1

The Dying Earth

Rufus Shinra stood mesmerized by the thing in front of him. Its mouth was frozen agape; its glossy eyes empty; pleading for release. The two-meter sword had delivered that release and impaled its torso to the long, glossy desk. Blood dried into vermillion stains scattered across the office. It fascinated Rufus in a strange way that as hard as he tried, he could not think of the corpse of his father as anything other than a "thing."

He was barely aware of the others talking around him. The slender blonde and the portly man with the unkempt beard had not stopped chattering since their arrival. Rufus' body quivered, but he was not angry. He was not even upset. The vermillion exhilarated him. In this aftermath of death, he felt more alive than he could ever remember.

A cool breeze wafted through the skyscraper office. Features of the night sky over Midgar were invisible for the light pollution. Through the shattered window, Rufus could see only dots of light far below: each one a window or a home or an office; each one filled with men and women oblivious to a stark truth: the world was about to end.

"I'm telling you, this is General Sephiroth's sword," the woman to Rufus' right said.

"We've had no reports that General Sephiroth survived the bombardment of Nibelheim. No one has seen the man in two years." The bearded man said. "That's impossible."

"If you don't believe just take five goddamn minutes and watch the surveillance video."

"President Shinra doesn't have a surveillance camera in his office."

"It… was an outside camera."

"The hall?"

"No. Outside the building!"

"You don't think every man in this building would have recognized General Sephiroth the moment he walked through the door, Scarlet?"

"He didn't walk through the door… He… flew in."

"He escaped through the window…"

"Dammit Heideggar! He flew! Like… like a helicopter or a bird. Just watch the damn footage already!"

He laughed. "And since when did our long-since gone general learn how to fly?"

The pair seemed startled by Rufus' voice as though his presence had been forgotten. "He's not Sephiroth anymore, General Heideggar. You've seen Professor Gast's records. You should know full well that if he survived Nibelheim, it's because he's no longer human."

Heideggar, Shinra Electric's Director of Public Security paled. "You don't think that was all true?"

"Jenova was exactly where the Cetra, Ifalna, predicted it would be. We could talk all night; discuss the plausibility of a flying dead man murdering President Shinra. It makes no sense. It's ridiculous. But here we are," Rufus waved to the cadaver. "Here he is." Saying "he" required effort.

The door opened. The silky-haired man clad in a crisp blue suit approached. His eyes widened. Rufus knew the leader of the Turks had seen his share of horrors. Still, whether for the copious blood or the putrid stench of nearly every human body fluid intermingling, he reacted with shock.

"Report, Tseng," Heideggar said.

The Turk snapped his eyes away from the blood-soiled desk of his former employer. "We did it. We recovered the Cetra's daughter."

"Were there any complications?" Heideggar said.

"None. As instructed, she's had a shadow ever since we recovered Professor Hojo's research. It was easy," Tseng said.

"Heideggar. You and Scarlet will review the surveillance footage and meet me in the war room in an hour," Rufus said.

They saluted in unison. "Sir!"

Rufus turned to Tseng. "Lead me."

Tseng nodded and followed Rufus after a fleeting glance at the desk. "Yes Ru… Mr. President."

Any disgust at the death of his father washed away. Even the fear of imminent death subsided. Becoming leader of the free world seemed to make a great many things better.

Rufus Shinra had been born for this role. By all rights, he was overdue for the presidency. Later, he would have to make a few calls. Within the past hour, "General Sephiroth" had made some of Rufus' plans obsolete.

Rufus boarded the elevator and selected Shinra Tower's sixty-sixth floor. The elevator shuddered. Its pale blue light flickered for only a moment. He cocked an eyebrow.

"I heard repairs to Mako Reactor Number Five will be completed sometime tomorrow. AVALANCHE hit it pretty hard, but Urban Redevelopment's been working around the clock to get it back online. I'll be glad when these brownouts end," Tseng said.

The elevator stopped. The two men emerged into a long hallway lit by bright iridescent light.

"Tell me about this last of the Ancients," Rufus said.
"She's a flower girl," Tseng said.

"A flower girl?"

"Yes, Mr. President. She sold flowers out of an abandoned cathedral in the Sector Five slums."

"What was the heiress to the most ancient and powerful race in the world doing selling flowers in a slum?"

"I guess someone's gotta do it," a voice chimed from around the corner.

When Rufus recognized the new voice, he paused. He tempered his irritation. "I heard you did well, Reno. Elena."

Rufus recognized the Turk's spiky red hair before he recognized any distinctive features of his face. His teammate, a young blond woman followed behind.

"I did good boss," Reno said. "Treated her like a real lady. Didn't leave a mark on her."

The blond woman rolled her eyes.

"Maybe that will change," Rufus said. "I need answers from this girl and I need you to do whatever it takes to get them, Reno."

Reno took a half-step back. He and the blonde caught each other's eyes.

"Where's Rude?" Rufus said.

"Keeping an eye on her," Reno said.

Tseng approached a narrow cell and swiped a pass card. The door opened.

Her auburn hair was bound by a ribbon, tapering down in a long braid. Ringlets framed a face startling in its innocence. The metal shackles could not have been more out of place behind her long, pink dress.

"Please, already!" She cried. "I just need to make a phone call. I can do that, right?"

Rufus knew had the bald Turk not been wearing sunglasses, they might have seen traces of a smile in his eyes.

"I just need to call my mother. I need to let her know I'm all right. You have my PHS? I can call her really quickly…"

The Turk, Rude, took the small electronic device from his pocket. He snapped it in half and threw it against the wall.

The flower girl looked as though she had been slapped. For the first time, she noticed the new arrivals and the stark white suit of one drew her gaze. She met the icy blue eyes of the strikingly handsome man with layered blond hair. He had a memorable face: one not easily forgotten even if he were not one of the world's most famous men. "Mr. Rufus Shinra, sir? Please. Help me. I don't know what I'm doing here… I haven't done anything…"

Rufus gestured to the Turk, Rude, who stood and walked away. Rufus took a seat opposite the girl. "Tell me young lady. What brings a jewel like you to a place like this?"

The flower girl spoke deliberately. "I was working… Selling flowers. When one of them grabbed me and threw a bag over my head. Please, sir, where am I? Am…" She paused. "Is this Shinra Tower?"

Rufus lifted her chin and noticed her eyes. They were a blue-green as vibrant and clear as mako. "Working… I didn't know there was that much money in selling flowers. Don't most pretty young things like you from Sector Five supplement their income somehow?"

She recoiled from his touch. "What are you implying?"

"Nothing. I will be forthcoming with you if you do the same. You are being held in Shinra Tower… by my order. When you are released… no… if you are released will be decided by my whim. I suspect you can help me with a problem. We'd help each other out. By helping me, you could ensure our survival and your own."

The flower girl paused. "I want to speak with your father! I want to speak with the President of Shinra. If I'm going to be held here, I need to know why."

"My father is dead, young lady. You are speaking with the President of Shinra."

She paused. "Then I need to speak with the Mayor of Midgar!"

"Midgar belongs to Shinra Electric and so does its mayor. Its power grid is all thanks to our mako reactors. Our civilization rides on the back of Shinra Electric. All of that to say, I can do whatever I damn well please. And I will. Whatever it takes to break your mind… spirit… or body… to find out what I need to know, I will do it. The stakes are that high."

The flower girl dropped her head. She began to choke. Finally, she began to sob. "Oh my God, please don't hurt me."

"I don't have to hurt you. None of us do. All I ask is that you make this as easy and painless as possible."

The flower girl nodded.

Rufus Shinra leaned in towards her, nose to nose. "Now Cetra… you will tell me everything you know about Omega Weapon."

Aerith Gainsborough blinked away her tears. "Cetra? What?"

Author's Note:

So there it is: my first public posting of Fanfiction. I hope some people enjoy it! I'm planning on this being a long story. The next few chapters should be posted over the coming weeks.