A/N: Here we go again! I'm sorry for lack of updates. I've been to Europe, I moved to Utah, and I just finished my first term of schoolage. I'm here now, so here's another fun-filled chapter!

## Cloud's POV ##

I kicked a rock across the cell. It was my only source of entertainment for what seemed like days. What was I going to do to get out of this mess? "Why did I have to get caught?" I wondered to myself. "I know everyone is capable of holding their own, but I'm not supposed to get caught. I'm supposed to be there with them when someone else is caught. This is a whole other ballpark, and I don't like it."

"Then do something about it," Mary interrupted.

"Huh?" I turned around. Did I say that out loud?

"No," she answered, "I knew what you were thinking."

"So...you read minds," I said.

"No," she answered. Well, then how the heck did she know what I was thinking? How could I be so sure she wasn't Prizmle playing with my head again?

"I could tell by just looking at you," she chimed in again. "And you don't know if I'm Prizmle or not. You just have to trust me."

"By looking at me," I repeated. "You just knew what I was thinking by looking at me? That's ridiculous." I waved her off and continued to kick my rock.

"It's not uncommon for the hero to get captured. It's actually kind of expected."

I turned back around. "Expected? I've never been caught before, so this is kind of unexpected to me."

"Do you want to keep fighting me, or do you want to get out?"

"I want to get out, but unless you have some wise idea we don't have a prayer of getting out anytime soon. Guards never come down here."

"Well," she scoffed, "for your information, I do have a wise idea to get out of here, and you play an active role."

"Then let's hear it!" I yelled back.

"You can't be so loud, ace. Listen up."

I huddled closer to the sound of her voice. She whispered her plan to me slowly, as if I was some sort of idiot who couldn't comprehend a lot of content. "That would only work if we were lucky!" I whispered loudly.

"Look," she said sharply, "the guards come down once every couple of weeks, and I've got the feeling today is the day."

"You have a feeling," I said sarcastically.

"YES," she snapped. "Now, please, don't ruin this. I think he'll be down in a few minutes."

"Fine, b-"

"SHHHH!!!!"

I heard quiet footsteps coming down the stairs. I maneuvered myself to the front of my cell. The footsteps got louder, but I didn't see the guard yet. I was beginning to get excited for the task ahead of me. Finally, the guard came creeping around the corner and across my cell. I leaped at his neck and wrapped my arm it. He struggled and tried to reach for his gun, but I had his neck against the bar and cracked before he could touch it. He let out a gasp and stumbled to the ground. I heard his keys fall out of his pocket and fall. As expected, they didn't hit the ground.

"Got 'em," Mary said from below. "I told you. Surefire."

"Okay, you were right. Now, let's get out of here."

She unlocked her cell, and then came running over to unlock mine. I got my first glimpse of her in the dark. She was a few inches shorter than I was. She had long hair tied back in a low ponytail. She looked so familiar. Maybe I had seen her around LA somewhere.

"Let's escape through the vent," she said breathily, and led the way. I just shrugged and followed her. She had apparently had a lot of time to think about this escape. If I hadn't had been caught she probably would have never gotten out. Good job, Cloud. She unscrewed the nails with the guard's keys and took off the cover to the vent. She crawled in and I followed. After a few guesses and turns we ended up coming out of the side of the building. "Finally," she whispered when she saw daylight.

"I wonder how long we were in there," I said, scratching my head.

Mary turned around. She said something, but I didn't catch it because I was focused on her face. She was definitely familiar. It was bugging me that I couldn't place her. She wore red overalls with a blue shirt underneath. She had chestnut brown hair and green eyes. I tried placing her, but I just couldn't do it. We walked a few blocks away from the company to make sure we were safe.

"Well," I began, "it's been fun, but I really should get back to my friends."

"Let's go to the zoo!" Mary perked up.

I gave her a confused look. "What are you talking about? The zoo? Umm...you can go, but I really should be getting back to my friends. We have to-"

"Please come with me?" she pleaded. I looked into her eyes, and something about them couldn't let me say no.

"Ugh, fine," I gave in. "We can go."

"Yay!" she clapped her hands happily.

"But I have to find my friends right after," I told her sternly, much like a father to a child.

"Okay, okay, okay," she agreed. She took my hand and we ran to catch a cab. We got into one and she told the driver where we were headed. It was only maybe fifteen minutes away, so we enjoyed the scenery on the way. At one point, I felt her hand on top of mine. I looked over to her and she had this innocent smile across her face. I didn't want to see her sad, so I didn't move her hand. She was a beautiful girl, but she wasn't Tifa, and that's the only girl I had feelings for. Of course, I didn't think all of that in front of her because she could read my mind. She paid the fare since I didn't carry any dollars with me. We entered the zoo, and I saw all of these animals I had never seen before. The most I had seen were chocobos, and there were different kinds of chocobos here. Some were skinnier and some were way smaller. I didn't say anything about this to Mary because I didn't want her to find me unusual. We walked around the zoo, and soon Mary became tired. While we were riding a tram to another part of the zoo she laid her head on her locked hands in front of her, as if she was praying.

That's when it hit me.

I knew who she reminded me of. She was nothing short of Aeris Gainsborough. I didn't say anything to her about this, but I quickly reached my arm over her back and pulled her close. I stroked her back as I thought of Aeris. I didn't know if I loved her while she was alive. I definitely felt something for her, but we had only known each other for such a short time I didn't know if I had an intense love for her or if it was just a physical attraction. During the entire adventure towards meteor I was so confused. I barely knew who I was. If someone had asked me about myself, I wouldn't have known what to say. There was so much about me I didn't know about. I did know one thing for sure, though. I had loved Tifa for most of my life, before I was killed and revived. I still did. I didn't know about Aeris. When she was killed, something in me died. I think that was the case for everyone, though. She was such a special person. Not many people were like her, and she couldn't ever be replaced. I forced myself to stop thinking about her. I was confusing myself again. The tram had stopped, and I helped her off. We walked toward the long-necked horses when I spotted something unusual. A man was walking out of an animal's habitat. This was unusual, so I followed. I told Mary to follow me. The man's pace quickened, and so did ours. Finally, the man turned around and I saw fire in his eyes. He began to run.

A/N: There it is! Another chapter finished! Hopefully you enjoyed this one. The next one will be funnier. I'm pretty excited about writing it. Please review and I'll post another one within the next couple of days!