Three: Voices


Vincent was left in Tifa's house to guard the children. As soon as Tifa had left with Rude, he went upstairs to check on the kids. To his surprise, Marlene was awake and looking outside the window with tears running down from her eyes. "Marlene?" he asked.

The little girl turned around. "Uncle Vincent!" she exclaimed before rushing to him and hugging him while sobbing helplessly. "What's wrong?" Vincent asked, feeling ridiculous. He had always thought that he isn't good with children and that children feared him because of his appearance.

"I feel sad…" she said with a miserable look on her face.

"Why?" he asked as he lifted her up and carried her in his arms while patting her back gently.

She sniffed as she rested her head on his shoulder. "I had a dream that you all went away!" she told him.

"What?" he asked curiously.

She wiped her tears away. "Tifa went to live in this big white house with a man wearing white… and Miss Yuffie was in Wutai and she became an Empress there… and daddy and Mister Cid were in the cemetery waving goodbye." She said.

Vincent was stunned. "Well… you didn't mention me…" he said.

"You were with Sephiroth." She told him.

Silence.

"Oh really?" Vincent asked feeling dumbfounded.

She just nodded. "It was scary…" she said.

He just blinked as he walked over to the bed and put her down. "What's Sephiroth doing?" he asked curiously.

Marlene began to cry again. "You really wanna know!" she wailed.

Vincent figured that it must've been traumatizing for the child so he just said, "Alright, never mind. You might go all sixes and sevens…"

Marlene stopped crying and wiped her tears away and lied down. "Good night Uncle Vinny." She whispered before closing her eyes.

"Good night, Marlene," said Vincent, tucking her in. He turned and walked to the door to exit, but paused as he touched the doorknob. "Sephiroth…?" he mumbled one last time before shrugging it off and going to the next room to check on Denzel.

oOoOo

Tifa seated herself on the couch as Rufus wheeled himself towards her. She glanced at the clock which read 5 am before turning back to Rufus who was still covered with white sheets. "I'm pleased to have you here to discuss about this matter…" he told her before reaching out his right hand to her. She stared at it for a while before realizing that it was closed into a tight fist. And he opened his palm, exposing two green materia that looked similar to Aerith's. Her eyes widened upon seeing them but she wasn't able to say anything about them. Rufus noticed her reaction and then turned his gaze on the materia. "We found this in Reno and Elena's mouths when they died." He explained before motioning for her to take the Materia. She swallowed hard before shaking her head, remembering the time when Aerith died. "…N…no, thank you." She told him.

Rufus withdrew his hand and motioned for Rude to get them. Rude approached him and took the materia, putting it inside a plastic bag.

Tifa bowed down her head as she put her hands together on her lap, feeling uncomfortable. "Three of my friends… are dead." She began.

"Who are they?" Rufus asked.

"First it's Barret… then Yuffie… and then just… last night… Cid." She explained before looking at him. "Barret died on the 10th; Yuffie on the 12th… and then… Cid on the 13th; just last night." She continued.

Rufus was quiet for a while before telling her, "Reno died on the 8th. Elena died on the 9th." He took a deep breath before proceeding. "How do you suppose your friends died?" he asked.

Tifa recalled what Cid had told her before gathering enough courage to begin, "Someone… phones you on your mobile phone, but your own number is being reflected; and so it appears that you're calling yourself, even if that's impossible. Your phone rings, but it's not your ringing tone. It sounds nice but there seems to be an eerie feel to it when you hear it. And then you answer it, and you hear someone singing. A young woman… she's singing an old love song. When you check the time of call, it's dated a day after you receive the call but with the present time. And at the exact day and time… you're dead."

Rufus was stunned. He could somehow recall what Elena was trying to say to him, but she wasn't able to fully explain what she really wanted to say. "Perhaps it's similar to what Tifa just mentioned…" he thought before nodding his head. "We do have the same concern…" he told her uneasily. "But it seems like even if you don't answer it, it will go to your voicemail. Eventually you'll listen to it out of curiosity." He told her before bowing down his head. "Reno received the call around 3:57 in the afternoon on the 7th, but the voicemail said it's the 8th. According to the autopsy report, he died 3:57pm on the 8th. Elena did not specify if she received a call or not, but I think it's already obvious that she did… and according to the autopsy report, it was 4:00pm when she died. Before she died, her phone was ringing…" he narrated.

Tifa was quiet for a while.

"Do you have any idea who's behind all these, Tifa?" he asked as he looked at her again.

"Cid thought it's a prank. If ever it is a prank, it's a very dirty one and it's definitely not funny. Playing with the memory of a dead person isn't such a nice idea for a prank." She responded with a frown on her face.

"Dead person?" he asked.

"It's… uhm… the person singing… it's one of my old friends… at least that's her voice. She died… two years ago; killed by Sephiroth. I'm sure you've heard of it. Her name is Aerith Gainsborough." She explained.

Rufus's eyes widened upon hearing the name. "The Cetra?" he asked.

Tifa nodded as she smiled bitterly. "I don't want to believe that it's really her because I know she would never ever do a thing like that!" she said before sighing heavily. "Vincent told Cloud about it just moments ago when he visited because he found out about Yuffie's death. Vincent asked if he's receiving calls from Aerith, and he just got mad, saying we're desecrating her memory. Even Cloud wouldn't believe that Aerith would do the killings. Who would believe that she's capable of doing those?" she asked in exasperation.

"I wouldn't, too." Rufus mumbled, recalling what sort of person Aerith was according to his observation and what the Turks told him about her. "But then again… what if someone is just using her?" he asked.

Tifa frowned, thinking about what he had just said. He interrupted her thoughts by asking, "So did Cloud receive any similar calls?"

She shook her head before yawning. "No…"

Rufus smiled slightly at the sight of her yawning. "So you haven't been sleeping too." he told her.

She just smiled sheepishly. "Sorry about that…" she said with a tired look in her eyes. Rufus turned to Rude. "Would you escort Miss Lockheart to a vacant guest room? If the doctors ask, tell them she's my guest but she just needs to rest for a while." He instructed.

Rude nodded and motioned for Tifa to follow after him.

Tifa was stunned. "…Rufus, I…" she protested.

"I insist, Tifa. A tired body and mind won't do much at situations such as this. Besides, I need rest too." he told her.

She just smiled slightly at his concern as she nodded her head. "Which reminds me; how are you doing in recuperating?" she asked.

Rufus was surprised at her concern. "Well… I'm… doing alright, I guess." He answered quite hesitantly due to his surprise. He could feel his cheeks getting warmer. A somewhat-stranger like her was nice enough to ask how a "mean" person like him is doing. "I hope you don't mind me asking," she told him. He shook his head. "I don't. I appreciate it. It's not everyday that I have pleasant people around here such as you, Miss Lockheart." He told her with a slight smile on his face.

She smiled kindly before she got up from the couch and offered a handshake. She was pleased that he answered her question and he did not shrug it off. "So he did change. Cloud was right…" her mind was saying as she told him, "I guess this means we'll become friends now."

He was surprised at what she said. He could remember himself saying lines similar to that before… but his lines were the opposite of hers. He just stared at her hand for a while before accepting the handshake and looked up into her eyes. "I'll see you later." He told her.

She smiled sweetly at him before turning to Rude. The Turk was just standing by the door, seemingly disturbed, as he was just staring towards the window, as if anticipating the sunrise. His last sunrise.

"It must be hard knowing that you're going to die…" she thought silently before approaching him. He did not even look at her. He just opened the door for her and then led the way to the next room and opened its door for her. She stood by the doorway of her room and scanned the place.

His head was bowed down.

Tifa could sense his grief but she doesn't know what to do so she just turned to him and gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder, making him look at her in surprise. She smiled sadly at him. "You've always been such a nice person, I guess. Doing your duties well… you're even loyal to Rufus just when everybody else is gone." She said.

He just looked at her with mixed emotions in his eyes, but he was thankful for his shades.

With that, she stepped inside her room and closed the door, leaving him there with a stunned look on his face. Rude stepped away and returned to Rufus so that he could help him to his bed.

As Tifa was drifting off to sleep, she could not help but think of Aerith. "Unless there's a reason…" she thought. But she could not think of any.

oOoOo

1:30pm

Rude just sat still on the couch, staring blankly ahead at the President who was still asleep on the bed. His hands felt so numb and so cold and his heart was really beating fast. He has less than twelve hours to live… and just thinking about the time was making him feel more and more uncomfortable about his situation.

"Who will take care of President Rufus when I'm gone? I just can't leave him to the care of the doctors… some of them are not even from ShinRa!" he thought to himself as he got up from the couch and went to the window, looking outside. He stared at the ground where Elena had fallen some days ago. He could still remember clearly the look on her face when he saw her lifeless on the ground. It was really traumatizing for him because she was one of his closest friends next to Reno, even if he never really opened up so much to her compared to how he had been a friend to Reno.

His thoughts were interrupted when someone knocked on the door. He turned and went to the door to open it, revealing a messenger. "Good day sir. I'm from the Investigation Group. I'm delivering these reports to you as you requested earlier today." The messenger told him, handing him large brown envelopes.

"Thank you." Rude said before closing the door and going back to the couch. After Rufus had fallen asleep earlier, Rude had decided to get copies of the autopsy reports on Barret Wallace and articles on Yuffie Kisaragi and Cid Highwind, since news indicated that their bodies were never found. He read Barret's and how he died, then moved on to Yuffie.

"Kisaragi Heiress Missing. On the eve of December 12 at 10:45, witnesses claim to have seen the 18 year-old Yuffie Kisaragi, the only daughter and Heiress of Lord Godo Kisaragi of Wutai, to have fallen overboard the ship that was supposed to take her home to Wutai from Midgar…" Rude proceeded to read quietly, "…body was never found; however, a single green Materia was found floating on the spot where she had supposedly fallen." He was surprised. "Materia?" he thought before going to Cid. "Cid Highwind of Rocket Town, Missing. Companion Shera claim she heard him scream from the living room area and she went down to check on him but found no one there. There was no more trace of him except for his mobile phone whose screen was destroyed in one corner of the living room and green Materia which had been found beside it."

Rude frowned before going back to Barret, checking if there was any Materia found in his mouth during the autopsy. Listed on one of the sheets, Rude was able to confirm the presence of Materia inside Barret Wallace's mouth when he died. The color of Materia was green. Rude shivered and arranged the reports and the articles once more before putting it down on the couch. With that, he got up to get some paper and pen and started writing…

oOoOo

Tifa had awoken at around 11:57 in the evening, feeling so stunned that she had slept that long. As she got out of bed, she heard Rufus's voice from the other room shouting Rude's name. Out of panic and concern, she instantly put on her shoes and ran to the other room. She found Rufus seated on his bed without covers on his head. Rufus was stunned to see her there… and he felt as if he's as good as naked since his face was completely exposed to her.

Tifa shook her head to make her snap out of her trance upon seeing his face. He looked perfectly fine, but his eyes seemed more vulnerable compared to before. She ran towards him. "What's the matter?" she asked.

Rufus just decided to ignore his present state. "Rude's not here." He told her.

"What?" she asked in surprise.

"Could you go there," he pointed towards the couch where he could still see the envelopes. Tifa saw them too and she instantly ran to get them and handed them to Rufus. Rufus scanned the envelopes, and then turned his attention to a folded note taped onto one of the flaps.

"What time did he receive the call?" Tifa asked.

"12 midnight." Rufus replied.

Silence.

"Where could he be?" Tifa asked in panic.

"Blimey… I have no idea. I just woke up five minutes ago…" Rufus answered as he motioned for Tifa to hand him his mobile phone that was on the bedside table. She got it and gave it to him. He checked if he had messages or any missed calls, but he had none. With that, he got the folded note and handed the envelopes to Tifa. "Could you see what's in those?" he asked before reading the note quietly while Tifa inspected the contents of the envelopes:

"Dear President Rufus, I wouldn't want to be a burden for you when my time comes. Please forgive me if I left without prior notice. Thank you for being such a nice boss. It was a pleasure to be of service to you. I'm also saying this in behalf of Elena and Reno. If there is anything else that I could do to help you in this investigation, I would call you tonight. I hope it would help. Respectfully yours, Rude."

Rufus felt his heart sinking before turning to the PS below the signature: "Please take care of Miss Lockheart. I would greatly appreciate it if you do. I'm sure she'll be happy with someone like you rather than seeing her with Mister Strife so unhappy. You're a nice person deep down, I just know it."

He thought his heart stopped when he read that and his thoughts became clouded all of a sudden.

Tifa blinked. "These are autopsy reports on Barret… and… news articles on Yuffie and Cid." She pointed out before turning to Rufus. She thought she saw the color drain from his face as he was rereading the note. "Are you alright? You look disturbed," she told him, even though his face remained expressionless, but she saw it in his eyes.

He just swallowed hard, deepening his frown before putting the letter aside.

"Well what did it say?" she asked.

Before he could answer, he heard his mobile phone ringing, surprising them both. Rufus snapped out of his trance and he quickly reached for his mobile phone. The time read 00:00 and dated December 15. He checked the caller I.D. and it read "Rude".

He answered it, "Hello?"

Silence.

He switched it to loudspeaker mode so that Tifa could also hear…

But there was only silence.

"Who's that?" she asked.

"It's Rude." He replied.

Silence.

"Rude? Are you there?" Rufus asked, feeling rather impatient.

Still no answer.

Just when Rufus was about to hang up, he froze when they heard the sound of something marble-like bouncing against some stony ground.

Tifa's eyes widened upon recognizing the sound of Materia bouncing against stone flooring but before she could react to it, they heard a woman's voice say softly, "I miss him…" and then another one said, "Just a little more and you'll see him."

Silence.

"A little more…" a man's voice said.

"Aw shit. Let's just get the fucking hell out of here…" another man said.

"Yeah. It's time to go for now foo's!" another man piped in.

"But I miss him…" the first woman's voice said.

"Cheer up! Just sing the love song that you always like to sing! Nyuk nyuk nyuk nyuk!" answered another woman's voice.

Followed by some high-pitched feedback noise which made them cringe and get goosebumps just by hearing it. It hurt their ears so Rufus instantly hang up, his heart racing.

Aerith, Elena, Reno, Cid, Barret, Aerith again, and then Yuffie…

Tifa and Rufus were quiet for a while, waiting for his phone to ring just in case he would be the next victim, but everything was quiet.

"That can't be!" she grabbed his phone and searched for Rude's number and then dialed it.

"The number you have dialed does not exist." The computer-operated voice answered.

Rufus just sat still, feeling so confused. But, he knew that the inevitable had already taken place…

"My god," Tifa choked, covering her mouth with her hand. "Does this mean that Rude's…" she just shook her head and got up, rushing to her room and feeling so confused. The moment she shut the door, she saw a piece of paper fly off from the bedside table and landed on the floor by her foot. She picked it up and read it quietly: "Dear Miss Lockheart, please take care of President Rufus when I'm gone. He needs someone who is as nice and understanding as you are. I only wish for your happiness. Rude."

She swallowed hard as she put down the paper, sniffing. With that, she turned to the door again and got out of her room walking slowly towards Rufus's room. She entered with a sad look on her face but there was nothing to say between the two of them. She just sat down on the bed and got one of the envelopes with Barret's autopsy report. She pulled out the report and read it silently before telling him, "So, where do we begin?"

Rufus just sat still, staring hard at his mobile phone before shaking his head in disbelief. "This has got to stop…" he mumbled.