Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy X are copyrighted to Square Enix.
Word Count: 2264
Pages: 8
AN: I'm aware that some of you find 11 people from FFX a bit overdone, but I assure you that I thought of that before hand and have resolved it. Not all 11 will be focused on in the story. Thanks goes again to reviewers: Midnigh Phase, Stormie, Tiri Li, commander fluffy tail, Hikari and yunalesca13 and those that put my story on alert.
Having made it to the elevator on the 66th floor, Cloud pushed the button for the door to open. Stepping inside the quintet gathered on the lift. The blond warrior pushed the button to go down but the elevator was still inert, apparently not registering the command. He tried again, frantically jabbing the button but instead of going downwards a pink mist came from the extruding yellow cylinders protruding from the halo overhead that circled the top of the elevator platform. Tifa tried to open the door but it didn't give. Slowly each one of the occupants nodded off and soon all 5 of them were passed out in the area.
The doors opened with a joyful sounding clink and a man in a dark blue suit came in and stepped over the bodies to get to the button panel. He pressed the button to go up and the doors closed shut before the platform shifted upwards. The elevators stopped moving and the once the door admitted him onto the designated floor the Turk began dragging the unconscious out behind him.
When Cloud gained consciousness he was seated upright in a stiff wooden chair, with his arms handcuffed behind his back. Looking to both his sides he noticed his captured companions.
"You guys got caught too?"
Barret nodded. "Ambushed us on the ground floor. The Ancients didn't have weapons. We couldn't fight back. They threatened to pick them off one by one if we didn't surrender."
"They're not hurt are they?"
"No, but they're captives again."
Cloud nodded. To his right the nameless blond stirred. He sat up and took in his surroundings. Noticing the other captured and his missing kin he spoke up.
"Where is…" the blond began but paused searching for a name, most likely that of the brown haired girl. Deciding to rephrase his sentence, he tried again. "Where are the others!?"
"In a safe place," President Shinra reassured in a voice that did nothing to settle the feelings of worry that the group felt for their companions. "Are they truly Ancients?"
The blond looked at the president bewildered about what he had just called them.
"If they are then they must be preserved. You don't know what an Ancient is?"
The blond shook his head.
"They called themselves the Cetra, and lived thousands of years ago. Now they are just a forgotten page in history."
The lion-wolf grumbled into speech. "Cetra? You mean to say that you have actually Cetra and not descendants?"
"Yes. They will show us the way to the Promised Land. I have big plans for them."
"Isn't that just legend?" Red XIII asked.
"Possibly, but there is always fact behind legend, and the pay off will be worth the effort to pursue. It is rumoured to be very fertile…"
"So this is all about mako!" Barret shot, working out Shinra's plan in a logical manner.
"Exactly. Imagine how much money can be made harvesting all that mako. That will be the birth of Neo-Midgar…ShinRa's new glory…"
"Shinra?" the unknown blond warrior muttered, "…why is that name familiar?"
"I am Shinra. President of the ShinRa Electric Company, ruler of Midgar and relatively all the Planet!"
"Quit dreaming!" Barret blurted.
"This concludes our meeting." Shinra dismissed.
"If you think I'm done talking to your sorry ass you got another thing coming! You bastards are murdering the Planet by taking Mako. Fuck you!"
"Nonsense. Murdering? The Planet has no life. Who's heard of such garbage? Right, off with them." The President nodded to a bald Turk who wore sunglasses standing beside his desk.
Cloud watched as the Turk dragged the large black man out of the room they were taken down to the 67th floor before Cloud was roughly thrust into a holding cell and the door was locked as it shut behind him.
The cell was small, but still fit two people spaciously. No matter, it still made Cloud feel claustrophobic. The undying sickening feeling of helplessness and unease in his stomach made him slightly nauseous. The cell had one bed, one toilet that was in plain view, one light that lit the entire room up in never ending day and the only exit was the door that had just closed on Cloud.
Tifa had already claimed the bed, lazily moving her foot up and down over her crossed legs.
Arms underneath her head, she turned it right to look at Cloud.
"What's wrong Cloud?" she asked, a worried expression replacing the look of boredom on her face.
"Nothing, just small spaces don't mix well with me."
"You sick? Here, come sit with me."
Cloud did as he was told and sat down on the bed next to an upright Tifa who had sat up to make room for him.
She leaned toward him and placed an arm on his shoulder. Instantaneously, his feeling of unease was lifted by the familiarity of comfort…something that signalled protection and safety.
"Let's get some sleep, okay Cloud?" Tifa's soothing voice grew nurturing, as she lay her head on the blonde's shoulder and closed her eyes.
In the cell next to them similar feelings of unease were being experienced. As the Shinra guard shoved the nameless blond into his cell, he noticed the brown haired girl already there. He offered her a tentative smile which she returned. He was going to lean on the wall across from her but she patted the empty space on the bed beside her. She was seated upright and ridged on the edge of the bed. He sat down but favoured a more relaxed position so he leant back onto the palms of his hands, arms angled diagonally behind him.
"Hey," he began.
"Hey," she said softly.
"Do you have any memory of…anything?"
"Little glimpses of things…but for the most part…no…I can't even remember my own name…" At this point the tears that were on threatening to fall, escaped her eyes and she let out soft sobs.
The blond didn't even hesitate to comfort the crying girl. He wrapped an arm around her hunched shoulders and pulled her into a comforting hug.
"It'll be okay. How 'bout we help each other remember and tell the other what they have memories of so far?"
"Really?"
"Yeah. I was looking at our rings earlier and I got these flashbacks."
"Our rings? Do you think that means we're married?"
"Well that and our clothes are fitting for a wedding."
She looked down at their attire. He had on black bants and an odd, white, vest-like piece, while she wore a white dress that looked like it was suited for a beach side marriage. The clothing was tattered but it couldn't be denied that it was the formal wear for a wedding.
She smirked. "Well if we really did get married we must have loved each other a lot."
He nodded, already having a feeling of strong connection with the girl, "Or maybe we really hated each other but our parents were evil and arranged our marriage."
"Somehow I doubt that," she giggled.
"Yeah, me too," he admitted, staring into her eyes that were each a different colour…
As they continued to stare into the depths of each others eyes, another memory flashback occurred in Yuna's mind.
Scenes of a wedding ceremony replayed itself. It was situated at a beach with the open ocean past the water and sand below everyone's toes. Throughout the entire memory, the blond and the brunette were in the same position that triggered the memory. Only when they leant into a kiss, signalling the bond of marriage was complete, had her vision begun to fade.
Pulling back she smiled.
"You just got a memory back?"
"Yes, of our wedding."
The blond looked pleased but his eyes hid a deeper emotion. "So we are married then…"
"Mm hmm"
"Must've happened right before we got frozen. That sucks. I wonder if we enjoyed it."
"I'm sure it was great," the brunette continued to smile at him and leant into him, placing a hand on his chest. Her hand smoothed over the fabric but stopped when it came across something slightly protruding from underneath his shirt. She reached down under his shirt past the collar and pulled out a letter pendant on a silver necklace.
"Hmm…it could either be a 'T' or a 'J'. What do you think?"
"I'm not sure, probably represents my name."
"Well at least I can call you something until we remember more."
"What are you going to call me?"
"TJ of course!"
"Okay," the blond agreed. "What about your necklace?"
She reached down and rested the pendant turning it towards her.
"Could be a 'Y' or a 'V'." TJ stated.
"I think it looks more like a 'Y'. Look how it stems down."
"Y?" he asked.
"Well because of-" she began but TJ cut her off.
"No I meant, can I call you Y then?"
She sniggered. "Y is a horrible name. At least TJ sounds like a nickname. Fine you can call me Y until we get a better replacement."
So the two newly named individuals talked a bit further before Y nodded off and TJ was left to his thoughts about his unknown marriage.
Meanwhile, the cell next to them was occupied by the proven descendant of the Ancients and a person of small stature wearing a science suit that covered him head to foot.
"Hi!" Aerith kindly greeted the suited person.
In response all she got was anxious shuffling of feet off in the corner farthest from her.
"Um...what's your name?"
She still got no answer.
"Would you like to have a seat on the bed with me?" she asked kind-heartedly. When still no reply was given she added, "I don't bite you know."
To that the yellow suited individual walked over unsure of himself and hopped up onto the bed after a moments hesitation.
"I'm Aerith, do you have a name?"
"I can't remember." A sad voice came out from underneath the gear covering his face.
"I'm sorry. You can't remember anything at all?"
He shook his head.
"Can you remember why you're wearing that suit?" she asked, amusement playing around her lips.
He shook his head again, and then paused to think before saying, "It does look a bit stupid doesn't it?"
"No, no! Whatever suits you…well maybe a little silly."
With that he reached up to his neckline and unzipped the suit halfway. He grabbed the portion covering his head and pulled it off, revealing a young boy with long blond hair and spiral green eyes.
"Wow, your eyes are so beautiful!" The flower girl exclaimed in surprise.
The boy blushed; he wasn't used to getting complimented by older women.
"Thanks," he replied shyly, lowering his head to hide his burning face.
Not being able to carry on a conversation with a boy with amnesia, Aerith stayed silent.
"So, why are you being held captive?" the boy asked nervously.
"They want me here because I'm the last of my kind. The only remaining Ancient."
"Ancient?"
"You don't know what an Ancient is? Well you're not alone, not a lot of people remember them."
"What makes an Ancient so different? You still look like a normal person to me."
"It is the way we live our lives. And the Planet can communicate with us. The Cetra, the real name for the Ancients, 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."
"Speak with the Planet? What does it say?"
"It's full of people and it's noisy. That's why I can't make out what they are saying."
"So can you hear the Planet now?" the boy asked curiously, wanting to know more.
"I only heard it at the Church in the Slums. Mother said that Midgar was not safe anymore. That is…my real mother. That's why I need to leave Midgar, to speak with the Planet and find my Promised Land…that's what mom said, I can still hear her. I thought it would stop as I grew up, but…"
"The Promised Land?" the boy fired off another question.
"Yes. ShinRa want me to find them the Promised Land…they believe it is full of Mako they want to turn into energy. What they don't understand is Mako isn't limitless and the Planet needs it to survive…"
Hearing the words the boy blanched as images flew through his head.
In front of him he was looking at some kind of data on a computer screen when a girl with shoulder length brown hair asked him: "What are you looking at?"
Replying he answered "Farplane data. The more I study it, the more fascinating it gets. There's limitless energy swirling around in there."
"Limitless energy?" the girl asked.
"The life force that flows through our planet...I think. With a little work, we could probably extract the energy in a useable form."
The memory ended, but the boy remained as pale as before. He just thought of what he was possibly responsible for.
"Are you okay?" the girl in pink asked.
He shook his head, eyes wide and terrified.
"What wrong?"
"I...I just had a flashback…from…from before…I thought it was limitless. I'm sorry!" the boy yelled, going slightly hysterical.
The flower girl wrapped the small boy up in her arms, clearly in need of comfort. "It's okay, everything will be fine…you'll see." She soothed.
He sobbed into her shoulder, remaining in that position until sleep overcame him.
AN: Sorry that this chapter was slower than the others and lacked action. I felt somethings needed to explored more. I'm going to try to have the crew out of the ShinRa building and starting their adventure by the end of next chapter.
If I get 10+ review for chapter 3 then I'll update by Monday.