7

Author's Note: Wow, I'm impressed some of you are still reading this nonsense, considering how depressing it's gotten. I'm depressed just editing this. I promise, this is the lowest point. This was planned but, more difficult than I thought to write. -_-

The Last Shred of Light

The next morning, Rufus was too preoccupied to even consider having his way with me, thank Gods. As I expected, his schedule was crammed, and he was often on a phone call.

He skipped breakfast, as I later learn, it's not his most important meal of the day. Instead, I was sitting alone at the small table in his apartment, glad to have my thoughts to myself while Reeve struggled to help him get ready. The troubled Shinra employee put a phone up to Rufus's ear as arms slipped through black sleeves and hands fastened a black leather belt.

"Yes, we'll make the announcement this Friday," he was saying, his eyes off to a wall as he listened to his public agent on the line.

I chewed quietly, glad to eat more familiar food, like toast, poached eggs and slices of ham. As I ate, I looked out to the tall windows, watching the sky brighten into a foggy pink morning over grey water. The waves were gentle today, relaxed after Weapon only yesterday, its body laid underneath all of that polluted water. Just traces of the Cannon's long nose, along with Meteor, spoiled the image, like blotches of splattered mess to a fine oil painting of a tired ocean.

Inside me, the morning sickness swelled slowly, like a lazy wave, leaving me fearful that I would have to run into the bathroom at any moment. I've already slipped once, but to do so again behind Rufus's back was going to get too exhausting quickly. Not when the man was watching me like a hawk. Even now, when I stole a glance his way, he had his hard eyes on me. He was slipping on a long and white double-breasted blazer, reminding me of a physician's white coat. Reeve wrinkled his lips as he tried to follow as close to Rufus as possible, keeping the phone to his ear as the powerful man waltzed back and forth. Rufus's fingers were much too busy buttoning his cuff links to hold the phone himself. Haven't they thought of headsets?

"No. I want the guest list for privileged families only. Not public. That's what televisions are for. Yes, I know. But they will eat it all up anyway, so what's it matter?"

Reeve tossed me worried eyes, his dark hair a little disheveled. I avoided his stare, his look always giving me one of pity or like he was silently apologizing. Carefully, I tightened my floral silk robe together around myself, mostly to conceal the dark marks on my lower neck and shoulders. Even if they hid, I thought I could feel them, the discoloration of them all sizzling over my skin like cigarette burns from Rufus's burning lips. I shoved the image away as I took another bite of toast, being earful over Rufus's conversation. The more I heard, the less I chewed, and watched the ocean some more, trying to think of a plan.

All morning, I wondered where Isaac was, worried about him. Rufus made no mention of him, and I was certain he would refuse to hear me ask.

Rufus scoffed into his phone as he ordered Reeve to hang up, and I heard upcoming footsteps to disrupt my thoughts.

"Best be done soon, my dearest. Today's schedule is full," Rufus was saying, reeling my eyes away from the morning sky. I swallowed my last bite of toast after one more, dreadful look up at Meteor, and turned to find Rufus watching me carefully. Something about his eyes, the way they analyzed my body, made me not want to react at all, just so that he could come up with nothing about what I was feeling.

I licked crust off my lips while holding a glass of clean water, watching it swirl like a little whirlpool when I swooshed it around in my hand.

"Must I go with you?" I muttered coldly, my eyes refusing to meet with his. I looked at my plate like it was more interesting than him, and grateful to have consumed most of my breakfast.

Rufus reached and took his glass mug of coffee up to his lips.

"Reeve, do you have her schedule?" He asked before taking a silent sip. As he shifted, his silver chain jingled slightly, a shimmering neck chain dancing over his black necktie every time he moved. A diamond nested on it, glowing like his eyes when they flashed up to me from his cup. I looked away before I could let such a gaze stab into my chest with a sharp icicle.

Reeve gasped as he smacked his hands around his pockets, frantically searching for something.

"Y-Yes sir! It's here, somewhere!"

He opened his navy blazer, white business shirt under it and appearing fresh for once, not a wrinkle nor stain. Reeve dug his fingers into his inner jacket's pocket for his cellphone. Upon gazing at the screen, he used his shaky fingers to navigate.

With a clearing of his throat, Reeve mentioned, "Well, there are a few meetings today as well as appointments with the tailors. Aqua needs to see about her dress at the boutique in an hour. The same time you have your fitting, too, Mr. President, with your tailor. Then there's the Aerospace Project meeting with Palmer at twelve, then a power meeting about destroying the shield at the North Crater with Scarlet and Heidegger at three." He went on and on, and just hearing it all made me feel tired, though, the shield around the North Crater perked me a little.

"A shield is at the crater?" I pried, suddenly interested. This part of me seemed foreign to both Rufus and Reeve, for they were both startled at my participation. Rufus smiled quietly as he took another sip from his mug.

"You will find out more when you come to the meeting with me."

Reeve gaped up at Rufus with distressed eyes.

"Sir, is it necessary to have Aqua involved?" He asked. I wasn't certain if he was trying to look out for me, or thought my involvement would be an issue. Either way, I couldn't figure him out as I watched him swallow nervously.

Rufus settled his mug back on the table, glass clanking against glass, and he scoffed lightly.

"What else is she going to do, Reeve? Otherwise, she'll just be bored around here," he put it flatly, and flashed his blue eyes at me while a finger rubbed under his small square of a chin.

"Don't you agree, Aqua?"

Rufus's sudden invitation made me stiffen in my chair, not disagreeing, but also hating the idea of agreeing with him as well. I fluttered my eyes away from his smoldering gaze as I muttered, "Y-Yes."

Rufus chuckled lightly, and turned to Reeve.

"As far as the dress shopping goes… Reeve, how comfortable are you going with Aqua?"

Reeve's eyes widened, so stunned, his phone grazed over his pocket instead of being tucked in it.

"Sir?"

Rufus gave me a look as he told him, "She needs someone familiar with her today. I don't deny that." He smiled a little at my surprised expression, and I regretted showing it clearly, but it just leaked unexpectedly. His hand reached, touching my cheek, and I pressed my lips together when his fingers felt cold and mannequin like against my skin.

"I hope you are as excited as I am about our wedding," Rufus whispered, trying to meet my eyes with his, but I refused, tossing mine towards the murky day behind the windows.

"Excited" I muttered flatly.

He smirked, as though he thought this was all an exciting game to him. I'm just playing hard to get, and he seemed thrilled by my cold behavior. Rufus knew exactly what I've been thinking about, and he enjoyed how I held it all in, avoiding the topic of Isaac. He knew I was aware I wasn't going to get anything out of him, or perhaps I would just make it worst. Under the table, I clenched a fist.

"A wedding at a time like this? Doesn't it seem insensitive?" I muttered, fuming.

Rufus chuckled. His phone rang, but Reeve was already on it, taking the call.

"It will merely distract the public, give them something to be excited about. At this point, we all want some sort of distraction from Meteor. This is a perfect time. To give them all this lovely thing called hope," the President preached sarcastically, and his lips leaned in. I scoffed when I endured his kiss on my cheek.

And then there was a soft whisper in my ear.

"I plan to try again with you this evening. If you want him to live, you will let me inside," he sweetly warned. Reeve was unaware, too busy with his phone call, so his voice was just a background noise behind Rufus's warning. I then understood why Rufus seemed to be kind to me this morning, to let me have whatever breakfast I wanted, to be accompanied by Reeve and finally invited to a meeting.

I threw Rufus a disgusted look, and that seemed to widen his smile.

"Isn't it tradition to wait until after the wedding?" I snapped.

Rufus's hand wandered down my neck, fingers toying with the edge of my robe.

His eyes burned through the silk cloth, his imagination helping him sort out what laid behind it.

"Nothing wrong with making a head start," he chirped, leaving it at that.

My teeth clenched, when I began to grow hot. But one glance down at my bracers reminded me that I was powerless, and then I tried to relax.

Rufus saw this, and pecked my cheek with his lips again.

"Good girl."

...

"So, um, aren't you glad it's just us today?" Reeve tried, sensing my foul mood. It didn't help that we had four Shinra infantrymen as backup, Rufus's eyes and ears on me and Reeve.

I sighed, my gaze sinking over the asphalt road.

"Sure, Reeve," I muttered, not really desiring his forced banter. I almost missed the Cait Sith suit and the fortune-telling nonsense.

Along the wide streets, military vehicles motored beside the walkway. The sidewalks were fairly empty, only a few pedestrians out. It's like no one wanted to be outside, not wanting to be constantly reminded of Meteor growing over their heads. What better way to escape it than to stay inside? It made me suddenly wonder about the slums of Midgar, how distressing it must feel not to be able to see the threat coming to earth, but then again, not be reminded of it either. You could go about your day like any other, oblivious to Meteor until seconds just before impact. How blissful that would be.

My lips pressed into a hard line as I pretended not to see the threat until Junon's cannon eclipsed it with its massive barrel. Every time I inspected Meteor, it just reminded me of how much I was failing. I still had no plan, and Rufus hadn't leaked anything to me yet.

Passers gawked, stopping to stare at me as the President's fiancée, recognizing me from television. I was thankful for the black, fitting turtleneck dress to hide the marks on my skin, and tall black boots concealing most of my legs. My hair was up in a loose bun, though white strands of hair fell out of place, leaving the coastal winds to brushing it aside.

Even a few reporters showed up, which answered my question as to why I needed Shinra troops with me.

Microphones held up, many questions asked as they tried to float their arms over the sidewalk rails, their busy feet shuffling them out there on the street as vehicles honked with irritation.

"A few minutes of your time to talk about freeing your friends from execution."

"What will you and Rufus do to stop Meteor?"

"Is there going to be a wedding before Meteor?

"What is Rufus like as a lover?"

By the time the questions became more absurd, troops shoved reporters back and gave warnings, rifles out and loaded.

I kept quiet, passing shops and cafes to one side of the city. Reeve tried to read my expression as he walked next to me, no longer trying to make small talk when he saw how depressed I've become. My eyes remained glued to the sidewalk, feeling my large hoop earrings tap against my cheeks like thin ice cubes, reminding me of Rufus's lips. I shuddered, along with a sigh. I've been doing that a lot, sighing.

It wasn't until the troops stayed outside the wedding dress boutique, shoving away reporters behind a tall glass window, that I was finally alone with Reeve.

Unfortunately, to get a chance to speak to him in private, I must do so while trying on wedding dresses. Reeve sat on one of the white leather couches, watching quietly while he was left to his thoughts or on a phone call.

I stood over a small pedestal, like some kind of figurine trapped in place, and looked at myself in the mirror.

The dressmaker gasped excitedly, her hands squeezing her round cheeks into her lips.

"You look beautiful, my Lady," she raved, pins at the ready in her hands.

I frowned.

There was this odd recall happening, trying on wedding dresses like I did for my upcoming wedding with Isaac. He and I were supposed to get married just shy of two weeks before we fell into this world. I've fretted over many white dresses from many boutiques and recycled clothing stores, pondering if I should get something I could afford or just rent.

Now I just didn't care.

If I did, I knew this dress wasn't for me. The skirt was much too ruffled and long, too elegant for my taste. The long satin sleeves hugged my arms, and the deep v-neckline was too low, even if slightly accent with soft lace.

The tailor saw my expression and her wide eyes blinked with jitters.

"I can find something better than that, don't worry my Lady," she fretted, thinking that my displeasure was from the dress and not situational.

With her feathery feet in high heels, she shuffled away to pick another dress from a distant clothes rack.

Finally, I was alone with Reeve.

It wasn't an ideal place, surrounded by racks and racks of white dresses, a crystal chandelier over my head, and a few white couches surrounding us. There was a flute of champagne on a glass table, but again, I refused the drink, leaving Reeve to gladly take it for himself. He chugged it all in one gulp, including taking the strawberry into his mouth.

Over the mirror, I watched him as he set his glass down, sighing happily from the quick kick of buzz, while his other hand clutched to his cellphone like it was his child.

"Reeve," I called, my voice surprisingly fragile.

I caught him gasping, almost dropping his phone.

"Yes?" He finally took note of me, and settled his phone into his lap.

I sighed, turning my head slowly over my white shoulder at him.

One more careful look around the dress shop, just to be certain we were alone, and then I had to ask.

"Where's Isaac?"

Reeve swallowed, his hands squeezing around his phone. His eyes dodged my stare, blinking back to hide a worried expression that I've already caught.

"He's in a temporary position," Reeve hushed, though his explanation was vague.

I crossed my arms as I spun to face him, the long skirt of the dress lazily following, though it took most of the floor around the stand, like soft snow.

"What does that mean?"

Reeve looked up at me, finally taking note of the dress, and he sighed, eyes glued to the long skirt like it was supposed to be a dream to gaze at, but instead, it just seemed to add him stress. He suddenly appeared drained, dark circles easily detected under his eyes, and darted his sleepy look to the side.

"It means he's occupied for the moment, taking on Rufus'a discipline for an extensive period in the lab," he tried.

I felt cold, picturing Isaac dissembled in a lab with Hojo, picked and prodded like a toy broken for Hojo's suppressed childhood purposes.

"Could I see him?"

"Here we are, another with an even longer skirt. I can, of course, add more lace over it," the designer squealed. Her arms gently carried an enormous bundle of a white dress, and set it up in my dressing room. I fumed gently at the interruption, and continued with Reeve, detached from the dresses. The designer maneuvered through the jungle of dresses once more, leaving me to step down from the stand, and in high white heels, walked over to Reeve. He stood abruptly, eyes large at the sight of me walking closer.

I asked again, "Could I see him?"

Reeve licked his dry lips, his hands tight around his phone as I imagined his thoughts begging for a phone call to interrupt my demand, but when nothing rang, he sighed, shoulders sagged.

"I-I can't. It's too risky. If Rufus finds out, I may lose my job," he stammered.

I blinked back a bewildered look, shocked that Reeve even cared about his job.

"Is that so terrible, losing your job?" I asked flatly.

Reeve gasped, not expecting to be asked such a question, like the idea was totally absurd. He loosened his red tie when I walked even closer, dragging a white river along as the skirt crinkled behind me.

Before he could even come up with an answer to that difficult question, which I'm confident, he made no time to think about before, I gently wrapped my satin arms around his shoulders. Slowly, I buried my fragile face into his shirt, ready to spill tears.

"Please," I begged, about to break.

Reeve held his breath, taken aback by my fragile state, how my rose perfume intoxicated him, along with my soft hold. How often did he touch someone? When was the last time he was held? His hands shook as they laid gently on my waist, his body tense against me. I knew my closeness would easily influence his mind, but I also longed to be near a friendly face, someone who's stuck in this mess as much as I was.

Alone for a moment, I heard Reeve sigh through his teeth, his chest rising and falling stiffly like he rarely took deep breaths, and ducked his forehead over the top of my head.

"I can't guarantee it, but I will try, before the three o' clock meeting," he whispered.

I closed my eyes tight, and a few tears leaked.

"Thank you," I breathed.

Reeve grew comfortable, his arms curling around my waist loosely, and he took advantage of the human contact, his cold body warming up to it, and he didn't seem to want to let go.

Very quietly, he uttered, "I'm sorry for all the times I've pushed you and Cloud apart," like he's been holding it in for weeks.

I said nothing, knowing that his apology wasn't going to change anything. I opened my fragile eyes to the dark shadows of Reeve's tie and shirt, and silently wished it was back to old times. To adventuring across the inhabitant lands, sleeping in tents and inns, making camp fires, sharing stories and star gazing.

Memories of as not so distant past were beginning to feel far away, slipping through my fingers like sand, until it was almost like a dream.

...

"I can't believe you suckered me into this," Reeve was saying as we walked into a large freight elevator. He took out a keycard from his pocket, swiped it at a sensor, and pressed a few keys along the control panel.

Back in my black turtleneck dress, I crossed my arms and muttered, "Let's just say we're even after this."

"Deal," Reeve grunted, and the doors slid shut.

The elevator hummed noisily, taking us down. It was just a bare metal box. I've could've sworn the deeper we headed towards earth, the colder it got, when I began to wrap my arms around myself.

Reeve crossed his arms, his head low.

"My job, it's my life," he began, taking advantage of the quick silence to vent to me. I perked, staying quiet to hear what he had to say.

"I don't know how to live any other way. For ten years, I've always envisioned a city a little like Midgar, running without reactors, living off the land, and there would be no plates to divide the upper and lower class. Just a flourishing city."

His eyes sparkled, picturing the utopia that swelled in his thoughts.

"It was supposed to be Neo-Midgar. A new city built on top of where the Planet's energy is bountiful!"

A loose hand of his curled into a fist, and his thick eyebrows narrowed.

"But I know now, Rufus doesn't see it like I do. None of them do," Reeve hissed through his teeth.

"Shinra never listened to me, and now I'm basically picking up the mess after Rufus. Running his dry cleaning, taking his calls, making his appointments. My job with public relations was nothing but a joke. They used me to plant false security among the people of Midgar, having them dream of a place that will never develop after all. I just…" he sighed all the hate out of him. "I hate it," he finished, sounded internally exhausted.

Reeve closed his eyes tight, ready to punch the doors, for he lifted his fist, but at the last second, it slumped to his side as he exhaled slowly.

"I'm sorry, I just felt like expressing my thoughts to you," he justified, turning his head slowly to look at me. The elevator stopped.

I shook my head, disregarding Reeve's small window of opportunity to talk to another soul besides other Shinra members.

"It's okay," I breathed, blinking at the doors opening.

"I mean, do you even talk to anybody?" I asked, waiting for Reeve to step off first. I followed, and instantly stopped at the tunnel of fish over us.

We were under a tunnel made of glass, held together by thick metal rings and pipes. All around us, the ocean churned to life, mostly green and foggy along the ocean floor. There were a few school fish among the dark, murky fog, tiny eyes watching us behind the glass before skittering away into the unknown. I looked up, a distant glimmer of daylight and waves high over our heads.

Reeve gave me a moment to process where we were, his hands in his pockets while he blinked at a brave school of fish swimming by, funky golden scaled creatures with teeth behind fishy lips.

"No, I don't have anyone to talk to. I mean, there are a few acquaintances I try to invite, but no one really listened to me except maybe, Tseng. But he's gone now..." his shoulders dropped, along with another sigh.

"Rufus took that pretty hard. Those two were close," he muttered. Those words rang a distant bell inside me, potential leverage, bait, something I could use later if I wanted to find Rufus's weak spots. So far, the man seemed impenetrable; shallow, stiff, and cool for the most part. If he had a special place for Tseng, then I may have something to help me reveal the more real side to the President.

My hand brushed against the cold glass, still in disbelief that this whole tunnel ran underwater like some aquarium, though the sight of marine life was clouded easily by the pollution. I saw more glimpses of cans, plastic and other garbage swayed back and forth across the black sand than I did spot fish. A crushed metal can of beer clanked against the bottom of the glass, adding a soft "clunk" sound to the quiet hall. It split off into three other halls, two off in different directions, or a straight way towards the reactor that sat at the bottom of the bay. From far away, it was a monstrous shadow of towers, tanks, and tubing. Reeve tapped my shoulder to leer me to another hall, his fine shoes tapping quietly over lamented cement.

"Everyone left a little early to the meeting. Just to be safe, I'm only giving you five minutes. And then, we need to hurry to be on time," Reeve warned. Together, we walked shoulder to shoulder towards double doors, until he stopped short, and handed me a keycard. I blinked at it, seeing how its lanyard twisted around over his shaky hand.

"This is as far as I go. The cameras will be off for only a few minutes, but I won't risk it," he explained.

I took the card quickly, clutching it tight. Reeve settled a warm and yet, hard hand on my shoulder, urging me to look up into his serious eyes.

"When I tap on the door, it means you need to leave. Not a second later. Those cameras will turn back on and spot you. Understand?" He muttered. I was surprised that he could help me this much, and I tried to give him a smile, but it came up weak. It was too much effort to really try anymore.

"Thank you, Reeve," I tried.

He, too, made an attempt to smile, but his depression laid over him heavily, a man stuck in his own troubles, chained to his job, lacking a true friend, and a proper life. He could only give me a smirk.

"I'm good at hacking into security, but not that good," he gushed, trying to sound uplifting, but it came out skittish instead. I shook my head at him.

"Five minutes is all I need," I declared.

With a slip of the stolen keycard along a card reader, I triggered the doors to open. Frosted and white, they slid apart from each other, melting into thick cement, and I entered. The doors whooshed, closed behind me, and I walked into a bright, white room. Through the windows, I could see the dark green water of the sea, finding it disorienting to be underwater. No marine life fluttered to the windows, just the gurgling sounds of water and the crashing of waves forty feet above the lab.

I shivered, feeling the cold of the sea floor slip inside the room as I easily spotted what appeared to be Isaac in the back.

"Isaac?"

I stepped deeper into the large lab, my new flat shoes tapping softly. Upon closer inspection, Isaac perched loosely on a mechanical hook, floating a few inches above me like a fallen angel frozen in time, cursed in a metal body for turning his back to the heavens.

Wires and tubes spilled from the messy ceiling, many of them attached to his back, most along his spine like large wings, broken and tethered. Tubes latched into to his artificial valves along his neck where jugular arteries should be. Others secured into his other main arteries, like in his femoral, the carotid, and brachial.

Isaac's black matte arms laid out in the open, wires inside every bend. His head was slumped over his chest, not moving to a breath, simply bounded and floating there as Mako and other chemicals were slowly being pumped into him.

My hand wanted to reach, but too afraid to trigger anything. Would there be alarms? What if I dislodge a wire?

I stepped closer, looking straight up into Isaac's closed eyes, his face frozen while his loose, brown hair spilled around his face. A bright white light outline all around his frame like a halo floating above him.

"Oh, Isaac, what are they doing to you?" I fretted, my hands cupping to his cold cheeks. It felt like real skin, such a little place where he was most human. My fingers rubbed, the feel of his cheeks familiar. A finger tickled over his closed lips, dry and cracked.

"Isaac, wake up," I trembled, eyes moistening at the horrible sight of him.

He didn't move.

My shoulders shook as a tear slipped down my cheek.

"Please Isaac. I'm alone without you," I whispered. I reached and clutched to his metal hand, not caring if they were cold and hard. With effort, I squeezed his stiff fingers, expecting some kind of response, but after a full minute, I received none. My hand let go and slumped, smacked at my thigh, while my eyes lingered closely to his eyelids, waiting for them to flutter open.

"Isaac, I'm so sorry you ended up like this. I'm sorry you went after me when I fell into this world. I'm sorry for not loving you enough, for everything," I whimpered. Painfully, I fought the tears, swallowing and inhaling a shaky breath as I sniffed and suppressing it all.

One of my hands lingered to his cheek, and then to mess with his soft hair.

I stood up on the tips of my toes, and lightly, soft as a butterfly, kissed his cold, lips.

No response. I wasn't surprised. I sank, feet spilling back to the floor, the last of me my hand slipping away from Isaac's cheek. I watched him for another minute, trying to interpret the numbers on the monitors, the data displayed, the knobs and beeps, but I was lost in the maze of machinery.

One tap from behind me, and I knew my time was up. I gasped, Reeve's tapping making me release a startled breath when I've felt alone for apparently five minutes when it seemed like hours. I turned, ready to leave, but gave one last glance at Isaac over my shoulder.

He was a piece of art hanging from the ceiling like a crippled human latched into a spider's web, the hands of Shinra clutching to him for the rest of his life.

I looked away, disturbed by the image, and left. I thought he would be awake, to talk, to help me plan. But at least he wasn't shut down. He was in a "time out", that's it. I kept telling myself that as I neared the exit.

Upon opening the doors, I muttered out loud, "Okay, I'm ready," and expected to see Reeve there. However, when I lifted my gaze, passing the glass of more green water, I turned, and completely stiffened when I locked eyes with Scarlet.

She crossed her arms, her breasts easily squished together under a low cut, silky red shirt. Her short black skirt held a split so high up across her thigh, I could almost glimpse between her legs.

Her juicy red lips lifted at me, blue eyes as shimmery as her shirt.

"I've got you red-handed," she purred.

My eyes scanned the tunnel, not finding Reeve anywhere.

"Where's Reeve?" I asked, glaring at the blond woman.

She closed her eyes, a vein popping over her pale forehead.

"He's under a sleep spell, getting tucked into his little room as we speak," she explained coldly.

I tensed, feeling cornered between Scarlet and the doors.

"What do you want?" I dared ask.

Scarlet opened her eyes, and they flashed with a bit of thirst for justice.

"To come with me. We need to talk," she sneered.

"Don't we need to be in a meeting?" I reminded her cooly.

"It's just been delayed to four, thanks to my sweet persuasion. Now, let's go," she demanded, having enough loitering in the underwater tunnels. I noticed she concealed a pistol behind one of her juicy thighs, a threat hanging over my head. I thought of running towards the reactor, but I knew Scarlet couldn't kill me even if she wanted to.

"You want to shoot me, then?" I asked, not moving.

Scarlet smirked down at her weapon in her hand.

"I can either stun and drag your ass to our meeting place, or you follow me. Take your pick," she snapped.

Sweat began to collect behind my neck as I looked at my options. To run towards the underwater reactor, or to follow Scarlet?

What did she want to talk about?

"Well?" She was losing patience, her stun gun up and ready. It looked like any other pistol with a Mako cartridge clip inside it, leaving me not to trust her in the slightest.

I lifted my hands up and sneered at her, "Okay, I'll go with you."

We entered the empt elevator when Scarlet muttered, "I know Rufus made sure that I won't ever be alone with you. He's cautious as he is paranoid."

Her black high heels tapped impatiently on the metal floor.

"That ignorant bastard. Never saw me as a potential wife. I'm the same age as you, for fuck's sake. I know how to run this company. But no, he just wants fucking kids," she growled, flashing hate towards me.

That's what this was about.

I crossed my arms.

"You're welcome to try and change his mind," I perked, being both sincere and sarcastic.

Scarlet hissed as she channeled her pent-up energy into her hand, smacking the numbers on the panel. Doors slid shut, and then the elevator began to ascend.

"Trust me, I've tried," she replied coldly. "He barely glances at me. But, I suppose, better as his partner in crime than his cow."

I flinched with that painful word, even though, in a way, I felt as such.

"Do you like Rufus?" I put flatly, though, I knew it was much more than that. Scarlet most likely didn't like anybody. She seemed hungry for power, not for someone's heart.

She laughed to herself.

"Oh, for Planet's sake, no," she chuckled.

Well, that made two of us.

"You wanted to talk about relationships that required such drastic measures, like abducting Reeve and threatening me?" I ranted, and Scarlet's slim shoulders shook a little to her small laugh.

"Oh, my, my, my. There's more to it than that," she warned, and the elevator dinged, opening its doors to the highest floor. Scarlet walked out first, her shoes tapping loudly when they landed hard on concrete. Warm, muggy air, blew inside the elevator.

"This way, to the Airfield," she demanded.

I stepped outside, breathing in more Mako smog and metal. The afternoon brought in a grayish-pink kind of day, the sky lightly screened with thin clouds. So thin, when I looked over my shoulder, I found Meteor behind a translucent cloud, watching me like a giant eye in the sky.

The airfield was deserted.

Only parked helicopters and a few small planes littered the place, but no bodies were around. Scarlet continued to tell me where to go, and to my alarm, near the edge of the airport.

There was only the crashing of waves far below, to the shores of Junon's bay and neglected fishing town under the metal city.

My feet stopped a few feet away from the edge, trembling.

One glance at my arms with the special bracers, and Scarlet laughed with a high-pitched wail.

"A slave to your future husband, I see. No magic to help you. No man to save you. It's just you and me. Woman to woman," she whispered. I stayed quiet, thinking of a way to talk her out of what she was capable of doing. I glanced behind her, finding no view of windows nor towers. No one could see us up here.

No witnesses. She planned it this way.

"Reeve will wake up and know what's going on," I warned Scarlet, in case she really was considering pushing me over the edge.

She held out her stun gun and aimed it at me.

"I doubt it. My men ambushed him before he even saw me. No one knows we're together. That's why none of my men are here. I knew those cameras were off, and now no one knows it's just us."

My heart began to beat too fast, and I put a hand to it, making sure its rate was still under control.

"You think having me disappear will make Rufus change his mind about you?" I dared, and Scarlet shrugged.

"It may increase my chances. But more than anything, I just feel insulted. I've heard Zero used me yesterday. He used me just to get to you."

She sliced the air with her stun gun.

He's mine!" She cried through her polished teeth.

"I've helped revive him! Not you! I've made him powerful! He belongs to me! Me!" Scarlet screeched, jabbing the end of her gun into her chest, and she bowed her head as she cackled, her eyes distant. Shiny, blond hair spilled close to her feet.

Something about her snapped, and I cautiously walked away from the ledge, hoping she wouldn't notice. But then the air cracked mightily, and suddenly, my leg collapsed beneath my weight. I gasped, falling on my hands and smacked at the concrete hard, a foot dangling over the edge. Quickly, I pulled it back, and looked up at Scarlet quickly becoming deranged. From a gust of warm wind, Her perfect blond hair blew over her perfect skin, hiding her face, but revealed between the blond curtain, her eyes told me a different story. Something unfurled behind those eyes, a woman going mad.

They widened, her gun still aimed to stun more of my body parts if she wanted to.

"Why? What's so special about you? Why do my two favorite men look at you over me? What do you have that I don't?"

Another shot, and my arm went numb. I cried, like hundreds of bees were buzzing inside my arm, and limped my head over it.

"It isn't youth," and she shot again.

A jolt and then my other arm slumped.

"It can't be looks," and my neck was shot next, a stunned bullet latched on. My throat was closing up like someone was putting a hand around it. I wheezed, breathing weakly to the odd sensation of not feeling my ability to swallow.

My eyes flashed to my paralyzed arms, the bracers there to remind me that I was incapable of defending myself. I could roll off the ledge and escape Scarlet's wrath, but having half my body paralyzed would risk me drowning, if the impact against the water didn't kill me first.

"Maybe you're just a slut," Scarlet softened, her eyes cool again, and her crazy side disappeared. Another shot paralyzed my leg, and I wheezed out a scream.

"S-stop," I tried, my voice in distraught. Was the sparks of the latched on bullets going to harm my child? Not wanting to find out, I tried to turn my back to Scarlet, rolling onto my side and facing nothing but the grim sea.

I felt her heel wedged along my back, and I began to panic, but unable to do nothing but moan and gargle from my paralysis.

Scarlet laughed at my pathetic state.

"Look at you. This is so wonderful. You'll fall into the ocean and disappear. It will take weeks to find your body. By that point, we all just may die anyway. Why wait? The world is slowly going mad at the anticipation."

I was only inches from being rolled off, squirming under Scarlet's heel as my eyes widened at the ocean far below us. Wind blew back my hair, and then one hoop earring jingled off my ear and disappeared, getting a head start to what I was about to endure. My breathing intensified, booming through my chest in quick little bursts.

Maybe this was for the best. I tried, didn't I? Or possibly, I walked into it, half-heartedly wanting Scarlet to end my life for me, an assisted death. I could join Cloud and Aerith in the Lifestream. I could escape this mad world.

Watch over Tifa.

I closed my eyes hard.

I'm sorry, Cloud.

Stop Sephiroth. Save the Planet so that you may give birth to your new child growing inside you. Cloud would want that.

Aerith's voice snapped my small heart in half as I trembled, fighting back tears.

I'm so sorry, Aerith.

Scarlet's heel pulled back, and I awaited her to kick me over, tensing to it coming.

Five seconds.

Nothing.

Ten seconds.

Still nothing.

I fluttered my eyes open and wheezed as I twisted my paralyzed body around, lying on my back, and looked up at Scarlet. She was standing in a rigid fashion. Her eyes were remote, up to the sky and wide as I've ever seen them. Her mouth laid open, her bottom red lip trembling. And then, when her hands opened up, her stun gun clanked on the ground by her feet. Her hands shook as they crept up to her breasts, and there, to where her heart pulsed, blood escaped. It oozed, blending into the color of her shirt. I could hardly see it, but knew it was there as she sucked in a voiceless gasp, her fingers stiff over the wound.

I quickly sat up, confused.

"Wha-" Scarlet gasped, her eyes large with shock. She trembled as she turned around, and in my vision, I saw Isaac standing right behind her, and let out a gasp.

He gave her a cold, lifeless look.
"Z-Zero?" Scarlet whimpered, her blond hair falling out of its elegant ponytail.

Without a word nor emotion, Isaac's dark metal fingers gripped Scarlet's white neck, causing her to gurgle her whines. He squeezed, causing her to hiss like a chew toy, and her heels lifted off the ground.

Scarlet's fine, red nails scratched at Isaac's metal arm, trying to kick him with flimsy effort as blood dripped from her shirt, trailing down her skirt and along her stocking covered legs. Isaac took three steps forward, and held Scarlet in a choke hold over the edge. Black heels fell, blood following from dripping off Scarlet's feet.

I was petrified, wondering if Isaac was himself or possessed into a killing machine, seeing the Mako flare from his eyes. His mech suit glimmered with glowing aqua lines all around it as tiny squares, as though he was blazing from the inside. From where the tubes attached to his vessels, Mako and white blood leaked, dripping down his suit. A few wires and tubes stayed stuck to him like vines, as though he pulled his way to freedom from the machines, left with open catheters dragged with him.

Isaac's face darkened. "I've always wanted to do this to you," he sneered.

Scarlet's clawing attempts weakened, her eyes fluttering to stay open while struggling to speak.

Without warning, he dropped her.

I gasped, and held my breath. My eyes remained on Isaac, but he gladly watched Scarlet fall to her death, the last of her blond hair slither away from his metal fingers. He watched the whole thing with a sour expression, as though what he did to Scarlet wasn't enough for his satisfaction. Even after I was sure she splashed and disappeared into the dirty water, his eyes burned on that ocean, wishing with all his hate, that the sea would boil and burn Scarlet's body.

The numbness faded from my leg. A minute later, my arm, until finally, I was able to breathe easier, but I still shook when I couldn't stop staring at Isaac, afraid of him like we were on that ship from Junon.

The winds picked up, rattling his brown hair. And like it woke him up, he finally relaxed, his eyes half closed before turning his head to lay them upon me.

"I'm sorry you had to see that," he muttered, face pale.

I curled my arms and legs into myself, feeling cold as the winds' strength increased, blowing me away from the edge.

"How did-"

"Magic. Love. Who knows," Isaac smirked, a gentle secret behind his lips, and he knelt beside me, bending his arm over his knee.

"Can you move?"

My lips shook.

"Isaac, you just killed-" I couldn't even finish, shaking my head at him. All he did was smile sadly at me, shaking his head.

"Yeah. I know," he whispered, his eyes sinking to his hand closest to mine.

We were silent for a moment, and I took a hand to my stomach, cradling the slight pain I was getting, a cramping feeling that made me worry. Isaac saw that, lifting his eyes to meet up with mine.

"Aqua, let's get out of here. Let's find Rufus's phone to trigger those bracers off you, and head to the Forgotten City. With your powers, you can take us both back home."

It didn't sound like a suggestion, but a soft demand. He gave me a stern look, his eyes brown again, and he smiled weakly at my bewildered stare.

I lost my voice, mouth left open. When I finally registered what Isaac just suggested, I slowly shook my head, and my voice returned.

"But-" I choked, sounding a bit scratched.

"What if Rufus fails at Meteor? I could still save everyone in this world," I struggled.

Isaac quietly shook his head at me, a strange glimmer in those eyes of his. I've never seen such a gaze from him before, a gentle light. That time, his hand reached, taking mine, and squeezed delicately.

"Places perish, Aqua. Worlds die, planets die. It happens. What you need to do is save yourself, and apparently your growing child. That's more important to me than this world," he vowed, his depressing tone telling me that he was admitting to a difficult truth.

I kept quiet as my thoughts shifted, until Isaac asked in a whisper, "It's Cloud's, isn't it?"

My hand trembled in Isaac's hold, my eyes becoming wet. Very slowly, I nodded, fearful of Issac's rage spilling all of a sudden.

But he remained calm, maybe stuck in a quiet disappointment, and his eyes shifted to gaze up at Meteor. His eyebrows arched upwards.

"Then we need to go," he mentioned again.

A part of what Isaac saying was right, but...

"But you're not... I mean, your mech suit. It's not adaptable-"

A metal finger touched my lips to hush me.

Isaac smiled.

"I can last a few months if I don't exert too much. Either way, I'm not afraid anymore," he told me lovingly. My insides shivered warmly, never seeing Isaac so at peace with himself before.

I blinked, wondering if this truly was him, or a transformative persona of him. What changed? His cold, metal finger fell, and carefully, he gave me a hand to help me stand.

My legs wobbled a bit, using Isaac's arm as support, until he pulled me into him to hold me tight.

"Thank you," he whispered into my hair.

I tossed a confused gaze up to the pink sky, noticing Meteor up there, and my stomach twisted good and tight.

"For what?"

But Isaac never answered. I will never know what he thanked me for, leaving me to guess the possibilities. He just kept holding me like he knew what was coming. I gasped an inhale when I struggled to breathe, smelling the Mako escape from his suit.

His hands held my shoulders and pushed me back gently to look down at me.

"We better-" and then, unexpectedly, he stopped.

Isaac must've sensed it, or saw it in his peripheral vision, before I ever knew what was happening. I watched how his eyes expanded, mouth left open in mid-sentence, when he abruptly turned his head.

His hair whipped away from his cheeks, and then he gasped silently, stiffening.

I turned, and my hands clutched to his metal shoulders when I saw what Isaac was so fearful of.

"Not afraid of death, you say?" Rufus assured, his phone in his hand.

Isaac hissed through his teeth, ready to teleport. I could feel how his body was ready to launch when he took one step back, close to the edge. But Rufus's thumb was quicker, already over the trigger.

I screamed, "Rufus, no!" It was at the top of my lungs, breaking through the peaceful sky. A large flock of seagulls fluttered away from a nearby spot, disturbed by the sudden disturbance.

Suddenly, the life escaped from Isaac's eyes. There was nothing. No light. No Mako. Absolutely nothing but a dark fog when I whirled my head back to look into his eye sockets. The Mako lines in his suit flickered, and then, its light went out. Like a machine, Isaac was turned off. His arms slammed down at his sides, suddenly rigid. I gripped his shoulders tighter when I felt him slowly tilting back like a solid object.

"Isaac!"

He slipped away from my hold, too heavy for me to hold on to.

Instantly, tears fell, and I gripped his lifeless hand as he began to fall backwards, head first, over the edge.

"Isaac!" I screamed louder, trying to pull at his half ton weight, but I was only being taken with him.

Rufus must've rushed in because I felt his arm swoop around my waist, yanking me from falling into the sea with Isaac's shut down body. Even when Isaac disappeared, not even a splash, I still reached and cried as loud as I could, begging to jump down and save him.

"NO!" I kicked and screamed in Rufus's hold as he struggled to pull me away, fearful that I will commit suicide, until he finally let go after I bit his hand.

Isaac. It can't be. It just can't be.

My hands gripped along the ledge of concrete, my head sticking over it, and watched the water below my fluttering white hair.

No.

Just like before, Isaac's head will pop out of the water, and look up. Any second now…

"Isaac," I trembled. Waiting.

An invisible hand pressed into my chest, applying pressure until it felt too heavy to take a full breath. I had to take small, quick bursts of gasps and wheezes. My hands grew numb, fingers holding the ledge tighter until I couldn't feel them anymore.

Dreadfully, I watched how the white waves overlapped the bubbles left behind from Isaac's body, hiding the scene away like it never happened. Just wave after wave.

Waiting.

"Isaac," I cracked, all of my cells chilled. Large globs of tears blurred my vision, falling down my cheeks and dripping to meet with the ocean.

Any second…

Nothing.

My feet became numb, like I once again, was shot from Scarlet's stun gun. And then my chest lost sensation, as though my heart no longer existed. It just pumped blood, but that was it. Nothing else. I inhaled sharply, and let out a wailing cry with my eyes closed. My fists pounded on the hard surface, again and again, until they turned red and grew sore.

Not you, too, Isaac.

My arms trembled, magic trying to escape as they torched into a flickering green light. Rufus saw this, and stood back, his backup of officers and Shinra troops frozen in awe as they held out their stun guns, ready.

I growled, my whole body shaking.

The bracer to my right arm, suddenly cracked, and green light escaped.

"You," I stormed, glaring at the imaginative image of Rufus in my head, how smug he may be appeared behind me. My teeth were grinding. My entire body grew hot, and with nowhere to go, there was an uncomfortable hot "whoosh" feeling spreading down my chest, like a wave of heat falling from my head to my belly.

I gasped, sitting on my knees, and stared up at the darkening sky. Clouds gathered unnaturally, quick with purpose.

Another crack snapped on my left bracer, and then another.

The concrete broke apart under my hands, bits of pieces of it lifting with my hair.

"Bring him back," I demanded darkly, my voice not mine, but unsure as to whom it belonged to.

No answer.

I closed my eyes, and limply, with my body strangely heavy, it shook as I tried standing up, barely just over the edge when, lastly, my head stood tall on its spine. My eyes opened, and I gladly looked over my shoulder to throw them at Rufus. Winds picked up violently, throwing his hair in all directions, the ends of his white blazer smacking his thighs as he stood there while his men trembled behind him.

He glared at me as a drop of sweat slipped down his brow.

"Sir, what do we do?" one of his captains shouted.

Lightning flashed.

"Bring him back," I threatened, carefully turning my whole body over to my future husband. I curled my fist so tight, my hands were white.

Another crack.

Rufus swallowed, straightening, and stayed quiet.

Another bolt of lightning shot out of nowhere, smacking hard somewhere in the airfield. The air grew cold, until thick, snowflakes, and ice shards smacked us sideways. Pieces of ice smacked my cheeks hard, like tiny bullets, but I didn't care. My sight zoomed in on Rufus, my main target.

His hands laid calmly at his sides, still standing there, as though waiting for me to make the first move. He held his ground.

The earth began to shake, helicopters and planes rattling. Rufus kept his eyes on me, widening his stance to help him balance during the quake.

"Sir! Your orders!" The captain screamed, wobbling with his comrades.

But Rufus said nothing.

I opened my palms to the blizzard, strangely not cold. It could be because heat began to gleam from my palms, fire slowly churning over my skin, anticipating the bracers to snap right off so that all of my magic, at once, could release.

But Rufus was one step ahead of me, knowing how well those bracers actually worked. They cracked and bruised under my high demands, but to my disappointment, they never broke away. Like a bird locked in a cage of fire, I fluttered my wings back and worth with nowhere to go, trapped with my own powers rammed inside me until it sizzled away. The suppressed magic buried somewhere deep in the dark pit of my soul, where I too, ventured towards.

I followed it, and turned inward, never to come back out again.

Imagine being under Hojo's deep medicated sedation, but instead of being strapped to his table, I was still walking and, apparently, awake.

I coward away into my own shadowy place, curled into a tight self embrace, and left to watch behind the window of my eyes. All of my thoughts, my emotions, stayed with me there.

My body was just a solid piece of flesh, and its legs collapsed, landing on its knees.

The blizzard faded. Only speckles of rain remained. The earth soon stilled, and then the winds calmed. Nothing but a grey sky, hiding Meteor, and throwing cold rain on Junon like the Planet was weeping for me.

Oh Aqua, I'm so sorry

I thought I heard her, but it was too far away, barely to enter my dark world.

It only made me doubt my own hearing, whimpering into my knees as I saw myself lose the light in my eyes. Everything felt heavy. Everything felt numb.

At last, like a monster exhausted from pulling on its chains too hard, I sat on my knees, frozen and appearing lifeless.

There were sighs of relief from the troops, all their faces suddenly blurry to me. I found Reeve was there among the group, but his eyes were wet, his black hair glimmering from rain. Drops slipped down his forehead, merging with his tears until large globs of water spilled over his beard.

Rufus finally stepped forward, furrowing his brow.

He didn't smile as I expected him to. What did it matter?

I had no more light left in me.

Losing Aerith hit me terribly, a part of me gone forever. Losing Cloud left me barely hanging on, my pregnancy my only motivation to keep trying.

Losing Isaac…

That was the last shred of light in my damaged soul. It faded away with him, leaving me in in the dark.

52