Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII. It belongs to Squaresoft. I am just an adoring fan girl.
The Art of Redemption
Chapter One:
Starlight
He stood at the window, staring out into the world with a bitter anticipation. His steely, cold eyes reflected what once was and would never be again. The window he was looking through at the top floor of an abandoned office building gave him an excellent panoramic view of the late, great city of Midgar. Looking out amongst the ruins, his gaze stopped predictably on what once was the menacing centerpiece – Shinra headquarters. Courtesy of Diamond Weapon, the stoic monster was now reduced to a behemoth pile of steel, plaster, fiberglass, and failure.
He grimaced and looked away, as if the sight made him ill to his stomach. He had spent countless nights dreaming of that day. He was even dreaming of it now. He had seen the blasts way before Scarlet had come over the office intercom, warning him to get out and take cover. He had purposely chosen not to attempt such a futile effort. He had it imprinted in his mind that if the company went down, so would he. Just as a captain would go down with his ship. Long ago, when he first started with the company, his old man explained to him something very important. It was probably the only thing Rufus had taken seriously from his father.
"Boy, you need to understand something. I would be nothing if it weren't for this company, which therefore implies, when you were born, you could have been nothing. But this company has made me something and it'll make you something, son. Do you understand? You're nothing without this company and me. And when you're nothing, there's really no point in living. You understand?"
Those words had echoed in his head when he had seen the blasts and Rufus understood well. He wanted to die. He wanted the blasts to engulf and kill him. He knew after Meteor that he would be nothing.
And there he was, standing at a window, almost willing Diamond Weapon to rise and fire at him again. He was nothing at the moment and it made his skin crawl. Just the way Geostigma had made his skin crawl and bleed.
He smirked. What a cruel joke. He had survived the first wrath of the Planet only to suffer through the second wrath as nothing. He understood the Planet was punishing him and everyone else, but he had wondered for how long. He was cured now, thanks to the Ancient, but he still wondered what else was in store. His debt to the Planet was simply too great.
He looked back up and out the window again and this time he saw the lights. They were faster and brighter than before. He raised an arm to shield himself, preparing himself for the heat and blindness, but it never came. Instead, everything around him had gone black and he was falling. He wasn't afraid; instead, he was relaxed and felt at peace. He wanted to close his eyes and let the feeling take him over, but too soon the darkness gave way to a light and sunny warmth.
Shifting his body, he realized that he was laying face up in a patch of heavenly scented flowers. He could see the pale blue sky through a hole in the roof of the place that he had "landed" in. Sitting up slowly, he looked around and discovered that he had ended up in a dilapidated church. There were several pews scattered haphazardly around him and several heavy wooden beams had fallen from the ceiling. Before he could wonder exactly where he was at, a figure approached him.
She was dressed in pink and had long, auburn hair tied back in a braid. She also had shimmering, emerald eyes. It was she, the Ancient that had saved them all. As she approached him, he stood to brush himself off, but quickly, and shockingly, realized he was naked. Panicked, he looked back at her with widened eyes. She was looking straight into his eyes and nowhere else.
"You're uncomfortable, I know. But it's time to start anew. The Planet is still in a damaged state and believe it or not, it could use you."
He wanted to open his mouth and ask her many questions, but the words escaped him.
"I know your heart, Rufus. It's heavy with the fact that you owe the Planet a great deal. I want to help you."
His brow furrowed, trying to figure out why she'd want to do such a thing, but before much thought was given to it, Rufus awoke in his bed in a cold sweat. Breathing heavily, he rolled over towards his clock and found that it read 3:33 AM.
He wasn't sure how much of the dream he should take seriously, but he decided that tomorrow he would go to that church.
Author's Note: So…it's been a while since I've written. I've had this floating around in my head for a while now. It was just a matter of finding the time to get it all down on paper and onto the computer. I'll warn you now; I have a nasty habit of not finishing a story. (Like most authors) But I feel different about this story. I already know where I want to go with it and how I want it to end. Most of the chapters are in my mind and as I stated before, it's a matter of getting it down on paper. I hope you'll stick with me and I'll try to update regularly. I respond really well to rave reviews. No, honestly, I love reviews that actually critique the story. I am looking to improve my writing so any constructive feedback would be great. :)