By: ShinRa Bleeding Beauty & General Quistis
Disclaimer: Do you really think we own Final Fantasy VII, Squaresoft and its characters? :(
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Elena, Palmer, Reno, Heidegger, Hojo, Reeve,Scarlet and Rude were having their lunch.
"No progress?" Heidegger asked.
"Not really… there are still no commands from President Rufus." Scarlet replied with a glum look on her face.
Heidegger frowned. "Gyahahahaa! You gotta be kidding me! I thought he already said it last night?" he asked in disbelief.
"He revoked it just this morning." Hojo told them with a keen smile on his face before taking a sip of water.
The others fell silent until Heidegger broke it with a laugh. "Gyahahaha! Well then what did you do all morning? Sit around and stare into empty space? Where is the President, is he sick or something?" he asked.
"No, he asked us to go to the jewelry store and bought some girly jewelry. Kya~h…" Scarlet muttered glumly with a snotty look on her face.
Heidegger fell silent. "Jewelry?" he asked.
"A pearl bracelet, a silver bangle with a heart charm… and a silver necklace with the ShinRa crest engraved in front of the heart-shaped pendant." Elena explained with a weak smile on her face.
"What is he going to do with those things? Is he courting someone?" Heidegger asked.
"More like, courting something… he's giving it to the corpse!" Palmer snapped as he raised his fork in protest.
"A corpse?" Heidegger repeated in disbelief.
"Looks like you did not report to President Rufus this morning, huh, Heidegger? He told every single one of us to watch out for Sephiroth and after he did so, he explained why he is revoking all plans." Reeve said before lowering his gaze to his custard cake.
"Because he did not call for me. Tell me, Reeve, what's his explanation? It better be good and should be proper for that mature mind of his!" Heidegger snapped.
"He said that he has other plans as of now…" Reeve stated flatly.
"What other plans?" Heidegger asked.
"Reviving the corpse that Scarlet was talking about awhile ago." Hojo butt in.
All eyes turned to him.
"Oh great… what does that corpse have to do with anything regarding President Rufus's plans? It's only Tifa Lockheart!" Heidegger said airily as he pounded on the table, surprising Elena and Scarlet.
"That's the answer. It's only Tifa Lockheart," Hojo pointed out with a keen smile on his face before he gobbled up a piece of sliced beef. They waited until he was able to swallow it and he started talking again. "He encouraged me to revive the girl… though I can only do that by cloning her. However, he doesn't want me to clone her, so I just decided to…"
"Oh don't tell me you're going to make a Frankenstein-like monster out of that girl?" Reeve asked with a disgusted look on his face, cutting Hojo.
Hojo faced him. "No. I am to use the energy from Planet to revive her." he said with an evil look on his face before he stood up. "However, it's going to take long before she opens her eyes again… But look at her now, the paleness is gone. The color has returned to her face… and she looks more radiant than ever! I've already started with it this morning." He said.
"How long will it take?" Heidegger asked.
"Soon… I'll have my own way…" Hojo replied before he left.
"I tell ya, that guy's nuts!" Reno told Elena.
"The next thing we'll know, President Rufus is going to marry that corpse…" Scarlet thought miserably as she slouched.
"You seem restless, Scarlet," Reeve said.
"I am restless, Reeve. We can't just let Rufus have his own way with that girl! This could bring about the downfall of ShinRa if he succumbs to this insanity of his!" she snapped.
"Scarlet's right… why would President Rufus even fall in-love with…with a dead girl?" Elena asked with a disgusted look on her face.
"But Hojo said that he's going to revive her," Reno said.
Rude was silent, just listening to their conversation. "I wonder what will happen? Sephiroth is still on the loose…" he thought silently as he stared blankly at his food.
***
"I never knew that you're such a vulnerable creature, Rufus ShinRa," Sephiroth thought silently as he watched silently from outside the window of Tifa's room.
Rufus was seated beside Tifa's body, inserting the silver bangle bracelet with the heart charm on her right wrist. He had this cold look on his face but his blue eyes reflected gentleness… that side of him that had long disappeared ever since his mother died.
Sephiroth turned his green eyes to the dead girl. "It's such a good thing killing you; you are such a big help for me," he said as he licked his lips, and then turned back to Rufus. "Fortunately, this Prince had fallen in-love with you. I could use you to delay his plans and go on with mine…" he thought silently with an evil smile on his face as he moved closer to the window to get a better view of Tifa and Rufus, but he moved away again when Rufus instantly turned his gaze to the window, sensing some movement.
Rufus narrowed his eyes as his frown deepened before turning back to Tifa, touching her hand with his.
Sephiroth wanted to laugh but he stopped himself. "The things that people do when they're in-love," he muttered before fixing his gaze on Tifa. He smiled evilly at her. "I could've just taken you away in the first place…" he said before finally leaving…
