Right Hand of Evil
By generalquistis
Chapter Two
"This is all a dream… once I wake up, I'll be back in my room… and I'll be big again… and I'll have my legs and feet back… and I won't be attached to Rufus ShinRa's wrist!" Tifa was reminding herself as she kept her eyes closed.
"TIFA!" but she heard that loud booming threatening voice once again coming from Rufus who was shaking her violently.
She opened her eyes again and gazed up at Rufus. "Oh my goodness… he's still bigger… and…" she looked down at herself. "I'm still naked and attached to his wrist." She thought to herself miserably. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. She did not know what else to do but to cry. So she did.
Rufus stared glumly at her, "Oh stop crying, you…" he began threateningly as he shook his wrist.
"Well what else am I supposed to do?" she wailed, wiping her tears away with the back of her hands. "And why the bloody hell am I attached to your wrist and I'm so small… and you're big? Why can't it just be the other way around?" she complained helplessly as more tears streamed down her face due to confusion.
"Well I'm glad it isn't the other way around! I wouldn't want to be controlled by you, of all people!" Rufus told her with an annoyed look on his face before looking around his room. "Well… this doesn't look like the Healin Lodge…" he told her.
"And where are we?" she asked haughtily.
"We're in Junon, I think…" he told her with an uncomfortable tone as he saw the skies and the clouds outside the window.
They were interrupted when Rufus heard his mobile phone ringing. He turned to his bedside table and was about to grab it with his right hand, but saw Tifa attached to it instead, so he used his left hand instead and checked the caller I.D. His eyes widened upon seeing who it was. "It's my Old Man?" he inquired out loud.
Tifa blinked. "Isn't he dead?" she asked in confusion.
"I know…" Rufus said with a frown on his face before answering the call with an unsure tone, "H…hello?"
"Rufus, my boy! How are you doing?" he heard his father's voice from the other line.
Rufus stiffened and stared at Tifa with wide eyes. She was staring at him the same manner that he was, and she shrugged. Rufus looked away from her and continued to talk to his father. "You're alive?" he asked directly.
"What do you mean I'm alive? Of course I'm alive, you sonny boy! What, did you skip meals again and you can't think properly?" President ShinRa demanded.
Rufus was unsure how to react. He felt shaken. "I think I want to pass out…" he muttered to Tifa upon realizing what happened to them.
Tifa blinked.
"Well…anyway, I am still alive despite the fact that AVALANCHE's attacks are starting to get worse around here. They blew up some reactors." President ShinRa told him.
"AVALANCHE?" Rufus asked.
"Anyway, I'd like to know if you have signed the approval sheet I've sent you for Heidegger?" President ShinRa asked.
Rufus felt like he was experiencing déjà vu. "Approval sheet?" he asked, wanting to be sure.
"It's for the SOLDIER trainees there in Junon. You're the Vice-President and you're staying there so I want you to sign it! Now I have to go." President ShinRa hung up.
It took a while before Rufus regained his composure and he put down his mobile phone on his bedside table.
"Who was that?" Tifa asked glumly, keeping Rufus's sleeve against her chest. She noticed that he still looked a bit shaken even as he spoke, "It's my Old Man… and he's alive… and he's telling me to sign an approval sheet…" he told her.
"Well… what about the approval sheet? What's it for? And I heard my group's name, AVALANCHE. What's going on?" she asked curiously.
Rufus got his mobile phone again and checked the date. His eyes widened and he turned to Tifa again. "I think we… went back to the past?" he asked.
"What?" she exclaimed. "But how can that be possible?" she demanded in disbelief.
Rufus showed her the date on the calendar of his mobile phone. Her eyes widened and she looked up at him again. "Maybe your mobile phone is broken." She told him.
Rufus got up from bed, dragging his right hand by his side. Tifa felt a rush of blood to her head. "Ah! Rufus! Don't let me hang like this!" she cried out in panic.
Rufus turned back to her with a cold look on his face before proceeding to his study desk, not even minding her being upside down and being swung back and forth as he walked. He looked at his planner, then checked the calendar hanging on his wall, and then checked the date on his laptop after switching it on.
They were two years back from where they came from.
"Blimey…" his face suddenly lit up as he slowly faced his new right hand whose face was all red already. Tifa gazed dizzily at him. "You nasty… I beg you, don't do that again!" she told him.
He smiled slyly at her. "Tonight, Old Man will die!" he told her.
She snapped back to her senses and blinked. "What?" she asked.
"My Old Man will die tonight! Tonight's the night when Sephiroth's going to kill him and…" he trailed off when she spoke up, "Tonight's the night when you'll become President. Splendid." She said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.
He tilted her over, causing her to scream. "AAAH! No! Not again!" she reacted upon feeling the blood go to her head again.
"Now are you going to behave, Miss Lockheart? You're a part of my bloody hand now so you'll obey me, otherwise, I might be forced to punch the wall with you as my new fist." He threatened with a serious look on his face as he turned her upright again.
She stared at him unbelievably. "You're horrible!" she said in exasperation.
"I know, isn't it splendid?" he asked with a sarcastically happy smile on his face before switching his facial expression back to his usual poker-faced look. "But why are we back here in the past? Damn, this is so unscientific but…" he muttered as he looked at the calendar once again.
"Oh yeah, did you get the package Cloud asked me to deliver to you?" she asked miserably as she crossed her arms.
"Yes, I did…" he said as he went over to the window to look outside. "It's a pink ribbon." He muttered.
"I know. And it's weird that it's a big box and there's only that piece of pink ribbon inside." She told him. She shrugged. "So that's why it's lighter than what I've imagined…" she realized. "But you know, I wonder why Cloud would even send you a pink ribbon…" she said.
"Wait a moment…" he apprehended with a frown on his face as he brought her close to his face so they could see eye to eye. "Are you sure you're back in good condition?" he asked.
She blinked. "What do you mean?" she asked.
Rufus stared at her, studying the look in her brown eyes before saying, "I'd hate to be the one to break it to you again, but he's dead."
She stiffened and frowned at him. "What do you mean?" she asked.
"He… is dead. Because of the 'stigma. Can't you remember?" he asked with an inquiring look on his face.
But she seemed to have spaced out.
He sighed as he put down his right hand onto the desk. He just ignored her for a moment, thinking about the connection of the pink ribbon with their situation while staring at the calendar pinned on his wall. He was just interrupted when she heard her small sobs. He turned to her and saw that she had her face down on one of his notebooks and crying but trying to stifle her sobs. He lifted her up so he could face her. "Don't hide your face to me. I know you're crying. And I wouldn't like it when my hand is crying because if I start working in the office, I don't want anybody knowing what happened to us!" he told her sternly.
She looked away and wiped her tears away but did not say anything else.
Rufus frowned slightly when he recalled that he was holding the ribbon with his right hand ever since the first time he got it. Now it was gone and Tifa became his right hand. A realization came to him. "Tifa, were you holding a ribbon when you woke up?" he asked.
She shook her head miserably.
He got up and instantly went to his bed to search for the ribbon, but he was careful not to tilt her over again. He checked the whole area of the bed even underneath it, but there was no ribbon. "Damn! It's not here…" he muttered.
"Uhm… Rufus, could you get me some clothes?" she interrupted.
"Later." He said mindlessly before going over to the window to look at the Junon harbor.
"You think this has something to do with that ribbon?" she asked him weakly.
"A hundred percent yes." He muttered. "Although it seems absurd and unscientific, I guess we have to do something…Why else could we be back here in the past?" he asked with a frustrated look on his face.
Tifa just stared into his blue eyes and bowed down her head. "So that we could change something?" she asked softly.
Rufus looked up at the clouds and he narrowed his eyes. "Change?" he recalled thoughtfully. And he began to contemplate on the plans that he had mentioned to Cloud… and what he was telling himself before he fell asleep last night…
He felt his heart sink as reality gave him that blow. "Tifa," he said softly with an uncomfortable tone, although his face looked serious.
"Hmm?" she looked up at him curiously.
He took a deep breath before saying, "I think we're here for a reason… and the pink ribbon isn't the only one playing tricks on us."
She blinked. "Playing tricks? Whatever do you mean by that, Rufus?" she asked in confusion. But when Rufus was about to answer, Tifa gasped, interrupting him. "Oh my God! So we have to change something here! But what is it?" she asked.
He stared glumly at her. "That, I do not know. And I don't think I'd like to know…" he muttered.
"Wait a moment. You mentioned your father is going to die tonight?" she asked.
"I didn't say anything like that…" Rufus fibbed, but Tifa was unconvinced.
"You have to prevent it!" Tifa told him.
Rufus stared unbelievably at him. "What for?" he demanded.
"Because… maybe that's what we're here for?" she asked.
"Look, our situation right now does not sound anything like those movies wherein people go back in time to prevent things from happening." He told her. She just frowned at him, crossing her arms. He rolled his eyes and proceeded, "Tifa, if we can change something that went wrong, we could have gone back to the time when JENOVA crashed into the Planet and prevent ShinRa from finding it!" he told her.
"But we weren't alive yet during those times, if I'm not mistaken." She said softly, lowering her gaze to the floor. And she smiled, "That's why we're going to change what we can change for now! Because who knows, the future could benefit from what we do now! Isn't it splendid?" she asked cheerfully with an optimistic look on her face as she looked up at him again.
He stared unbelievably at her. "Why should I save my Old Man?" his mind was screaming, but he just kept quiet and looked away from her, but he froze when he heard his mobile phone ringing again. He and Tifa exchanged glances as if silently asking each other, "Who could that be?" but nobody spoke up. Disturbed, Rufus went over to his mobile phone on the bedside table and picked it up, flipped it open and checked the caller I.D. Tifa read it clearly: SEPHIROTH.
Her eyes widened. "Sephiroth?" she exclaimed in shock.
"Shush." He snapped impatiently before answering the call. "Yes?" he asked coolly.
"Deal's a deal, Rufus." Tifa heard from the other line. It was clearly Sephiroth. Her eyes were wide as she stared in disbelief at Rufus upon realizing what he could have done. "Shame on you! You had it all planned with Sephiroth?" she demanded, shaking her head. "How could you wish for your own father's death?" she cried out in exasperation.
"Who's that?" Sephiroth asked Rufus.
"It's… no one." Rufus replied.
"I could've sworn I heard a woman right there. You're in your room?" Sephiroth asked with a teasing tone.
"It was no one. It's just the television." Rufus fibbed as he muffled Tifa's mouth by pressing her down on the pillow.
"Mrrghtppgrgh!" Tifa struggled to say.
"Yes, yes. What time?" Rufus asked Sephiroth as they continued to converse.
Tifa held on still, breathing hard against the pillow. He's really going to get some nagging from her. But she was thinking about Rufus's father. She knew and heard things about President ShinRa and those were bad things—that he was a womanizer, corrupt, he has a lot of vices… and at that moment, she wondered, "Why the bloody hell am I trying to stop Rufus from killing his father? Oh wait. He didn't kill his father. He instructed Sephiroth to kill his father! Blimey! Are they friends? I didn't expect Sephiroth and Rufus to be friends!" She stopped thinking when she felt Rufus lift her up from the pillow and made her face him. The phone conversation with Sephiroth had ended. She stared in disbelief at him. "You owe me an explanation!" she told him, although she was afraid of what his reaction was going to be because she had totally lost her respect on him.
He just stared at her with his usual serious facial expression as he said casually, "Sephiroth and I were friends." He told her.
The look on her face revealed to her that she failed to understand a thing he just mentioned, so he elaborated. "Alright. Since he works in ShinRa, at some point we met and became friends. He knew I hated my Old Man. I guess he also did. Everybody hates my father, you know that! I'm sure you do too," he told her with an inquiring look on his face.
She looked hesitant as she shrugged. She did not really like hurting anybody or seeing anybody getting hurt. But she was facing a dilemma.
"The friendship ended, I guess, when we realized we had different plans regarding this Planet. You know his." He told her before he sat down on his bed again with an uncomfortable look on his face.
She was quiet for a while before looking up at him with a confused look on her face, "But he's your father!" she said.
He just stared coldly into empty space, ignoring what she said.
"Rufus, we're here for a reason… whoever made us go back here. I'm sure we're supposed to do something… like, correct a wrong?" she asked.
"And what good will it do for the Planet if Old Man lives until two years later from where we came from?" he asked.
"…You can change him?" she suggested, but she was unsure.
"Stop pretending to be nice, Tifa. I know you hate my father as much as I hate him." Rufus told her airily.
She was surprised at him. "At least try!" she told him, ignoring what his last statement.
He looked at her with a challenging look on his face, "Try stopping Sephiroth now." He said with a cool smile on his face as if mocking her.
She pursed her lips and frowned at him. "But I'm going to need your help." She told him.
He frowned at her. "Stubborn…" he muttered before shrugging. "Let me get dressed into my old clothes first." He told her as he got up from the bed. "And I guess you might want a replica of your old clothes? The one with the appalling mini skirt?" he asked sarcastically.
"Whatever. As long as they can fit me, I wouldn't mind doll's clothes." She muttered miserably.
He stopped in his tracks before going to his desk and pressed the intercom. "Whoever is there, could you purchase doll's clothing? Make sure it's red or black or white. I don't like blue. Bring them to my room immediately." He instructed.
Silence.
"A doll, sir?" a servant responded.
"You heard me. You know those small dolls little girls play with nowadays? Buy some of their clothes, charge them to my credit card and bring them to my room once you get them." He explained.
"What will you need them for, sir?"
Rufus stiffened, "For my niece." He told the servant.
"But sir, you don't have a niece." The servant replied.
"She's the daughter of a very distant cousin. It's her birthday tomorrow. Now go!" Rufus snapped impatiently.
"Yessir!"
Rufus switched off the intercom. She turned to Tifa who was smiling sweetly at him. "Thank you, Rufus. I knew you had a heart." She said.
"Of course. Otherwise, my internal organs wouldn't be complete and you'd be attached to a corpse." He said airily as he flipped his hair. He smiled as he did so. "I missed doing that!" he thought secretly.
She just rolled her eyes as he headed for the bathroom.
"Now shut your eyes and don't open them until I say so." Rufus told her as he entered the bathroom.
"Sure, sure. Whatever you say, Rufus." Tifa replied, closing her eyes. "Are we going to Midgar to stop Sephiroth or something?" she asked curiously.
"Looks like we have to do it if we want to get back to the future. I feel rather uneasy being here in the past…" Rufus thought to himself silently, not really wanting to reveal his thoughts to her because he did not want to sound vulnerable. "Just keep quiet and keep your eyes closed." He told her sternly.
As he was washing his face with his left hand, he remembered the pink ribbon again. "Who among your friends have the pink ribbon?" he asked.
"Aerith." Tifa instantly replied.
"Aerith Gainsborough?" he asked.
"How'd you know?" she asked.
"Cloud told me something about her." He told her.
"Really? What was it?" she asked.
"A secret between two men conversing in private." He replied coldly.
She snickered maliciously.
He glared at her, "What's so funny?" he demanded with a frown on his face.
"Nothing. I just can't imagine you and Cloud spilling secrets to one another. So that's what you do with him whenever he visits you at the Healin Lodge. Interesting." She replied nonchalantly.
He purposely put her underneath the faucet and got her wet with flowing water. "ACK! So cold!" she shrieked.
He withdrew her from the water and shook her. "Now will you behave?" he demanded.
She opened her eyes and glared at him.
"And close your eyes. I'm about to take off my clothes." He told her.
She looked away and just did as she was told to do.
oOoOo