Author's Notes:

Cloud: sigh. I remember when Final Fantasy 7 used to be about me.

Cid: Oh shut up. At least you're still alive.

Cloud: I haven't even been in this fic in ages. I've been mentioned like... twice since I disappeared. Whatever happened to me anyway?

Cid: Shut yer damn trap! I died in Search For the Promised One! And now my death's been cheapened by me continuously returnin' as a damn ghost!

Cloud: But at least you had a good death scene. I just sort of fell off-

Cid: 'Course I got a good death scene, ya pinhead!

Cloud: As I was saying, I just sort of fell off the ma-

Cid: Yeah yeah. No one cares. Go be a whiny little bishonen somewhere else. No one wants ta hear it!

Cloud: But-

Cid: Arg! Tyramir doesn't own the rights to Final Fantasy! There! I said the damn disclaimer, now shut this idiot up!

Chapter Forty Eight

The Inevitable

Aeris walked about the Shinra encampment with a smile on her face, and a basket of flowers in hand. She put as much bounce into her step as possible, pronouncing it just so, showing the soldiers that she was obviously happy in the face of all this danger. A hostile army ahead and behind, and firmly securing a superior position. In the mountains, Shinra controlled the valley. But out there, the Tali Hishna as she and Rufus had named them, were dominating the higher ground. Even armed with inferior weaponry, they still massively outnumbered Rufus' army, and were very capable of dropping large rocks from above. Still Aeris' face betrayed no hint of despair, and the soldiers looked for it. Their morale was low, but seeing the Cetra who was so close to their President practically dancing around the campsite eased their worries.

"Hi Gerald!" she said to the lieutenant guarding Rufus' tent. Unlike the President of Shinra Inc., Aeris took the time to actually learn the names of the guards and not just their ranks. "Is Rufus still upset?"

The soldier saluted her, but the second guard, who Aeris couldn't quite remember the name of since they'd never really spoken, stood on the other side of the tent flap and refused to acknowledge her. Less than half the men in the camp were like that, but it still irked her. Cold and unresponsive. She tried to get along with them, but some people just didn't want friends.

"A little," Gerald answered. The man was little more than a boy. According to his story, he had suffered the tragic fate of so many boys his age. He had wanted to be like Sephiroth, left home to join Soldier, and ended up as a Shinra guard. But there seemed to be a part of him that desperately wanted to be something more than Sephiroth now. Something more like… Cloud. "The President is still upset, ma'am. He gave us orders not to let anyone inside his tent. Especially you. Sorry, ma'am."

She rolled her eyes at his ma'aming. It had become a constant joke between them. He was always formal, and she was always trying to get him to stop and call her by her name. "It's okay. He just needs time. I told him something he didn't want to hear, and he didn't react to it well."

The other guard grunted, as if to say No kidding, and Gerald just shrugged. "If you told it to him, ma'am, then I guess it needed telling."

"When was the last time he left the tent?"

"Well, actually, he left just-"

He was cut off by the other guard who said, "I'm sure that the President's comings and goings are none of Ms. Gainsborough's concern."

"Actually," Aeris said, pulling a paper from the basket she was carrying and handed it to Gerald, "I'm sure you'll find this says quite the opposite."

The lieutenant took the paper and began to read, and whistled. The other guard peered over, and asked, "What's it say?"

"It's the terms of agreement on the truce between Shinra and Avalanche. Point three says that ma'am has … here, I'll quote it. 'I invite the Cetra, Aeris Gainsborough…' That's ma'am here… 'to observe any details of Shinra's activities to ensure that this company will bring no harm to Avalanche. She will be given access to any file in Shinra's database that she wishes, and will be treated with the utmost respect.'"

"This is different. It's an exception."

"I'm not so sure," Gerald said. "Says right here at the bottom that 'this point is non-negotiable.'"

The guard didn't seem to like it. He looked as if he were about to say something, and then stopped, standing rigidly and saluting. Gerald did like-wise after a moment, and Aeris stiffened, realizing that Rufus was behind her, and not, in fact, hiding in his tent. She turned to face him and gasped.

Mostly he was the same man, save for two dreadfully drastic changes. The first were his eyes. They were colder, almost indifferent to everything he looked at, not impassioned by the idea of his Empire like they seemed in more recent days. They were devoid of life, as if something inside of him had given up, and no longer cared.

The second change was far more obvious. Along his cheeks were red lines that came from beneath his skin, like veins. They occasionally pulsed with some sort of unearthly touch. She had never seen the signs before, but she remembered her mother telling her of it once. It was the sign of a Cetra Warrior, the Mark of Blood Letting. It was a sign that something inside of him had internally changed. No longer was his Cetra magic of beneficial and healing capabilities. Now it was, for lack of a better term, Black Magic. But how had he done it? He shouldn't have even known it existed, let alone known how to do it.

"Rufus…" she said. "What have you done?"

"What have I done? No, Aeris. What have you done?"

"You're a Cetra Warrior now. You carry the Mark of Blood Letting. Rufus… you've turned yourself into a killer. How did you…?" she let the question trail on, afraid of the answer.

"The Yenta Pree showed me."

She paled. Her throat suddenly felt dry, and she had trouble breathing. She had been terrified something like this would happen, but had never dreamed that it really would. She had thought Rufus changed, a man more enlightened. A man who wasn't his father.

"Why?" she asked.

"They're going to win," he said simply. "We may have superior technology, but they have numbers, and the drive to win, to succeed. Their ambition far outstrips my own. We are alike in so many ways. We cannot defeat them in an outright confrontation, not in the long run. They cannot be destroyed. So I went to them late last night, and spoke with them. They are not unreasonable. Any of my men who wish to join them can. Any who wish to leave with you may. To spread the word of course. The Tali Hishna are coming, and we will subjugate all."

Aeris took a step towards him and placed a hand on his cheek. "I'm sorry it had to be this way. I thought you were better than this. I really had hope for you."

"Save your hope for yourself. I am giving you a week head start. Then I will be coming for you. Consider that your time to think on this. Join me. Forget about Cloud. Come to my side, and we will rise amongst the Tali Hishna. With me, we can recreate the world in whatever way we see fit."

She leaned forward and planted a kiss on his cheek. "I'm sorry."

And she turned away from him, and began walking away, towards Kalm. And as word spread in the Shinra camp, the offer to follow Rufus or follow Aeris, sides were drawn.

Author's Note:

Sorry this took so long. Had a three day party, and nothing got done at all during that time. Next up is… not Reno! But the wacky adventures of Cait Sith! (gasp and shock! I didn't forget about him after all!)