Right Hand of Evil
By generalquistis
Chapter Five
oOoOo
The day of Rufus's inauguration as President finally arrived. It was a little late, around a week after his father died, because Rufus's staff kept on insisting to have his right hand checked before the inauguration so that he would look more presentable without the bandages. However, he kept on refusing for a reason that his executives and staff could not understand: "I'm practically fine. It's just some allergy." And when asked what is it that makes him allergic, he answered, "You people." And then walked away.
It was near noon, and Rufus was in his room seated by his dresser with his eyes closed since he was waiting for Tifa to get dressed. "Are you done yet? I have to see what you're wearing." He told her.
"Just a moment…" Tifa was buttoning her blouse. When she was done, she looked at herself in the mirror and smiled, pleased with herself. "The new doll clothes you had custom-made for me are lovely. Thank you, Rufus." She said sweetly.
Rufus opened his eyes and looked at her. "Ugh! Why are you wearing black?" he reacted.
"What?" she asked in confusion.
"Take that off and put on this white dress!" he grabbed a white blouse from the pile of doll clothes. "I didn't pay a dressmaker a good deal of money to have this white blouse wasted." He told her with a frown on his face.
"But I like this better." She told him.
"Today is my inauguration. That blouse is for casual purposes. I want you to look formal for this formal occasion! And since I'm wearing white…" he began.
"Oh no. Why should you bother about what I'm wearing in the first place if I'll just be wrapped up in bandages and stuffed inside the pocket of your blazer?" she asked airily.
"Because I said so. Today's my special day and I don't want anybody looking like a slob." He said.
"Well Scarlet looks like a slob today when I saw her during breakfast…" Tifa began with a slight pout as she signaled for Rufus to close his eyes before she started to unbutton her black blouse.
"That's funny." Rufus said, chuckling.
Tifa was surprised at him. "You're actually laughing? You find that funny?" she asked.
"Why? It's not like today's the first time you heard me laugh." He told her.
"But you're laughing at Scarlet…" she said as she began to put on the white dress.
Rufus kept his eyes closed but his smile faded away. "Honestly, Tifa. I thought of the same thing too when I saw her today." He revealed.
She blinked. "Really?" she asked. He nodded. She shrugged, "Well then you should've told her to change her clothes." She instructed.
"That won't work. She wears the same color… which is red; and her other clothes are… what's the word?" he lost track of his thoughts.
"Sluttier" Tifa pointed out.
"Oh right. That's it." He told her.
She sighed heavily, looking at herself in the mirror as she ran her fingers through her hair. "All done." She said.
Rufus opened his eyes and looked at her.
"So what do you think?" she asked happily as she smiled at herself in the mirror.
He just gaped at her.
She turned to him with a curious look on her face, "Are you alright, Rufus?" she asked.
Rufus snapped back into his senses and nodded his head frantically before he got up and got the bandages. "It's almost time." He said as he began to wrap the bandages loosely around her.
Tifa was quite frustrated that he did not even remark whether she looked pretty or not in that dress but she just kept quiet.
Just as he was about to finish wrapping the bandages around his "right hand", he heard someone knocking on his door. "What?" he called out.
The door opened and there was Tseng. "Sir, General Heidegger is asking if you're all set." He asked.
Rufus turned to him. "Yes I am. I'll be in the podium in 10 minutes." He said with a serious look on his face.
Tseng could not help but stare at Rufus's bandaged right hand.
Rufus frowned at him. "What are you staring at?" he demanded.
Tseng shook his head. "N…nothing, sir." And just stepped out.
"Rufus, just be careful not to let anybody snatch your right hand without your consent." Tifa muttered to him.
"Don't worry, I won't…" Rufus said with a low tone. He did not actually like it when people are suspicious of him, but what can he do? He couldn't chop her off from himself! Clearing his throat, he asked, "Alright, what's the agenda for today?"
"Aerith, Cloud, Barret and Red XIII are supposed to be here. Since this day of inauguration took longer than expected compared to what happened in the past… well, I guess they're just hanging around here in Junon… somewhere here. But later on, they'll be dressed in SOLDIER uniforms if I'm not mistaken." She explained.
"How do we know which is Aerith?" he asked.
"Uhm… I don't know. Look for the SOLDIER with… the big butt?" she asked, feeling embarrassed.
Rufus was surprised at her. "I beg your pardon? Do you want me to look like a pervert?" he demanded.
"Hey, I once wore that uniform as a disguise too! It doesn't conceal a woman's assets, if you know what I mean…" she began.
He smiled slyly when he knew Tifa was not looking because her face was covered with the bandages already. "Oh so I wasn't mistaken when I saw one of the SOLDIERs before and she had an unusually large chest. That must've been you, Tifa!" he said brightly with a mocking tone.
"BLIMEY! You're lucky I'm small right now and couldn't hit you!" she snapped in embarrassment.
He was fighting the urge to laugh and smile further. "Alright, alright." He gently shoved her inside his right blazer pocket. "And Cloud is the one marching with my float, right?" he asked.
"Yes. The one who couldn't follow the pattern and the steps." Tifa said, giggling.
"And Barret's wearing the uniform of the ShinRa Marines…" he continued.
"And Red's wearing the SOLDIER uniform too." she added.
Silence.
"How is that possible?" Rufus demanded in awe.
"Maybe some SOLDIERs really look like a bunch of dogs that's why nobody noticed when we boarded the ship before." Tifa said.
Rufus rolled his eyes. "Alright. And then Sephiroth's going to be on the ship with us later on… but where will he be?" he asked.
"I was not aware that he was there." She replied.
"Looks like we have to be more aware later on…" he muttered before he took one last look at himself in the mirror, ran his fingers through his gelled-back strawberry blonde hair and then walked out of the room. "And then we'll grab Aerith's ribbon." He said.
"…right." She said mindlessly, although she was thinking that it would still be impossible.
oOoOo
Tifa could feel Rufus stepping up onto the podium. She could not sense any nervousness from him. Truth be told, she has no idea what his speech was all about, but he was able to memorize everything in one sitting, a day after he composed it in his PC. "I'll bet it's the usual Old man tried to control the world with money blah blah thing…" she was thinking with a disappointed look on her face. The moment she accepted the reality that she was attached to him, she also made it a point to put an effort in changing Rufus's mind about everything negative that he would be planning to do to the Planet and to its people… and to put an effort in befriending him and then prove to herself that he is not what everyone thought he was.
But still, she's not sure whether she has been successful in the past many days that they had been together. After all, he made it clear to her that he has no intention of becoming friends with her. "Maybe he's just being 'nice' because I'm attached to him and he could not do anything about it…" she thought.
She could still hear Rufus's Welcoming Ceremony being played, but it soon ceased. "Ugh. That song's really stuck in my head now…" she thought in disdain.
"Ladies and gentlemen, let us welcome our new President, Rufus ShinRa." The announcer said.
Everybody cheered and applauded.
Though both Tifa and Rufus were not sure whether the people were sincere with their cheers or not, they just kept it to themselves. In Tifa's case, she felt bad for Rufus because she knew that a lot of people hate him because of where he came from: ShinRa… and they still cheer for him.
As for Rufus, he realized that before, he did not mind people acting plastically around him… but now it made him feel awful to think that he was not really appreciated by anyone. "…But I have to change things around here so…" he thought to himself, urging himself to continue.
The crowd stopped cheering and applauding. Seemingly scripted.
Rufus wondered if there was a sign behind him that lights up, telling the audience to applaud and cheer whenever it would start blinking or when it would light up. But he did not bother to look. He just began to cite his speech:
"Father tried to control the world with money…"
Tifa's eyes widened. "Father?" she thought in shock. He actually used that word to refer to his Old Man! Tifa braced herself for more surprises, knowing that this speech was going to be a lot more different than what he had cited before in front of Cloud and his party.
"It seemed to have worked. You work at ShinRa, you get your pay. It looked perfect on the outside…" Rufus continued.
Silence.
"…My mother—wherever she is right now—once told me never to be like my father. And I'll admit that now." He proceeded.
His executives and the Turks were surprised to hear that.
Tifa began to smile mindlessly upon hearing that. "He did change…" she thought with a pleased smile on her face. She felt relieved.
"I never want to give out the impression that I'm a 'mama's boy', but I guess I was just a good son." Rufus said, smiling slightly. The crowd chuckled.
"He has a sense of humor after all…" Tifa realized silently.
"I was born here in Junon. Raised in Midgar. Flies back and forth from Midgar to Junon. Sometimes to Nibelheim—my mother's homeland. And in those travels, I would always see the works that my father had inflicted everywhere. Whatever a powerful and influential man has sowed upon the Planet can be seen everywhere. And ShinRa is a proof of that." Rufus began.
He scanned the crowd. Everyone was listening attentively and they were all looking at him in awe. His smile faded away and he lowered his gaze slightly. "My father sent me here to Junon when I became the Vice-President six years ago when I decided to speak out my mind regarding how I wanted things to change. What brought about the situation? He asked for my opinion about what should be done because the masses were starting to revolt." He looked at the audience again. "My response was that, military force is the answer to settle things. Plain and simple."
He waited for a reaction. Nobody moved. He wondered if they were even listening. But he still continued, "My father obviously did not agree with that. So he sent me to here in Junon; probably because this is where the main military base of ShinRa is located. And in my six-year stay here in Junon where I learned more military tactics while observing from afar the activities that my father had done in the ShinRa headquarters in Midgar, I realized how… how I had the opportunity to… to be different from him."
Tifa frowned slightly, sensing that Rufus was beginning to forget his lines… "Oh no…" she thought.
Rufus felt uncomfortable. He had spotted Aerith and Cloud in the crowd. They were wearing the SOLDIER uniforms as Tifa had described. He lost his words. Distracted. "Go on, Rufus… you can get the ribbon later on…" he was telling himself in silence.
"Rufus," Tifa patted his wrist.
Rufus swallowed hard, keeping a poker-faced expression on his face. With that, he just continued with whatever comes out from his mind: "I've seen how people suffered; how he has exploited the Planetary resources… and several other negativities. And I'm sure everybody has heard of that… including the deaths of innocent people and the people who were only trying to work for a good cause." He smiled slightly. "Because of this, I have decided to do things differently."
People braced themselves.
Rufus swallowed hard. "Go ahead. One of your main objectives for going back to this horrible past is to change things… so do it!" he instructed himself silently before repeating, "I'll do things differently."
Rufus stopped for a while, his mind filled with memories from the future where he and Tifa came from… the children, Geostigma, Kadaj, Sephiroth, deaths…
He closed his eyes for a while, hoping that those memories would go away. He did not want to have Geostigma anymore if ever he returns back to the future. He has to change things…
Rufus ShinRa opened his eyes and bowed down his head. He did not want to sound like an empty-headed politician saying out promises on what to do for the people in the future, so he just decided to keep quiet. After all, he has already mapped-out a plan on how he could make a difference… starting out with the discontinued use for the Mako reactors. "People will know eventually of what I am planning to do. They'll understand. And they'll come to realize that I'm different…" he thought to himself before saying out loud, "Thank you and have a good day ahead of you." And instantly turned away from the people, his facial expression stoic but his blue eyes giving off an uncomfortable look as he got down from the podium. Nobody applauded or cheered even as he got down from the stage. His welcoming march began to play again and everybody began to talk about him, wondering what's on his mind.
While being escorted to the ship, Rufus kept on looking behind him, checking on the SOLDIERs who were following after him. Before boarding, he stopped to face them.
"Gyahah. Sir, would you like to see an exhibition?" Heidegger presented.
Rufus blinked. "Oh, with their rifles?" he asked, recalling from before that the SOLDIERs had rehearsed a routine with their rifles. "…Alright. Enlighten me." Rufus said, bracing himself, although he was thinking, "Let's see where Cloud is…"
The SOLDIERs began to do the exhibition.
"Alright. One. Two. Three…"
Rufus was not even paying attention whether anybody else was making a mistake or not… because he has already spotted Cloud Strife.
Cloud, on the other hand, felt nervous. Rufus seemed to be looking through his helmet. Well he is, but Cloud thought that the disguise was really fit for him and that nobody else would recognize him except for Aerith, Barret and Red XIII. Cloud also noticed that Rufus's right hand was still in his pocket. "I wonder what really happened to that hand of his…" he thought.
Heidegger kept on looking at Rufus, then back to the SOLDIERs again, wondering if the activity was making any sense to the President. Heidegger was not the only one to notice that Rufus had been more distant from them than ever… and that he seemed to be more dazed. Sometimes, they would hear him talking to himself… something which they had never experienced from him before. And then sometimes when they would pass by his room, they would hear him talking to someone. A woman. But her voice would usually be soft and not as loud as Rufus's. Since then they had suspected that he has a secret girlfriend that he does not want the world to know about. But why? Probably because she is not from the upper society like him? Probably because she is a rebel? Probably because she is horrible-looking? There are several theories that had been formulated by the executives and even the Turks, only them, because they were the ones who were almost always around him. And what's with those doll's clothes that Rufus had asked them to buy and order from dressmakers? And the bandages around his right hand? What really happened to his right hand anyway, they would wonder.
When the exhibition was finished, Rufus turned to Heidegger. "Give them a prize." He commanded.
"…Gyah. What kind of prize, sir?" Heidegger asked.
"I am pleased with their performance. Give them something good… and increase their salaries." Rufus pointed out. "Yep. This is a good way to start with the 'I'll do things differently' crap I'm trying to implement…" he was thinking to himself silently.
The SOLDIERs were surprised at him.
"And I want you to give a call to Midgar and tell the engineers to stop all the activities for the Mako Reactors. I want those reactors to have their purpose changed. And tell our scientists to search for alternatives for Mako. Tell them to look for new energy sources to substitute for Mako as electricity. And make sure that those reactors are working properly and not causing pollution whatsoever." Rufus instructed sternly.
"Gyah…" Heidegger was speechless.
"Do you understand?" Rufus demanded harshly, feeling impatient.
"Gyah! Sir, yes, sir! Gyahahahah…" Heidegger laughed uncomfortably.
"Go now. This ship will not wait for you. I'll expect you to be back here in 15 minutes!" Rufus instructed.
"Gyah! But the telephones are far from here! It's in the base!" Heidegger said.
"Then run fast." Rufus said, flipping his hair with his left hand. "Or better yet, use a mobile phone or a payphone. Don't you have money?" he asked airily.
"Well… gyahahah… yes sir. Gyahahaah." Heidegger laughed uncomfortably.
"And stop that stupid horse laugh. It's annoying." Rufus snapped before turning away from him. "Gods. I missed saying that…" he muttered to himself with a slight smile on his face before stepping into the ship. "Hurry up. I don't have all day. I have to be in Costa del Sol." He announced.
"Gyah! Yessir!" Heidegger instantly ran off
The other SOLDIERs followed after Rufus inside the ship and went to their respective posts.
Cloud met up with Aerith by the deck. "Did you hear that?" Cloud asked her in disbelief.
"I did. I was there too." she responded.
"What's up with Rufus?" he asked in confusion.
She shrugged.
The two were unaware that two pairs of eyes were watching them from the Captain's Deck above. "Look at them. They're so lovely together." Tifa said dreamily.
"I thought you didn't like Aerith because she gets in your way to Cloud?" Rufus asked numbly.
"Who told you that?" she asked in shock.
"A little birdie." He answered playfully.
She just rolled her eyes. "That was before, Rufus. You think I'd be wearing the pink ribbon if I hated Aerith? We actually wore that in her memory." She told him.
"And speaking of pink ribbons… we have to get it now." He told her.
"Like, how?" Tifa asked.
Rufus turned around, checking if anybody had arrived. It was still the two of them inside the Captain's Deck. "I can ask the real SOLDIERs to seize her." He decided before turning back his attention to Aerith and Cloud who were still conversing on the lower deck.
"You can't do that!" she wailed.
"Why not?" he asked.
"It's mean!" she said.
"It's for a reason, Tifa." He told her.
"But… poor Aerith! Did you know that she has spent almost her entire life getting captured and then trying to run away from you ShinRas?" she asked in exasperation.
"Of course I know. But I wasn't the one who wanted her to be experimented upon. This time, she'll get captured and then released immediately once we get the ribbon on her hair." He pointed out.
"She doesn't even want to give it up." She muttered before sighing. "Besides, we have another person to worry about in this ship…" she began.
He frowned. "You're right. Sephiroth could be here now…" he said.
"Why do you want to go to Costa del Sol anyway?" she asked.
"I actually don't know why I have to go there right now…" he muttered.
Silence.
"Well what was the reason why you went there before?" she asked.
"I was searching for the Promised Land. I wanted to beat my father into finding it. He was not able to find it so I thought maybe I could. Now I know how absurd it is based from what I have learned from where we came from in the future…" he explained.
"Oooh. And Sephiroth's also looking for it, right?" she asked.
"That, I am not sure of right now." He replied.
"Rufus, you don't have to go to Costa del Sol right now. You don't have to faithfully follow the patterns and activities that you have done in the past. After all, you're here to change things, right?" she asked.
"And you're here to change things too." he pointed out.
"Maybe I'm just here to help you out." She said.
"You're in denial. You might want to change something… like kill Aerith, perhaps, so that Cloud can be yours? And if Aerith dies in the hands of Sephiroth later on, you can confess to Cloud that you love him so that he can be yours. I think that's what you want to do." He said with a malicious look on his face.
"What do you know about what I want to do? And do you even think I can tell Cloud, if ever I do love him right now, that I love him at this size?" she demanded in annoyance. "And I won't let Aerith die. If ever I am here for a purpose, I have thought about it. And I'm supposed to make sacrifices for myself." She muttered, crossing her arms with a sad look on her face.
He was quiet for a while before saying, "And that is?"
"…I'm doing this for Cloud. So that he can finally be happy." She sighed heavily as she looked at Cloud and Aerith again. "I've seen him once in the Church when I secretly went there for a visit. He did not know it, but I was there, watching him. He looked so miserable. And I watched him sleeping… I heard him… say her name in his sleep. I felt bad for him. And at that moment, I wished I could do something for him… like, bring Aerith back? But… I can't. And now that I'm here…" she swallowed hard and smiled gently. "I don't think I'd like anything bad happening to Aerith." She said softly.
Rufus just looked at Tifa. He was not sure what was going on in that little head of hers, but he just tried to understand. He turned his gaze back to Cloud and Aerith. "I know of his… pain." He said softly.
She looked up at him in surprise.
He had this hard look on his face but his eyes expressed pity on Cloud as he looked at him. "…he told me a part of it."
They were quiet, contemplating on their own thoughts and what they had just revealed to each other. Then, Rufus bowed down his head and turned away. "You're right, Tifa. We don't need to go to Costa del Sol right now. Let's just go back to HQ, have a quick lunch and proceed with my other plans." He said, but he stopped in his tracks when he heard someone speak from behind him as he was on his way to the stairs, "Rufus,"
Tifa felt the blood drain from her face when she recognized the voice… and to think she was completely exposed as Rufus's right hand! She and Rufus had completely forgotten about the bandages.
Rufus turned around to face Sephiroth in surprise. "You…you're here!" he said coolly.
Sephiroth was about to say something else but he saw Rufus's right hand… and he was shocked.
Rufus noticed where he was looking and his own blue eyes widened before shoving Tifa inside his pocket again. "Yes? Is there a problem?" he asked, trying to sound cool.
Sephiroth approached him and grabbed his right hand. "What is this?" he demanded, staring at Tifa in shock.
"It's my hand, not let go of it." Rufus said, struggling to pull it away from him, but Sephiroth's grip tightened around it. "There's a girl attached to your hand! Can't you see it?" Sephiroth demanded.
Rufus thought for a while before replying, "Gee, you're really insane. I don't see any hand."
Sephiroth backed away, releasing Rufus. His own hands felt clammy. "No… I'm really losing it now…" he thought in disdain.
"Rufus, I think you should tell him the truth or else he'll go crazier and might end up destroying everything now!" she warned Rufus with a nervous look on her face.
Rufus approached Sephiroth, "Alright, alright. You're not further losing it. It's… a long story but I can't explain it right now." He said.
Sephiroth turned to face him with a confused look on his face.
Rufus saw the look in his eyes and frowned slightly, "You need counseling." He pointed out.
"Nobody can help me! Everybody lied to me! And you lied to me too! With that hand!" Sephiroth said with a demented look on his face.
"Shhh! Keep your voice down! You wouldn't want anybody to hear that you're here!" Rufus told him as he went to him, trying to calm him down. "And I'm sorry if I kind of lied right now. I just don't want anybody else knowing that there's a girl attached to my right wrist!" Rufus apologized with an uncomfortable look on his face.
Silence.
Sephiroth smiled maliciously. "Gee, I kinda envy you." He said.
Rufus and Tifa raised their eyebrows at him. "Okay, I know what's on your mind. You're thinking of dirty thoughts again…" he began.
"Mwahah!" Sephiroth just laughed at him.
Silence.
"Can we talk?" Rufus asked.
Sephiroth's smile faded and he stared at Rufus with a blank look on his face and then turned his gaze to Tifa, then back to Rufus again. "…No." he replied.
"Why not?" Rufus reacted, surprised at Sephiroth's unpredictability.
"You expect me to trust you now?" Sephiroth demanded in exasperation.
"Look, I know what you're thinking right now. You think that you cannot trust anybody anymore because of the lies that Hojo told you before!" Tifa pointed out, butting-in to the conversation between Rufus and Sephiroth.
Sephiroth's left eye twitched as he looked at her. "What do you know?" he sneered.
"Hojo told you that JENOVA's your mother but then you found out who she really is, you went crazy. You discovered that you're not an ordinary human being and…" Tifa began to cite everything she had discovered from before, but Sephiroth cried out, "Argh! Enough! I hate being reminded of that Hojo!"
"And now you want to destroy everything because of revenge, talk about lame!" Tifa snapped.
Rufus swallowed hard, "Uhm… Tifa, I think you'd better stop now. If you provoke him further he might…" he began, but he trailed off when Sephiroth sneered at them, "Leave me alone…" and just turned away with a frustrated look on his face.
"He should be locked up in an asylum, Tifa…" Rufus whispered to her.
Tifa just shook her head. "I think he just needs someone to talk to. Why don't you do it, Rufus?" she asked softly.
Rufus was surprised at her. How could he become concerned with Sephiroth's issues if he still has a lot of issues himself? He took a deep breath. "But you'll help me, won't you?" he told Tifa before approaching Sephiroth again and placed his left hand on his shoulder. "Oh well… here goes. Lucky for me I took up Psychology 101 in college…" he was thinking to himself before telling Sephiroth, "Why don't we discuss this tonight? I'll give you time to think about things… and maybe then we could… talk?" he asked, unsure.
Sephiroth turned to him with a cold look on his face. "About what?" he asked coldly.
Rufus moved away from him and began to wrap the bandages around Tifa again. "…about our plans?" he asked, trying to keep a cool exterior even though he was feeling uncomfortable and unsure about his decision. He walked away from Sephiroth. "I'll be expecting you." He said.
Sephiroth watched as he walked away. "Aren't you looking for the Promised Land? I thought you're leaving for Costa del Sol?" he asked with a hard tone.
"Not anymore." Rufus replied simply as he flipped his hair and finally left, leaving Sephiroth there.
oOoOo
to be continued…