A/N: Thanks for the reviews, everyone. I do realize, by the way, that it probably would be nigh impossible to kill a dragon with a single gunshot...well; Vincent could do it, so why not Rufus? Also, I did note that Scarlet wears black Faye-like stockings when I was playing-right before the scene where Diamond WEAPON was all like, "rawr" and tried to kill Rufus. So yeah.
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 7...
-
Rufus made a half-leap out of the general direction of a rather large amount of flame soaring towards him, landing in a deep crouch somewhere around his original left. Somehow, the Dragon seemed to just barely miss smashing and mutilating the Mako fountain, and yet seemed to be able to maim just about everything else.
Rufus Shinra wasn't much for hand-to-hand combat, and the lack of a suitable weapon around didn't really help matters. Where had he put those extra clips?
He frowned, sliding stylishly out of the way as a gnarled claw launched about three inches from his left shoulder blade's previous location. Well, he was having a dandy time leaping to and fro trying not to get impaled, but he couldn't do this forever.
A loud roar emitted from the Dragon, making the ground quake slightly. A shotgun shell stumbled out of the pocket of his inner coat.
So that's where that went!
Rufus nudged it slightly with his foot, and then kicked it into the air, allowing it to fly into the empty part of his shotgun with a slight push. Satisfied now, he stood still as the Dragon's long neck curved around. The snout stopped right in front of his face.
And it roared again.
Hair now unkempt now due to the sheer force of the Dragon's snarl, Rufus frowned slightly, raising his gun so the tip was level to the dragon's tongue and pulling the trigger.
With a quick, shrill screech of terror, the dragon reared its head in a display of agony, and then sank back onto the soil, apparently dead. There was a short silence, and Rufus plopped himself down onto the ground, weary. After a short moment or two of rest, he got to his feet and continued walking down the mountain caverns.
-There's something about being alone that makes you yearn for thrill, isn't there?-
Rufus could barely distinguish whether that was a negative comment or not, pocketing his shotgun with a frown and walking testily down the frigid mountain paths. Gone was the refined way he walked back when he was the president-and all things considered, he had a good reason to be pissed, due to the distracting "voice" in the back of his head.
It wasn't too long before his nose was filled with the dreadful scent of Nibelheim's Mako, which had faded considerably since the Meteor crisis-but not much. Rufus Shinra gingerly stepped onto the dimmed ivory brick, glancing around at a town that had been burnt to the ground around eight years ago.
He was quite a sight to behold for a former president: scuffed and tattered coats, scattered with grime and monster guts, bleeding slightly from a small cut positioned on his face. His previous scars remained stained with dried-out blood.
Needless to say, he hadn't bothered to freshen up since his encounters with Tifa and AVALANCHE.
Murmurs and whispers lingered in the air as he walked begrudgingly to the inn. The former president Shinra was in Nibelheim? What was he doing? Why was he so battered?
Rufus rolled his eyes, placing his hand on the wooden door and pushing it aside. He walked unceremoniously to the counter, smacking down a large wad of gil and stomping up to a room. Hushed mutters followed him; uninterested in dealing with people, he carefully lifted his middle finger at them and walked off.
He collapsed resignedly onto the bed with a short sigh, wondering how Strife could deal with constant walking and fighting.
There was a short sound and stumble at his door; he glared over at the sounds, and suddenly a news reporter stumbled in, followed by some freak with a camera.
"Get the hell out of my room." He sneered heatedly at the crew, left eyebrow and sapphire eye twitching violently as if he might leap to his feet and inject them with bullets directly. However, the Channel 7 group ignored the command yet seemed quite intimidated by the threat lingering in his tone. Dejectedly, he sat up, his shoulders aching slightly. "What do you want?"
"Err, sir...we just came for a-an interview...please?" the cameraman pleaded, though you could barely make out the words "please don't kill me" squeaked in an undertone.
"Request declined. I'm not famous anymore. Piss off."
The crew-except for the female reporter, who seemed to smirk with startling audacity-shrunk back slightly with his every word. Rufus made it clear with a short gesture of his hands that he had his gun in his pocket and was ready to blast them all to high hell.
"Oh, c'mon...please, Mr. Shinra?" The femme reporter made a rather impudent approach with a tone that reminded Rufus of Scarlet's feeble attempts to hit on pretty much everyone in the damn building, and the short skirt just topped it all off. She advanced, carefully placing one hand on Rufus's thigh and giving him a...suggestive smirk.
"Maybe you didn't hear me," Rufus grabbed her wrist and carefully placed it between his thumb, index finger, and middle finger, pressing down on the bone long enough for the reporter to realize how easily the president could snap her wrist bones. "Piss. Off."
The woman backed away, looking rather flabbergasted at the fact her attempt didn't work.
"Look, miss, I know I'm an attractive man, but I'm afraid two-cent whores aren't my type." Rufus stated bitterly, propping his head on the back banister of the bed. "Especially considering one shot me several times, I'm feeling a little...bitter."
"So what is your type?" the reporter queried flatly, folding her arms and glowering crossly at the ex-president.
"I don't have one. I'm a soloist." Rufus turned in his bed so his icy gaze was fixed out of the window and into the feeble town-away from the evil news crew. "And I feel so inclined to ask...why aren't you gone from my room?" Silence followed that statement, and the fist visible to the crew clenched slightly, rather irately. "I'll give you four seconds to leave before I reach for my gun."
One.
Two.
The crew scrambled out of the room, eyes widened in fear of the irritated Rufus; he smirked slightly-he still had an imposing figure towards the common people. Without bothering to remove his boots or coats, he fell asleep without much warning.
And he dreamt.
-
"I don't get why we have to look for him." Cloud snorted derisively, yet trying to sound nonchalant as if he was merely stating a point-he was horrible at it. "The guy can take care of himself."
"Would you give it a REST already?" Yuffie barked at Cloud, annoyed by his constant rambling about how little he cared. Why did she have to get stuck with the pokey-headed guy who had the nerve to complain!? They stood on the shore overlooking the southern oceans-directly across from Cosmo Canyon. If Rufus had taken a route through Nibelheim, he would eventually have to cross the long, shallow river between Nibelheim and the Canyon. And they would be there.
"...I'm sorry, Yuffie." Cloud slumped despairingly to the ground, gazing at the canyons where Tifa had been so many weeks and times ago-when she was first missing. "It's just... I don't know. I just don't really..."
"Yeah, whatever." Yuffie mumbled apathetically, folding her arms and staring at the vast ocean that spread before her. She loved the beach if she was there for vacation purposes. "I understand." Yuffie added as an afterthought, deciding to spare the guy a shred of consideration. "Just don't get all whiney on me. Get your act together."
Cloud stared vacantly at a large canyon face and nodded, understanding her meaning and yet still slightly depressed over this turn of events.
She sighed, the saltine breeze uplifting her boyish hair-still imbedded with those damn green highlights Elena had "blessed" them with. A few things remained from the little attempt: she decided to keep the lip-gloss, but not much else.
Ah, the café at Cosmo Canyon was so close-if only she could abandon her post for just a little, just to sneak a drink...
A grenade stumbled down at Cloud's feet, and he blanched slightly. Crap.
He and Yuffie dove to the side, avoiding a short explosion; the ninja sighed with relief, but then stared, mystified for a few moments, by a pair of shoes sitting neatly in front of her face. "What in the..." She glanced up. SOLDIER. A few dozen pairs of feet also shuffled out from there. Surrounded. Double crap.
"Kyahahahaha!"
That incredibly stupid laughter could only come from one person.
"Scarlet! You stupid, ugly old GEEZER-" Yuffie leapt to her feet in one swift motion, shaking her fist imperiously at the SOLDIER surrounding her; her misty eyes narrowed in intense dislike. "What're you and these dense little cronies doing here!?" The two had met only a few times: running into each other during the cancelled execution of Tifa and Barret, and fighting Proud Clod. And she despised the woman instantly.
"Shut up!" barked the woman, her expression curling into a sneer. "I-"
"How did you know we were here!?" Yuffie screamed, cutting off Scarlet abruptly and flailing her arms. "There isn't a SPY or anything, is there!? What're you planning? Why'd you try and steal that Mako storage!?"
"You're in no position to be asking questions, brat!" Scarlet pointed one finger at Yuffie, almost accusingly, a mix between anger and amusement flickering on her sallow expression. Of course, this gesture lost its...purpose...when Yuffie realized what was on her neck. And the ninja started snickering-then giggling-and then finally nearly collapsed with laughter.
"Wow, Tifa almost broke your neck! You look so STUPID!" Yuffie managed between giggles.
Scarlet wore a white Styrofoam neck brace, complete with little rubber attachments.
Immediately, Yuffie had to begin a sort of river dance, having to prance around rapid gunfire at her feet as ordered by Scarlet herself. "God, I hate you." Cloud, however, remained silent with thought. His eyes cautiously moved into Scarlet's green-flecked ones.
"Why are you commanding SOLDIER?" he asked flatly. "Why did you attempt to steal the Mako storage back at the warehouse in Midgar?" Scarlet was quiet for once in her life, pondering whether answering any of his questions was a good idea.
"Because I need it, of course! Kyah...why else?"
The Ultima Weapon was slowly removed from its bonds on Cloud's back, shimmering in all its glory. The spiky-headed swordsman glared frigidly at the SOLDIER around him, ready to cut them down...
"Did you know THE Rufus Shinra is in Nibelheim?" Scarlet put a rather nasty emphasis on "the". Yuffie raised an eyebrow, as did Cloud, who lowered his blade apprehensively with a slight frown. "Just crawled out of some random hole, didn't he? And I thought for sure he would die...kyahah...it's just rotten luck he got out alive." She placed one hand on her waist, her thigh pushing out to reveal metal-braced black stockings. "I know you aren't too fond of the idea, either, Strife! Kyahahahaha!"
Cloud simply snarled in response.
"I'm being generous enough to give you a choice," sneered Scarlet, hand clenching on her hip. "Either you come quietly or I'll be forced to use...kyah...force." Cloud made a movement to shout a rather vehement response, but Yuffie clamped one hand over his mouth and nodded slowly.
"We'll come, you old hag. Just don't shoot." The last three words were spoken in a fake, high-pitched tone that Scarlet obviously made no effort to pay attention to.
"What're you DOING!?" Cloud hissed in an undertone.
"Put away your weapon! We're gonna have to be a little sneaky, okay!? Deal with it!" Yuffie whispered back, tucking her conformer onto her waist; Cloud sighed heavily, knowing there was no argument, and sheathed the Ultima Weapon.
"There you go." Scarlet smirked as two SOLDIERs grasped Yuffie and Cloud by the underarms and dragged them towards a Shin-Ra helicopter, Yuffie struggling and shouting profanities like your traditional unwilling prisoner. Cloud rolled his eyes at her.
"You were the one who suggested this."
"Yeah, well, I still hate it!"
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 7...
-
Rufus made a half-leap out of the general direction of a rather large amount of flame soaring towards him, landing in a deep crouch somewhere around his original left. Somehow, the Dragon seemed to just barely miss smashing and mutilating the Mako fountain, and yet seemed to be able to maim just about everything else.
Rufus Shinra wasn't much for hand-to-hand combat, and the lack of a suitable weapon around didn't really help matters. Where had he put those extra clips?
He frowned, sliding stylishly out of the way as a gnarled claw launched about three inches from his left shoulder blade's previous location. Well, he was having a dandy time leaping to and fro trying not to get impaled, but he couldn't do this forever.
A loud roar emitted from the Dragon, making the ground quake slightly. A shotgun shell stumbled out of the pocket of his inner coat.
So that's where that went!
Rufus nudged it slightly with his foot, and then kicked it into the air, allowing it to fly into the empty part of his shotgun with a slight push. Satisfied now, he stood still as the Dragon's long neck curved around. The snout stopped right in front of his face.
And it roared again.
Hair now unkempt now due to the sheer force of the Dragon's snarl, Rufus frowned slightly, raising his gun so the tip was level to the dragon's tongue and pulling the trigger.
With a quick, shrill screech of terror, the dragon reared its head in a display of agony, and then sank back onto the soil, apparently dead. There was a short silence, and Rufus plopped himself down onto the ground, weary. After a short moment or two of rest, he got to his feet and continued walking down the mountain caverns.
-There's something about being alone that makes you yearn for thrill, isn't there?-
Rufus could barely distinguish whether that was a negative comment or not, pocketing his shotgun with a frown and walking testily down the frigid mountain paths. Gone was the refined way he walked back when he was the president-and all things considered, he had a good reason to be pissed, due to the distracting "voice" in the back of his head.
It wasn't too long before his nose was filled with the dreadful scent of Nibelheim's Mako, which had faded considerably since the Meteor crisis-but not much. Rufus Shinra gingerly stepped onto the dimmed ivory brick, glancing around at a town that had been burnt to the ground around eight years ago.
He was quite a sight to behold for a former president: scuffed and tattered coats, scattered with grime and monster guts, bleeding slightly from a small cut positioned on his face. His previous scars remained stained with dried-out blood.
Needless to say, he hadn't bothered to freshen up since his encounters with Tifa and AVALANCHE.
Murmurs and whispers lingered in the air as he walked begrudgingly to the inn. The former president Shinra was in Nibelheim? What was he doing? Why was he so battered?
Rufus rolled his eyes, placing his hand on the wooden door and pushing it aside. He walked unceremoniously to the counter, smacking down a large wad of gil and stomping up to a room. Hushed mutters followed him; uninterested in dealing with people, he carefully lifted his middle finger at them and walked off.
He collapsed resignedly onto the bed with a short sigh, wondering how Strife could deal with constant walking and fighting.
There was a short sound and stumble at his door; he glared over at the sounds, and suddenly a news reporter stumbled in, followed by some freak with a camera.
"Get the hell out of my room." He sneered heatedly at the crew, left eyebrow and sapphire eye twitching violently as if he might leap to his feet and inject them with bullets directly. However, the Channel 7 group ignored the command yet seemed quite intimidated by the threat lingering in his tone. Dejectedly, he sat up, his shoulders aching slightly. "What do you want?"
"Err, sir...we just came for a-an interview...please?" the cameraman pleaded, though you could barely make out the words "please don't kill me" squeaked in an undertone.
"Request declined. I'm not famous anymore. Piss off."
The crew-except for the female reporter, who seemed to smirk with startling audacity-shrunk back slightly with his every word. Rufus made it clear with a short gesture of his hands that he had his gun in his pocket and was ready to blast them all to high hell.
"Oh, c'mon...please, Mr. Shinra?" The femme reporter made a rather impudent approach with a tone that reminded Rufus of Scarlet's feeble attempts to hit on pretty much everyone in the damn building, and the short skirt just topped it all off. She advanced, carefully placing one hand on Rufus's thigh and giving him a...suggestive smirk.
"Maybe you didn't hear me," Rufus grabbed her wrist and carefully placed it between his thumb, index finger, and middle finger, pressing down on the bone long enough for the reporter to realize how easily the president could snap her wrist bones. "Piss. Off."
The woman backed away, looking rather flabbergasted at the fact her attempt didn't work.
"Look, miss, I know I'm an attractive man, but I'm afraid two-cent whores aren't my type." Rufus stated bitterly, propping his head on the back banister of the bed. "Especially considering one shot me several times, I'm feeling a little...bitter."
"So what is your type?" the reporter queried flatly, folding her arms and glowering crossly at the ex-president.
"I don't have one. I'm a soloist." Rufus turned in his bed so his icy gaze was fixed out of the window and into the feeble town-away from the evil news crew. "And I feel so inclined to ask...why aren't you gone from my room?" Silence followed that statement, and the fist visible to the crew clenched slightly, rather irately. "I'll give you four seconds to leave before I reach for my gun."
One.
Two.
The crew scrambled out of the room, eyes widened in fear of the irritated Rufus; he smirked slightly-he still had an imposing figure towards the common people. Without bothering to remove his boots or coats, he fell asleep without much warning.
And he dreamt.
-
"I don't get why we have to look for him." Cloud snorted derisively, yet trying to sound nonchalant as if he was merely stating a point-he was horrible at it. "The guy can take care of himself."
"Would you give it a REST already?" Yuffie barked at Cloud, annoyed by his constant rambling about how little he cared. Why did she have to get stuck with the pokey-headed guy who had the nerve to complain!? They stood on the shore overlooking the southern oceans-directly across from Cosmo Canyon. If Rufus had taken a route through Nibelheim, he would eventually have to cross the long, shallow river between Nibelheim and the Canyon. And they would be there.
"...I'm sorry, Yuffie." Cloud slumped despairingly to the ground, gazing at the canyons where Tifa had been so many weeks and times ago-when she was first missing. "It's just... I don't know. I just don't really..."
"Yeah, whatever." Yuffie mumbled apathetically, folding her arms and staring at the vast ocean that spread before her. She loved the beach if she was there for vacation purposes. "I understand." Yuffie added as an afterthought, deciding to spare the guy a shred of consideration. "Just don't get all whiney on me. Get your act together."
Cloud stared vacantly at a large canyon face and nodded, understanding her meaning and yet still slightly depressed over this turn of events.
She sighed, the saltine breeze uplifting her boyish hair-still imbedded with those damn green highlights Elena had "blessed" them with. A few things remained from the little attempt: she decided to keep the lip-gloss, but not much else.
Ah, the café at Cosmo Canyon was so close-if only she could abandon her post for just a little, just to sneak a drink...
A grenade stumbled down at Cloud's feet, and he blanched slightly. Crap.
He and Yuffie dove to the side, avoiding a short explosion; the ninja sighed with relief, but then stared, mystified for a few moments, by a pair of shoes sitting neatly in front of her face. "What in the..." She glanced up. SOLDIER. A few dozen pairs of feet also shuffled out from there. Surrounded. Double crap.
"Kyahahahaha!"
That incredibly stupid laughter could only come from one person.
"Scarlet! You stupid, ugly old GEEZER-" Yuffie leapt to her feet in one swift motion, shaking her fist imperiously at the SOLDIER surrounding her; her misty eyes narrowed in intense dislike. "What're you and these dense little cronies doing here!?" The two had met only a few times: running into each other during the cancelled execution of Tifa and Barret, and fighting Proud Clod. And she despised the woman instantly.
"Shut up!" barked the woman, her expression curling into a sneer. "I-"
"How did you know we were here!?" Yuffie screamed, cutting off Scarlet abruptly and flailing her arms. "There isn't a SPY or anything, is there!? What're you planning? Why'd you try and steal that Mako storage!?"
"You're in no position to be asking questions, brat!" Scarlet pointed one finger at Yuffie, almost accusingly, a mix between anger and amusement flickering on her sallow expression. Of course, this gesture lost its...purpose...when Yuffie realized what was on her neck. And the ninja started snickering-then giggling-and then finally nearly collapsed with laughter.
"Wow, Tifa almost broke your neck! You look so STUPID!" Yuffie managed between giggles.
Scarlet wore a white Styrofoam neck brace, complete with little rubber attachments.
Immediately, Yuffie had to begin a sort of river dance, having to prance around rapid gunfire at her feet as ordered by Scarlet herself. "God, I hate you." Cloud, however, remained silent with thought. His eyes cautiously moved into Scarlet's green-flecked ones.
"Why are you commanding SOLDIER?" he asked flatly. "Why did you attempt to steal the Mako storage back at the warehouse in Midgar?" Scarlet was quiet for once in her life, pondering whether answering any of his questions was a good idea.
"Because I need it, of course! Kyah...why else?"
The Ultima Weapon was slowly removed from its bonds on Cloud's back, shimmering in all its glory. The spiky-headed swordsman glared frigidly at the SOLDIER around him, ready to cut them down...
"Did you know THE Rufus Shinra is in Nibelheim?" Scarlet put a rather nasty emphasis on "the". Yuffie raised an eyebrow, as did Cloud, who lowered his blade apprehensively with a slight frown. "Just crawled out of some random hole, didn't he? And I thought for sure he would die...kyahah...it's just rotten luck he got out alive." She placed one hand on her waist, her thigh pushing out to reveal metal-braced black stockings. "I know you aren't too fond of the idea, either, Strife! Kyahahahaha!"
Cloud simply snarled in response.
"I'm being generous enough to give you a choice," sneered Scarlet, hand clenching on her hip. "Either you come quietly or I'll be forced to use...kyah...force." Cloud made a movement to shout a rather vehement response, but Yuffie clamped one hand over his mouth and nodded slowly.
"We'll come, you old hag. Just don't shoot." The last three words were spoken in a fake, high-pitched tone that Scarlet obviously made no effort to pay attention to.
"What're you DOING!?" Cloud hissed in an undertone.
"Put away your weapon! We're gonna have to be a little sneaky, okay!? Deal with it!" Yuffie whispered back, tucking her conformer onto her waist; Cloud sighed heavily, knowing there was no argument, and sheathed the Ultima Weapon.
"There you go." Scarlet smirked as two SOLDIERs grasped Yuffie and Cloud by the underarms and dragged them towards a Shin-Ra helicopter, Yuffie struggling and shouting profanities like your traditional unwilling prisoner. Cloud rolled his eyes at her.
"You were the one who suggested this."
"Yeah, well, I still hate it!"