Oook... I found a person who would help me edit Identity... LadyKadaj! Thank you so so so so so so so much... you deserve lotsa hugs. Thanks (hugs LadyKadaj) for correcting this and adding humor into it!

Chapter 11

Nefilim was indeed lost. He had followed Aeris into an apparent maze of tunnels. Tunnels that split into two… no eight… No, wait! Was it thirteen? In fact, there were so many forks and twists that he lost track… Mind you, he was a SUPERSOLDIER but not even that could prepare him for the daunting task of navigating in a complex underground network of tunnels. Oh well, at least he knew now Jenova was probably worse off than him (Hey! She got no legs, and is probably wobbling around), and the thought strangely seemed to comfort him.

But first things first. Disgruntled and disoriented, as wave after wave of vertigoes threatened to wash over him (and boy, how he hated that feeling) he decided to calm down. Perhaps if he just relaxed and took a deep breath, he would wake up and find out it's all just a bad dream… Yeah… just another one of those dreams…

"Alright, just one more. Just this last one, I promise!" Aeris's annoyingly loud but cheerful voice rang out in front of him, jolting him back to cruel reality. And with that, she seemingly disappeared behind yet another tunnel.

Nefilim cursed silently. He hated it but knew he had little choice… The prospects of being lost in this god-forsaken mess didn't appeal to him, so he did what any other reasonable man would. He immediately hurried after her into yet another series of ugly, boring, similar looking tunnels. Well, it's not like he had a choice anyway…

He had to duck his head under an especially low ceiling section, but when he finally crossed through, he was relieved to note that the subsequent ceilings were now way above his head. Meaning he would no longer need to walk around with his head bent like a nincompoop. Thank the Lifestream for the smallest mercies in life!

When Nefilim finally took note of his bearings, he found himself in yet a wondrous sight. There, right in front of his eyes laid a whole city unknown yet familiar… it reminded him of the City of Ancients with buildings built in an eerily identical fashion. Small, delicate and shaped like shells. Yet tough and meant to last till the end of time (since the City of Ancient in the Planet stood the test of time, Nefilim thought it safe to assume)

"The hidden city…" he whispered in awe, not quite believing his eyes. Whoever would have thought the Cetras dumb and unoriginal enough to recreate the exact same structures they had lived in all their mortal years on the Planet?…

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Cloud paced around the room.

"Now how do we get into the Promised Land? How do we get into the Promised Land? How do we …" he chanted, apparently to himself.

"Well, first of all… stop pacing!" Cid yelled. "It's already so f---in' annoying watching your damn spiky hair wavin' to and fro and all… And second, stop talking to yourself! "

Cloud stopped in mid-stride and narrowed his eyes. He was about to retort something caustic but seemed to think better of it and settle for an apology instead.

"Sorry." The words came out albeit reluctantly.

"Hey, let's not argue. It won't help us figure this out." Tifa said, being the ever-present mediator.

"Oh yeah yeah…" Cid grumbled, sounding suspiciously insincere. "Sorry."

Yuffie sighed and stretched. "Could we please dispense with the apologies? We're getting nowhere with them."

Red looked up. "At least one human here has sense and how strange that it happens to be the youngest one too." he thought, before adding. "Think... a place that Jenova could go, without being spotted by humans. A place that would grant her enough power from the Planet, such that she could open a portal with it to the Promised Land."

Barret shrugged his enormous shoulders. "Beats me. I ain't no damned psychic."

"Yeah, neither am I nor are little kitties like you." Cid said.

The red beast instantly shot up. "I am not a kitty!" He exclaimed indignantly, tossing his red mane for emphasis.

"Oh for Cetras' sakes," Yuffie gasped. "Do you realize what Red is saying?"

All of them, save Red, shook their heads causing Yuffie to give an exasperated look.

"Man, don't tell me Red and I are the only sensible ones around here?" She tilted her face heavenwards as if implying it was their fault. "Red is implying that it's the Northern Crater, dammit!" When she uttered her curse word, it was inflected with a "Cid-ish" tone.

"OH SHIT!" Cid shouted, causing everyone to flinch.

"I'm never goin' back to dat screwed up place." Barret declared, crossing his arms stubbornly. "I still think back to the time Old Sephy lost his mind."

"Barret is right. I'm not going back there either." Cid looked around, for once to his credit, making a sentence that did not contain any curse words.

"I still get nightmares about that day Meteor was practically destroying all of us, and Holy wasn't doing much. In fact, half the time I'd be thinking Holy was only making matters worse, and if the Lifestream hadn't come we would all be toasted."

"Well you're still alive, ain't you?" Barret retorted, his mouth twisting into a toothy grin. "Aww… imagine… poor lil' ol' Cid getting nigh'mares."

Cid stared at Barret for a long time. When the meaning of the sentence finally sunk in, he turned beet red and chewed angrily on his cigarette. Gradually realizing that he had nearly bit through the entire thing, he cursed and dropped it on the floor, and started to put it out much to the anger of Tifa.

"CID!" The brown haired girl yelled, rising from her seat. "How many times have I told you! Don't put out the cigarettes in the carpet! It doesn't come off!"

"Sorry, honestly sorry," the blonde apologized, but began to reach for his cigarette pack to light another cigarette. His expression darkened when he didn't find one, and he reached into another pocket.

"Now, where did I put those?" he brightened when he finally found the pack in his back pocket. He was fishing out another cigarette, when Tifa slapped his hand away.

"Give me THAT!" she shouted and confiscated the entire pack away from the man. "No more smoking until this meeting's over!"

"AWW, Tifa! C'mon, don't be so harsh!" Cid whined. "Just another one?"

The brown haired woman shook her head. "Not until the meeting's over."

Cid opened his mouth to protest, but Cloud cut in.

"Um… anyway. Shouldn't we all at least go to the Northern Crater…?" His suggestion was met with dark looks and glares. "…Just to see if it's the entrance to the Promised Land? For Aeris's sake? Guys…"

At the very mention of Aeris, one by one, they agreed.

"I guess," Barret agreed. "Just for Aeris, so we can get da bastard away from her, and mebbe for good this time round." When he cursed with the batard (old habits die hard, yeah!), he cast an apologetic puppy dog look to his adopted daughter, who giggled before she finally turned away.

"Yeah, you bet." Cid said, looking sad, actually not over Aeris but over his cigarettes. "I'll do it for that girl, heck she didn't even stand a chance when she died."

"Yes." Vincent nodded. "Very well… I guess that settles it then." He rose.

The rest of the party followed suit.

"Meeting's officially over then, I guess," Cid stated loudly, glancing many times at his cigarette pack before snatching it back from Tifa, who yelped at him angrily. "So I'll have this back." He hooted happily, taking out a cigarette and finally puffing away.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Thanks so so much! And sorry I haven't updated for a while! When school starts I won't be able to update very much!