Final Fantasy 7
Emerald Princess of Vernea
Chapter Twenty-Two
Cloud walked along in silence behind the smartly dressed Turk, who was known as Rude. His wrists ached from the metal handcuffs that had been locked tightly around them, but there was no use asking for them to be slackened. The Turks never cared for the suffering of others – in fact they preferred it when their prisoners were suffering.
All around him was the rest of the group, walking in single file towards the top floor of the Shinra Building. Tifa was walking solemnly in front, her wrists locked in handcuffs behind her. Barret was behind, with his own wrists cuffed, although it was a tight squeeze with his gun-arm in the way. Red XIII was also with them at the very back; although since he was a four-legged creature it was impossible to cuff him. So Tseng was at the very back watching him, and making sure no one made an attempt to escape. The only person who was not amongst the group was Aeris. She was nowhere to be seen, and hadn't been seen since she and Tifa had been caught when they arrived at the lift, captured before Cloud and the others. Rude led the way, and onto the 70th floor, which was the president's personal office.
President Shinra was waiting for them in his office, sat behind his desk and waiting expectantly. The look on his face said everything – he knew the group had been in the building all along, and had only waited until they were escaping – when they thought they were safe – to capture them. Rude and Tseng led the group into the office and lined them all up in front of the president. Cloud looked around at the others.
"You all got caught, too?" he assumed. He then noticed that Aeris was not amongst them, and turned sharply to President Shinra. "Where is Aeris!?"
"In a safe place," President Shinra replied simply, and got up out of his chair. "She's the last surviving Ancient..." he said to them. He began to walk around his large desk towards them. "Don't you know? They called themselves the Cetra, and lived thousands of years ago. Now they are just a forgotten page in history."
Red XIII pricked up his ears. "Cetra..." he repeated thoughtfully, and looked at the president. "That girl, is she a survivor of the Cetra?"
"Cetra, or the Ancients, will show us the way to the 'Promised Land'," said the President. He came to a stop at the other end of the desk, right in front of the group, and looked at them with a knowing smile on his face. "I'm expecting a lot out of her."
"The Promised Land? Isn't that just a legend?" asked Red XIII.
The Shinra president shrugged his shoulders dismissively and turned away from Red XIII. "Even so," he said. "It's just too appealing not to pursue. It's been said the Promised Land is very fertile... If the land is fertile..."
Barret narrowed his eyes. "Then there's gotta be Mako!" he exclaimed.
President Shinra nodded. "Exactly. That is why our money-sucking Mako Reactor is necessary," he explained. He turned away from them all and looked up admirably towards the window, where the night sky could be seen through the thick, soundproof glass, as well as the dark land that surrounded Midgar. "The abundant Mako will just come out on its own. This is where Neo-Midgar will be built." He spread his arms wide. "Shinra's new glory..."
"$#%!" Barret swore loudly. "Quit dreamin'!"
President Shinra turned to him. "Oh really, don't you know?" he asked. "These days all it takes for your dreams to come true is money and power." He smiled at Barret's furious face, pleased by his anger. He then turned away again and looked back outside. "Well, that is all for our meeting."
At his words Rude of the Turks ran from the back of the group and stood firmly between them and President Shinra, a stern and commanding expression on his face.
"Come on!" he ordered. "Outta his way!"
Cloud, Tifa and Red XIII all slowly turned and began to walk away, following Tseng as he led them back downstairs towards their cells. Only Barret stayed exactly where he was, his face twitching in his anger as he glared defiantly and furiously at President Shinra.
"Hold it!" he raged. "I got a lot I wanna say to you!"
He tried to walk forward to the President, but Rude very quickly stepped in his way and blocked his path, preventing him from getting anywhere near the President. Barret tried to force himself forward, but Rude simply put his hands out and pushed Barret forcefully back. With Barret's arms chained he couldn't fight back, and could only shout out in rage as Rude pushed him away from the President and down the stairs after his friends. Once they were gone President Shinra turned away, before glancing back towards the door.
"If you need anything else... talk to my secretary," he said, and headed back to his desk.
Following their final meeting with the Shinra President, Cloud and his friends had all been locked away in cells on the 67th floor of the Shinra Building – the science department level. There was a special area at the back of the department where prisoners and subjects were held, either to await trial or experimentation.
Right then Cloud and his friends were locked in those cells. They had been split up from each other, with Cloud and Tifa in one cell, and Barret and Red XIII in another adjacent one. Unknown to them, Aeris was also locked in one of those cells, with her cell right next door to Cloud and Tifa's. She was lying quietly back on her bed whilst looking up at the ceiling, lost in her own thoughts. In Cloud and Tifa's cell Tifa was sat silently on the bed looking worried, while Cloud stood nearby, thinking hard of a way they could get out of the mess they had landed themselves in. But he couldn't think of anything, since the doors were very secure and only the guards had the keys to unlock them.
Over in Barret and Red XIII's cell, things were just as quiet. Barret was sat on a chair with his arms resting on his knees, his head down in deep thought. His temper had calmed now, after a long tirade of banging on the metal door of the cell, even though it didn't get him anywhere. Red XIII was lying peacefully on the ground next to him, his tail swaying slightly across the floor. His eyes looked almost sad, as though he was also lost in his own deep thoughts. He was just about to close his eyes and try to sleep when Barret suddenly looked up and began to speak, breaking the long period of silence.
"Hey!" he said. Red XIII opened one eye and looked up at him blankly. "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?" Red XIII nodded his head, and Barret continued. "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." With a start he stood up, kicking his chair back and making Red XIII jump. "I can't just leave 'em be. I'm recruitin' new members!! Me, Tifa, Cloud... and Aeris too. How 'bout you?"
He looked at Red XIII expectantly, expecting him to be just as enthusiastic and pumped up as he was at the thought of beating the Shinra altogether. But Red XIII didn't even reply, nor look up at Barret. He just slowly climbed to his feet and sauntered off to the other end of the cell, before lying back down and facing away from Barret. Barret slumped back in his chair and folded his arms.
"You're so damn boring," he commented.
Again Red XIII didn't reply or look at Barret. He swished his tail softly against the floor, and sighed heavily.
"......Grandpa," he mumbled softly.
Barret blinked. "Grandpa!?" he exclaimed. "Ha, ha, ha......" He quickly put a hand over his mouth as Red XIII turned his head round to look at him, but Barret couldn't suppress the giggles. "Grandpa, hmm... ha, ha, ha..."
"What's so funny?" Red XIII asked him.
"Nothin'... ha, ha."
In Aeris's cell, Aeris was still lying back on her bed looking up at the ceiling. She had her eyes closed for the moment, listening hard to the gentle soft sounds that no one else could hear. The sounds were very faint and she could hardly hear them, but they were there nonetheless. After a moment or two she slowly opened her eyes and sat up, feeling the sudden presence that she had been trying to find. She looked at the wall beside her.
"Cloud, are you there?"
Over in Cloud's cell, Cloud suddenly jumped violently, amazed to hear Aeris's muffled voice coming from the neighbouring cell. He ran to the wall and pressed his head against it, trying to hear Aeris's voice more closely. Tifa just watched as she lay back on the bed, just as amazed to hear Aeris's voice.
"Aeris!?" Cloud exclaimed. "You safe?"
"Yeah, I'm all right," the young woman replied. She gently swung her legs over the side of the bed until her feet felt the floor, and looked back at the wall. "I knew that Cloud would come for me."
"Hey, I'm your bodyguard right?"
Aeris got up and stood in the middle of the floor. She turned back to the wall with a smirk on her face. "The deal was for one date, right?"
That immediately caught Tifa's attention. She bolted upright and glared at the wall furiously. "......Oh, I get it," she said.
Aeris jumped violently. "...!? Tifa!" she exclaimed, her face turning bright red, and she was glad that Cloud and Tifa couldn't see it. "Tifa, you're there too!" On the other side Tifa climbed to her feet and stood beside Cloud.
"EXCUSE me," she said indignantly. "You know, Aeris. I have a question."
"What?" was Aeris's nervous reply.
"Does the Promised Land really exist?"
Aeris lowered her head to look at the floor as she thought for a moment, temporarily surprised by the question. She had expected Tifa to be angry at her statement, or at least ask what was going on. Instead she had chosen to ask this question. She knew why, for she also knew what Shinra's true intentions were with the Promised Land. When she was a child she had been brought up hearing that Shinra wanted to use the Promised Land to bring happiness to the world, but she knew that was never true. She had no intention of helping them find it either, but, in reality, she didn't actually know whether it truly existed or not.
"...I don't know," she admitted, voicing her thoughts. She raised her head and looked up at the ceiling, imagining the night sky that hung over Midgar. "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."
Tifa tilted her head, confused. "...What does that mean?" she asked.
"More than words... I don't know."
"...Speak with the Planet?" asked Cloud, and Tifa sat back down on the bed behind him, pulling her legs up to her chest in thought.
"Just what does the Planet say?" she asked.
Aeris slowly shook her head. That was what she had been trying to do before she sensed that Cloud was nearby, but she had been unable to hear anything from the Planet. "It's full of people and noisy," she said to them. "That's why I can't make out what they are saying."
"You hear it now?"
Again Aeris looked down at the ground, and closed her brown eyes. "I, I only heard it at the Church in the slums," she admitted. She pictured the peaceful church in her mind, and smiled gently as she remembered the beautiful flowers that grew there. "Mother said that Midgar was no longer safe. That is... my real mother," she added quickly. She sat back down on the bed, staring at the floor. "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..."
Her voice began to choke a little as she thought of her real mother, and she covered her mouth. Cloud could hear her gentle sobs through the wall, and stepped away. Aeris couldn't say anymore without bursting into tears. He turned to Tifa, who nodded her head.
"Let's just get some sleep," he said. He sat down beside the wall and closed his eyes.
Cloud didn't know how long he slept for, or remember what he dreamed about. All he remembered from his sleep was a lot of shouting and screaming, before it all fell silent and he finally woke up. He couldn't even believe he had managed to fall asleep, but all the events of the day and evening had taken a toll. Tifa was still fast asleep on the bed in front of him, sleeping peacefully. Cloud rubbed his eyes and looked around the rest of the cell, and jumped as his eyes fell on the door.
The door to the cell was wide open to reveal the corridor beyond, with the red light changed to a calm and gentle blue. Cloud blinked and stared for a few moments, since the door had been securely locked when they had fallen asleep.
"The door's open..." he mumbled sleepily to himself as he got up off the floor. "When did it open?"
Cautiously he walked out of the cell, looking around warily in case it was some sort of trap and a bunch of Shinra guards were waiting to shoot him. But as he stepped out he saw nothing apart from the rest of the cells, all of which were locked. Only his and Tifa's cell was unlocked, but there was no one around guarding it. Cloud turned and looked down the corridor, where he got his second shock.
There was a Shinra guard at the end of the corridor, but he was not on guard. He was lying in a heap on the floor, his gun at his side, but he was not asleep. He couldn't see the guard's face, but Cloud could just about picture how he looked.
"What happened?" he wondered aloud. He ran back into the unlocked cell and ran to Tifa's side, beginning to gently shake her to wake her up. "Tifa... Wake up!"
After a few shakes Tifa opened her eyes and looked up at Cloud sleepily. "What's wrong?" she asked as she sat up. She got up off the bed and looked at Cloud's face. He was slightly pale, as though something had shook him up.
Cloud nodded his head towards the door. "Something's wrong. Look outside."
Tifa turned to the door and stared in amazement as she saw that it was unlocked. She did as Cloud told her and looked outside. When her eyes fell on the guard at the far end of the corridor she gasped loudly and began to run to him, with Cloud close behind her. They both ran to the guard, and Tifa kneeled. She reached out and gently turned the guard onto his back, when she squealed again.
The guard's face held an expression that depicted an image of pure terror and fear. His skin had turned to sheet white, and his eyes were wide open, his pupils dilated as they had locked onto something unimaginably terrible. His jaw was locked half open in mid-scream, and already his body could hardly be moved he was so frozen. He had seen something so terrible that it had made his blood run cold and killed him on the spot – he had died of pure terror.
"I wonder what happened..." Tifa said, her voice trembling as she lay the guard back down on the floor.
Cloud knelt down beside her. "He should have the key on him..." he said. Tifa watched him with one hand over her mouth to stop her being sick as Cloud rummaged around in the dead guard's pockets until he found the keys to the other cells. Tifa was unable to take her eyes off the guard's fear-stricken face as Cloud pulled off one of the keys and held it out to her. "Come on, Tifa, get Aeris," he told her. "I'll go help Barret and the others."
For a second Tifa couldn't do anything – she was so panic-stricken over the look of fear in the guard's face. She suddenly shook her head as she snapped out of her trance and took the key from Cloud before getting up and running to Aeris's cell, unlocking the door and running inside to wake the girl. Cloud meanwhile ran to the cell on the other side to his and Tifa's, where Barret and Red XIII were being held. He unlocked the door and ran in. They were also asleep, but began to stir as Cloud ran into the room.
"Barret, Red XIII... come with me," Cloud said urgently as they looked at him. "Something's wrong."
Barret glared at Cloud. "How'd you get in?" he demanded, and looked at the open door. "Why's the door open!?"
He jumped to his feet and ran out of the door, getting his gun ready to kick some Shinra butt and make their escape out of the Shinra building. He came to an abrupt stop as he saw the frozen guard lying in a heap at the end of the corridor, and ran over to him. Cloud and Red XIII followed him and stopped behind Barret.
"The hell's goin' on!?" Barret roared furiously as he looked at the guard.
Red XIII shook his head. "No human could've done this," he commented. He walked past Barret and Cloud towards the corridor leading back into the main part of the floor, where he stopped and turned back. "I'll go on ahead," he told them, and with that he turned and ran off towards the rest of the floor.
"I'll clean up back here, so you guys go on ahead," said Barret. Cloud nodded and turned away to get Aeris and Tifa, but Barret quickly turned his head. "And don't get caught by Shinra!"
Cloud ignored Barret and ran into the cell where Tifa was with Aeris. Aeris had her hand over her mouth in shock as Tifa told her about the guard lying dead outside, and looked extremely relieved as Cloud ran in.
"Come on, let's follow Red XIII!" Tifa said.
They left Barret behind to move the stone cold guard out of sight as they headed after Red XIII deeper into the science level. As they walked along they realised that the rest of the level was just as quiet as the cells were. In fact it was deadly silent, and there were no sounds from the workrooms around them.
They soon found out why everything was so silent. As they stepped out of the corridor and back into the main part of the floor they saw the many bodies of workers lying dead, each one frozen in terror. All the secretaries, all the technicians, everybody was dead. Cloud, Tifa and Aeris stared in confusion, wondering what had happened to make everyone on the floor drop down dead.
Red XIII was a little further ahead, next to the clearing where the dome-shaped cell was built. He was standing beside one of Hojo's assistants who were lying on the floor beside the cell, also dead, but that was not the reason why Red XIII had his tail as straight as a pole and growling fiercely. The others looked up, and Cloud opened his eyes wide.
The door to the Jenova cell had been burst open from the inside, and its contents gone. The door had been almost blown from its hinges, leaving a large gaping hole. It was dark inside the dome now, but that was not the most terrifying thing. There was a large pool of blood around the door, blood that did not belong the assistant. The blood lay in a large puddle and was moving away from the door in a long red streak, as though something large and heavy had moved away from the door and around the corner to the lift. There was also a thick, heavy scent of flesh in the air, which was why Red XIII was growling. He didn't like the smell he was getting from the air.
"Did it get away?" Cloud asked, looking through the empty door of the cell. There was more blood inside the cell, but no sign of the creature that had been trapped inside. "Jenova...?"
"Jenova Specimen," Red XIII growled. He turned towards the lift, where the blood streak ran. "Looks like it went to the upper floor using that elevator for the specimens."
He began to run again, following the trail of blood towards the lift. Cloud, Tifa and Aeris followed him, and they all piled into the lift. The blood was thicker inside the lift, and they had no choice but to stand in it as the lift went up towards the experimental level of the building.
As they reached the next floor and piled out, Red XIII immediately ran forward towards yet another dead body that was lying in a slump in the middle of the room, right beside the trail of blood that continued to slide away from them towards a door at the far end of the room. The body belonged to Hojo's first assistant, the one who had helped Hojo with Aeris and Red XIII. Now he was dead, and the trail of blood moved on, not stopping or fading, through the door.
"It looks like it leads up..." said Red XIII.
The four of them continued to head up, following the trail of blood as it led around to the hidden area of Level 68. It led right to another set of stairs that led to the higher levels, where they had been taken to meet President Shinra after their capture. The locked doors had been burst open at the top, with the blood moving relentlessly through.
Level 69 was the main secretarial floor, and had been very busy when Cloud and his friends had moved through the last time. Now, however, there was a different scene. Each and every one of the secretaries that had been working were now dead, their bodies all twisted and mauled as though something ferocious had attacked them, while others simply died in fear. The trail of blood continued to move on two the twin sets of stairs that curled round and headed up to the very final floor of the Shinra building – the president's office. Cloud looked around at his friends, before they ran up to the final level, their weapons at the ready, ready to face whatever danger was awaiting them at the top. They ran up the stairs, and burst through the open doors.
Then, they skidded to a stop.
