The cell stunk of stale air and the faint aroma of cleaning fluids. Tifa was lay on the only bed. It was barely a single-size with a tiny, flat pillow and one off-white sheet. Cloud paced the small room wondering about the others. Was Aeris okay? He wondered if she was here too or whether Hojo had gotten hold of her again.

"Can we get out?" Tifa whispered.

"Kinda hard," he replied dolefully.

"Don't give up!" she whispered back.

He looked around the room for anything he could use as an escape, but there was nothing. The ceiling was high and there were no windows since the cells were contained within a much larger room. The air vents in the ceiling were so tiny you could barely fit a hand in them.

"Cloud, are you there?" came a voice from the adjoining cell. It was Aeris! So, she'd been thrown into the cells too. He decided it was a good thing. They were at least all together now, even if they were locked in these dingy cells.

"Aeris!?" he cried. "You safe?"

"Yeah, I'm all right," she replied. "I knew that Cloud would come for me."

"Hey, I'm your bodyguard, right?"

"The deal was for one date, right?" she replied with a giggle.

Tifa suddenly rose from the bed.

"…Oh, I get it."

"Tifa!" Aeris gasped. "Tifa, you're there too!"

"EXCUSE me!" Tifa said, jumping from the bed and pacing. "You know, Aeris. I have a question."

"What?" Aeris asked.

"Does the Promised Land really exist?"

"…I don't know. All I know is… the Cetra were born from the Planet, speak with the Planet and unlock the Planet. And… then… the Cetra will return to the Promised Land. A land that promises supreme happiness."

"What does that mean?" Tifa asked sympathetically.

"More than words… I don't know."

"…Speak with the Planet?" asked Cloud.

"Just what does the Planet say?" Tifa wondered.

"It's full of people and noisy. That's why I can't make out what they are saying."

The cells were silent for a short moment.

"You hear it now?" Cloud eventually asked.

"I, I only heard it at the church in the Slums," Aeris began. "Mother said that Midgar was no longer safe. That is… my real mother." Her voice took on a melancholic tone as if the death of her real mother was still as painful now as it was back then. "Someday I'll get out of Midgar… speak with the Planet and find my Promised Land… that's what mom said. I thought I would stop hearing her voice as I grew up, but…"

Cloud waited for Aeris to continue but her cell was silent. He was finding out a lot about her. She had had a tragic past and even though you could sense the sadness in her voice, most of the time she was buoyant and upbeat, gleaning positivity from the darkest days. She might have been a Cetra, but she was also an enigma and Cloud wanted to know more.

He could hear Red talking in the opposite cell.

"…Grandpa," he whimpered.

"Grandpa!?" Barret scoffed before bellowing like he had just heard something funny. "Grandpa... hmm..." His voice trailed off and he began tittering to himself.

"What's so funny?" asked Red.

"Nothin'," replied Barret trying to stifle a laugh.

The cells were very quiet again. Cloud sat down on the cold floor of the cell, brought his knees up and rested his face in between them. It was uncomfortable but he didn't want to disturb Tifa.

"Hey!" yelled Barret, breaking the silence. "Aeris is an Ancient and the real name of the Ancients is Cetra. The Ancients know where the Promised Land is and the Shinra is searching for that Promised Land. I only heard stories 'bout the Promised Land. I don't know if it really exists. Is that right? The Shinra believe that the Promised Land is full of Mako energy. Which means if the Shinra get there, they'll suck up all the Mako energy… and the land'll wither away. The Planet's gonna get weaker. I can't just leave 'em be. I'm recruitin' new members! Me, Tifa, Cloud… and Aeris too. How 'bout you?"

There was an awkward pause between him and Red. Cloud figured Barret was trying to catch his breath. That was a lot of words in one go, and everyone knew that Barret wasn't usually one for talking deep.

"You're so damn boring," Barret replied after a while.

Everything was silent again except for the soft sounds of Tifa's snoring. Cloud could feel his eyes getting heavy. Before he knew it, he too had drifted off to sleep. When he awoke sometime later he could sense that something was amiss. He looked around and noticed the cell door was open. He was suddenly wide awake, every sense telling him that something wasn't right.

"The door's open…" he said to himself. "When did it open?"

He walked out of the cell, turned to his left and gasped. The guard that had been posted to watch the cells was lying on the floor in an awkward position. As Cloud crept closer he could see blood, dark and thick, oozing from an open stab wound in his chest. He bent down. The guard was already stiff and barely warm. He had been dead for quite some time. It didn't take Cloud long to realise that the guard had been murdered. He ran back to the cell to tell Tifa the grim news.

To be continued…