"Tifa… wake up!" Cloud yelled tugging on her shoulder. She opened her eyes, rubbed them as if she had just been roused from a dream, and sat up.

"What is it?"

"Something's wrong. Look outside."

Tifa stepped outside and Cloud followed her. She crouched down beside the dead guard, her brow furrowed as if she was still trying to take it all in.

"I wonder what happened…?" she asked finally after a heavy silence.

"He should have the key on him," said Cloud as he rifled through his pockets. As well as a key to the cells, he also had a small photo on him. He and Tifa glanced at it quickly, but whilst Tifa looked away, Cloud felt drawn to it. The picture showed him with a woman and two young girls. They must have been his family. They all looked so happy but now that happiness had been shattered. He was dead and they would be forever mourning.

"Come on, Tifa, get Aeris, I'll go help the others," he said, trying to break free from his miserable thoughts.

"Barret, Red… come with me. Something's wrong," he said as he stepped into the end cell.

"How'd you get in?" asked Barret alarmed. "Why's the door open!?"

Barret and Red followed Cloud down the corridor. When they saw the guard laying there in a pool of blood, their eyes widened.

"The hell's goin' on!?" Barret bellowed.

"No human could've done this," Red said. "I'll go on ahead."

"I'll clean up back here," said Barret, "so you guys go ahead. And don't get caught by Shinra!"

Cloud went into the cell where Aeris was pacing.

"Come on, let's follow Red!" Tifa ordered.

They followed a trail of blood to the laboratory, bumping into dead bodies along the way. As he rounded the corner, Cloud recoiled in shock. The chamber holding the Jenova specimen had been ripped out the floor, leaving a gaping hole and exposed wires and tubes.

"…Did it get away?" Cloud asked, more to himself rather than his comrades. "Jenova…?"

"Jenova Specimen…" Red began. Cloud turned towards him. "Looks like it went to the upper floor using that elevator for the specimens."

They followed the trail of blood to the upper level, expecting to see the specimen there, but they found nothing except for more bodies and a streak of blood as it continued towards the upper floors of the Shinra building.

"It looks like it leads up…" Red deduced.

Cloud, Tifa and Aeris followed the trail upwards. The smell of iron-rich blood was stronger here. Cloud braced himself, warning his comrades. They nodded to say they understood, neither one backing down. They had come too far now. Whatever was going on, they had to see it through to the end.

They entered the President's office. Aeris saw it first, gasping and putting a hand to her mouth. Cloud followed her frightened gaze, his eyes locking on to what she had seen. It was the President, and he was very much dead. He was slumped over his desk, a long, thin sword protruding from his back. It was his sword… He had returned…

Barret and Red stormed into the office a few moments later, jolting Cloud from his thoughts.

"He's dead…" gasped Barret. "The leader of Shinra. Inc is dead…"

Tifa ran up to the President, not taking her eyes off the sword that had ended his life. Cloud could see the fear in her eyes; she had every right to be scared. Only she and Cloud knew who they were dealing with so far. The rest would no doubt understand more about this new foe and the unimaginable power he could harness. Sephiroth… the most powerful man in the world. Hidden memories started to come back to Cloud. He shook his head as if doing so would clear his mind.

"Then this sword must be…!?" she cried.

"Sephiroth's!" Cloud finished for her.

"…Sephiroth is alive?" she whimpered.

"…Looks like it. Only Sephiroth can use that sword."

"Who cares who did it!?" Barret bellowed. "This is the end of the Shinra now!"

"Uh!"

A frightened whimper could be heard coming from behind one of the support pillars holding up the ceiling to the right of President Shinra's desk. The fat man wearing the brown-coloured business suit that had been in the conference meeting peeked from his hiding place. Spotting his chance to escape, he charged from behind the pillar and dashed towards the exit, but Cloud and Barret caught him.

"P, p, p, please, don't kill me!" he stammered.

"What happened?" asked Cloud as he gripped the man's arm.

"Se…Sephiroth… Sephiroth came."

So it was true. Deep down he knew it had to be, but hearing his name from a stranger made it seem more real.

"Did you see him?" Cloud questioned, tightening his grip on the man's arm. "Did you see Sephiroth?"

"Yeah, I saw him!" he squealed. "I saw him with my own eyes!"

"You really saw him?" Cloud asked. A part of him was still in denial and he couldn't toss that feeling aside no matter how hard he tried.

"Uh! Would I lie to you at a time like this!? And I heard his voice too!" The man glanced around, his eyes wide as if expecting to be ambushed. "Um, he was saying something about not letting us have the Promised Land."

"Then what?" Tifa piped up. "Does that mean the Promised Land really exists and that Sephiroth's here to save it from Shinra?"

"So he's a good guy then?" Barret asked.

"Save the Promised Land?" Cloud scoffed, shaking his head. "A good guy? No way! It's not that simple! I know him! Sephiroth's mission is different!"

They released the man and watched him scramble towards the door to the balcony outside the President's office, just as a helicopter touched down. A young, suave-looking man in a white trench coat climbed out of it. He seemed less than bothered about the murderous events that had developed inside the Shinra building, his face smug.

"Rufus!" snapped Barret. "Shit! I forgot about him!"

"Who's that?" asked Tifa.

"Vice President Rufus," Barret replied gritting his teeth. "The President's son."

The group followed the fat man outside, meeting Rufus in the flesh for the first time. He looked nothing like his father. He was slender-framed with long blonde hair, sharp features and penetrating blue eyes that could freeze molten lava. His expression was conceited, his lips slightly upturned as if he was trying not to laugh at his father's untimely demise.

"…So," he began. "Sephiroth was actually here." He scoped the group with his piercing, judging stare. "…By the way. Who are you guys?"

"I'm Cloud, former SOLDIER First Class!" he announced determinedly.

"I'm from AVALANCHE!" Barret declared, waving his fists in the air.

"Same here!" Tifa proclaimed.

"…a flower girl from the slums," Aeris said demurely.

"A research specimen," Red finished.

"What a crew," Rufus replied sardonically. "Well, I'm Rufus. The President of Shinra, Inc."

"You only President, 'cause yer old man died!" Barret thundered.

"That's right. I'll let you hear my new appointment speech." He cleared his throat just like his father used to do when he was preparing a long talk. "…Old man tried to control the world with money. It seems to have been working. The population thought that Shinra would protect them. Work at Shinra, get your pay. If a terrorist attacks, the Shinra army will help you. It looks perfect on the outside. But, I do things differently. I'll control the world with fear. It takes too much to do it like my old man. A little fear will control the minds of the common people. There's no reason to waste money on them."

"He likes to make speeches just like his father," whispered Tifa.

Cloud turned to Barret.

"Get outta this building with Aeris!" he mouthed.

"What?"

"I'll explain later! Barret! This is the real crisis for the Planet!"

"The hell's that supposed to mean?" he asked with a puzzled expression on his face.

"I'll tell you later! Just take my word for it now! I'll go after I take care of him!"

"Awright, Cloud!"

The team darted back into the office, leaving Cloud and Rufus alone outside on the balcony.

To be continued…