By: General Quistis
Disclaimer: I neither own Final Fantasy 7 nor the characters. Duh. I don't own anything…but the story plot…
Author's Note: I'm so sorry if there's this OOC tendency for this fic… I have to transform their personalities… like Cloud turning evil whatsoever… -.-' Please forgive meh… ;_;
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Chapter Eleven
"I'm beginning to think that the boy is suspecting something…" Heidegger told Scarlet, Palmer and Hojo.
"Kyah… what made you say that?" Scarlet asked before taking a sip of coffee.
"Gyah… I saw him sign some papers… I could've sworn the first letter he wrote was 'C' instead of 'R', and he stopped suddenly and then changed the 'C' to 'R'… and instead of taking me with him and the Turks, he took Reeve! Gyah… he could be suspicious of something already… Gyah…" he explained with a look of discomfort on his face.
"If Scarlet did not snatch the syringe, he would still be Rufus ShinRa and not Cloud Strife," Hojo pointed out with a mocking stare.
"Kyah! Shut the fuck up, you old geezer!" she snapped angrily.
"Maybe it's just about time we tell him the truth," Palmer suggested.
Everyone was silent.
Scarlet shook her head and stood up. "Kyah… I'll go check the new weapon that he told me to design…" she said miserably before leaving the cafeteria.
***
Reeve and the Turks stared in awe at Rufus and Cloud.
Cloud looked away from them and turned his gaze to the window. "I've been suspecting about my true identity ever since you took me to that big house in Nibelheim… I was sure my real age is a year older than what you're telling me… and I never really realized that those 'vitamins' were for memory lapse until yesterday morning when I did not take them but instead, threw them outside." He explained with a bitter smile on his face.
Rufus shook his head in disbelief. "That Hojo… always up to something bad with that mediocre mind of his," he said with a frown on his face.
"So… you mean, we've been fooled all along?" Tseng asked, turning to Reeve.
Reeve shook his head. "We had to do this to save our necks. Rufus's father threatened us. Besides, Cloud turned out to be a perfect Rufus… well that is according to Hojo…" he stammered with a weak smile on his face.
"Hah! You call that perfect? He is continuing the destruction of Planet! You geezers told him to continue where Old Man had left off, huh?" Rufus snapped angrily.
Cloud was quiet, not really knowing how to consider Rufus's last statement; whether it's an insult or not.
Reno, Elena and Rude were staring at Rufus and Cloud, seeing their similarities and then finally understanding everything that had happened in the past. "Well… almost closely-alike… except for the hairstyle and the height… Rufus is taller than Cloud…" Elena whispered to Reno.
"And the next thing I'll hear from you, you'll be comparing who's cuter… sissy girls…" Reno muttered glumly to her.
"Shut up, Reno," she snapped impatiently before turning away and upon seeing Tifa standing beside Rufus who was seated on the couch facing all of them, she smiled.
Tifa smiled cheerfully at Elena before motioning for her to follow her to the balcony.
Elena got up and went to Tifa. "Hello. Are you Rufus's girlfriend?" she asked.
Tifa blushed at the question. "He didn't really say anything…" she told her embarrassingly.
Elena giggled. "Well, when we asked the receptionist downstairs, she said that Rufus is here with his fiancée." She said with a wink.
Tifa was stunned. "Oh yeah… I heard him tell her that when we checked in," she said, feeling her own face getting red.
Elena smiled cheerfully at her and shrugged. "Gee, this situation is really confusing… but I think we'll get used to it, don't you think so?" she asked.
Tifa sighed heavily. "Yes, I hope so…" she trailed off when she saw the mean look in Cloud's face upon hearing Reeve's question, "So, does this mean that we need to turn over the presidency to Rufus?"
Cloud was silent for a while before standing up in protest. "No. I shall remain in the office," he said with a nasty smile on his face before he motioned for the Turks to seize Rufus and Tifa.
"What the…" Tifa had managed to say, surprised at the sudden twist of events.
Tseng, Rude and Reno, though confused, obeyed their "master". They got hold of Rufus, immediately putting handcuffs on his wrists.
Reeve was stunned as he stood up, looking at Cloud in disbelief. "Cloud, I…" he stammered.
"It's RUFUS! I'm still the President of ShinRa no matter what happens, do you hear?" Cloud snapped angrily.
"You're crazy!" Rufus snapped angrily at him.
Cloud just sneered at him before turning to Elena. He raised his eyebrows at her. "What the hell are you doing, Elena? Get her!" he snapped before sneering at Tifa.
"Tifa, run away!" Rufus commanded.
Tifa shook her head at first, but Elena had given her a discreet nudge which urged her to just obey Rufus. She pushed Cloud and Reeve away from her path, punching Cloud's lower abdomen as she did so.
"Ow… shit!" Cloud cursed angrily.
"Run away!" Rufus shouted at Tifa.
Tifa took one last look at Rufus before she got out of the room.
"What the hell are you doing?! Go after her!" Cloud told Elena and Reeve.
The two took a moment before they let the command register in their minds. With that, they ran off.
Rufus tried to break free from the grasps of the three male Turks. "Let go of me! Don't you know who I am?!" he demanded angrily.
Cloud smiled haughtily at Rufus. "It's such a shame… your fault that this happened! If it weren't for you running away, I wouldn't be in this state…and you wouldn't be in this state!" he said mockingly.
Rufus spitted at Cloud's face.
Cloud wiped the spit off his own cheek and then punched Rufus's cheek with his clenched fist. "Next time you'll know better than to spit at my face, you imbecile!" he snapped angrily.
"At least I did not turn out to be like the ex-President!" Rufus shot back with a mean look on his face, meaning to mock and insult Cloud.
Cloud just stared at him in too much rage before turning away. "Take him to Junon," he said.
"What?!" Rufus demanded in surprise.
"You'll be interrogated and imprisoned there until further notice… but maybe I'll put you in death row if I please…" Cloud explained with a nasty smile on his face.
"President… uhm…" Reno stammered. "…pardon me, what shall I call you?" he asked Cloud.
"Rufus. I'm still Rufus. That guy's a fraud. I was just acting out a while ago, you know?" Cloud asked before heading for the door. "Let's go. Reeve probably got that bitch right now," he told them.
Rufus twitched upon hearing the adjective used to refer to Tifa, but he did not say anything. He just hoped that she got away… "Tifa, I didn't wish for this to happen…" he thought miserably as Rude forced him to walk out of the door.
***
Aerith just kept on walking around until she could feel her own feet getting numb because of the cold. She sighed and saw her breath. She smiled gently before proceeding. "Better get back home…" she thought silently before turning back with a sad look on her face. It was already 11 pm, and she knew that the others could be sleeping already, but she didn't care.
As she continued to walk, she stopped in her tracks when she saw a dark-haired girl whose hair and clothes were already dusted with lots of snowflakes. She was panting and leaning against the electric post, clenching her fists in an effort to stop herself from shivering because of the cold. Her crimson eyes reflected too much anger; their past happiness fading away. Aerith could tell that she had also been crying because of their puffiness, and upon noticing that the girl was wearing fine clothes but no winter gear, she felt a little bothered. "She's not from here…" she thought silently as she approached the girl. "Excuse me, are you okay?" she asked.
The girl turned to Aerith, her eyes narrowing in too much tiredness. "I… I…" and she just fainted.
Aerith caught her in her arms, trying to support her weight. "Oh no…" she muttered. She looked around, searching for anyone in sight.
There was no one.
"I can't just leave her here… she'll freeze to death…" Aerith realized before she decided to just go home with the girl…