had been borrowed from. Its body looked somewhat humanoid, its main features clown-like, right down to the multi-coloured face paint. One of its arms was ape-like, thick and rippling, but the other arm was truly horrific. A gaping maw with glistening razor-sharp teeth was jutting from its shoulder while the arm itself was long and thin, with muscles that looked atrophied, ending in an oversized, elongated hand complete with claws as long as swords, and probably just as deadly.

Then there were the three identical monsters hovering a metre above the ground in front of it. They looked like tardigrades, yellow and bulbous, their skins rippling like they were formed out of jelly.

Cloud, Barret and Red had no time to react. The monster unleashed a foul-smelling spray of toxic gas from the gaping maw attached to its right shoulder that caused them all to cough and gasp for air, followed then by a quick succession of attacks and spells that knocked them off their feet.

Red leapt forward and slashed one of the tardigrades with his claws. It dropped to the floor and disintegrated but the experiment-gone-wrong lifted its elongated arm and regenerated a new one to take its place. What the heck was this thing, Cloud wondered as he unleashed an Ice spell at it and watched it writhe in pain as the coldness gripped its body.

Barret shot at it, its hideous body twisting and juddering as the bullets tore into it, but it soon became rigid, untwisting itself and unleashing another powerful blast of toxic fumes. This time Cloud was able to evade it. He leapt towards the beast and slashed it right across its midriff, causing its guts to empty onto the floor of the laboratory. It dropped to the floor in a hideous mass of gore, the tardigrades dropping like flies around it.

"Wh…what… the heck… was that?" Barret huffed.

Tifa and Aeris re-joined the team now that it was safe again. Cloud was glad to see that Aeris looked unharmed and that her face still glowed with optimism. He could learn a thing or two from her.

"Aeris, you alright?" he asked her.

"She seems alright," Tifa replied for her, "…in many ways."

"I have a right to choose, too," Red stated. "I don't like two-legged things."

"What are you?" Barret asked him.

Red looked at him with his dark, perceptive eyes, as if he was reading him.

"An informed question," he began. "But difficult to answer. I am what you see. You must have many questions, but first, let's get out of here. I'll lead the way."

"Cloud," cried Aeris as she hopped towards him, buoyant as ever. "So you did come for me."

"I apologise for what happened back there," Red replied, facing her. "I was merely acting to throw Hojo off guard…"

"Now we've saved Aeris, ain't no need to be in this buildin'! So let's get the hell outta here!" ordered Barret, rearing to go.

"If all five of us go together, we'll be noticed. Let's break up in two groups," Cloud suggested.

Tifa and Aeris decided to stick together. The two women were clearly forming a bond. It was nice to see new friendships being made, thought Cloud.

"I'll see you later!" Aeris said with a smile and a wave. "We'll be waiting at the 66th Floor Elevator."

Cloud spotted the man in the grey uniform cowering in the corner of the laboratory and strutted over to him. This man had no qualms about introducing Aeris and Red before the shit hit the fan, but he seemed to be regretting his actions now; either that, or he was just feeling sorry for himself.

"No!" he cried, putting his arms up in a defensive gesture. "Please don't kill me! I only did what Hojo told me to do." He pulled out a keycard from his jacket pocket. "To prove it to you… here, this is the keycard to the 68th floor. Would I be doing this if I was the enemy?"

His question must have been rhetorical because he gave Cloud no time to answer it before scarpering and disappearing around the corner and into the corridor.

The team crept out of the laboratory and down the levels of the Shinra building and into the 66th Floor elevators. Cloud took one while Barret and Red took the other. Tifa and Aeris weren't here but Cloud wasn't alarmed yet. Perhaps they had taken a longer route.

The door shut swiftly behind him but suddenly pinged back open as a black man with a shiny bald head wearing a sharp business suit stepped inside, followed by the man from the helicopter back at the Sector 7 Plate. He was the one that kidnapped Aeris. Cloud seethed, clenching his fists.

"H-hey! What is it?" Cloud stuttered as the black man stepped closer. If there was one thing he hated more than anything it was having his space violated.

"Would you press 'Up' please?" the man said in a patronising tone, pointing upwards as if Cloud didn't know what it meant.

"Turks?" Cloud whispered to himself. "Must be a trap..."

The man with the long hair turned to Cloud, a small smirk creeping onto his lips.

"It must have been a real thrill for you… Did you enjoy it?"

He had no chance to respond as he was forcefully lead out of the elevator. Armed guards were waiting for him outside. They swiftly handcuffed him and lead him up the stairwell. He was pushed towards the top of the building, most likely to President Shinra's office. There, he met the rest of the team, all of whom were in the same predicament.

"You all got caught, too?" Cloud asked as they all lined up in front of the President's desk.

The only one missing was Aeris. Damnit, he thought angrily. She must have been captured again.

"Where is Aeris!?" Cloud demanded.

"In a safe place," the President replied coolly as he rose from his chair. "She's the last surviving Ancient…" He stepped from his desk and walked to the other side of the room. "Don't you know? They called themselves the Cetra and lived thousands of years ago. Now they are just a forgotten page in history."

"Cetra… that girl," Red whispered, "is she a survivor of the Cetra?"

President Shinra stood before them, gesticulating wildly as he talked.

"Cetra, or the Ancients will show us the way to the 'Promised Land'. I'm expecting a lot out of her."

"The Promised Land?" asked Red. "Isn't that just a legend?"

"Even so," President Shinra replied, "it's just too appealing to not to pursue. It's been said the Promised Land is very fertile. If the land is fertile…"

"Then there's gotta be Mako!" Barret interrupted.

"Exactly. That is why our money-sucking Mako Reactor is necessary. The abundant Mako will just come out on its own. That is where Neo-Midgar will be built." He rubbed his hands together greedily. "Shinra's new glory…"

"Bastard!" roared Barret as he tried to free himself from his shackles. "Quit dreamin'!"

"Oh really, don't you know? These days all it takes for your dreams to come true is money and power." He paused. "Well, that is all for our meeting."

The black man from before stormed towards the group.

"Come on!" he ordered. "Outta his way!"

"Hold it! I got a lot I wanna say to you!" roared Barret before the Turk forcefully dragged him from the office.

Cloud and his team were lead downwards towards the laboratory. There was a separate area on the right-hand side of the floor that contained tiny cells. He watched as his comrades were roughly pushed into their cells, and then felt harsh hands tug at his clothes as he too was forced into a cell of his own, along with Tifa, the door slamming shut behind them.

To be continued…