Author's note: I trust you've all had a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday (if you celebrated it)! Mine was a bit crazy with relatives gathering from across the globe. I feel wiped out from all the catching up with the changes in everyone's lives. It felt like someone had been spinning me too many rounds on a carousel! Despite it all, I'm still happier to return to the peace and tranquility of my own home. Please excuse typos and/or errors!

Tobiron: Thank you for the incredibly uplifting response! You really put a smile on my face! You flatter my n00b-ness though. ^_^;

Constance Truggle: (love your name, very clever!) Thank you as well, for your response. I'm really not a skilled writer (in fact, this is my first fiction ever!) so in the future, if I fail you and anyone else reading this, you have my apologies as I'm a n00b.

Disclaimer:

[ VI ]

There were certain paths that wove Cloud closer to the old Shinra Headquarters but then he'd have to find a detour having been met with dead ends. There were sections of scraps that Fenrir was able to be manipulated over, however, some were simply not laid out as friendly. He was glad he had set out early enough, seeing that now he was like a mouse inside a maze, trying to find a way out of the confusion.

When he finally rolled to a stop at the base of the headquarters, he was met by three armed SOLDIERs. It was an encounter he hadn't anticipated but he wasn't altogether surprised either. Just because Shinra's elite were gone didn't mean their grounds fell under ruin.

"Mr. Strife, we were ordered to unarm you upon your arrival," the man to his left informed, stepping quickly down the stairs.

"I'm not the threat here."

"Orders from the President, sir. No exceptions," the one in the middle reinforced.

Cloud disengaged from Fenrir and eyed the men over. "I'll keep them until we've reached his office," he bargained.

The SOLDIERs looked at one another and the last man shrugged. "He didn't say 'arrival' where so I guess that works."

The middle man's lip twitched. "You'll get us all fired."

"Relax. This is sir Cloud Strife. He's a good guy." The third man again.

If Cloud hadn't been in so many odd situations all his life, he'd have keeled over from the kind words of the SOLDIER who seemed the most amicable and had spoken up against unfair judgment laid upon him at first sight. Maybe the man was just simply more informed of the many occurrences of the Shinra Electric Company. Or maybe he had served longer and was privy to a larger network of information.

"I don't care who he is," the second man retaliated, "I'm not losing my paycheck over something this small." He turned his attention to Cloud again. "Weapons, sir."

Cloud glanced from one man to the next. One was inching out of the disagreement, the other was intent on following orders and the last was nonchalant about obeying the President's command. "We're growing old watching you two fight over this. Let's go."

He stuffed the keys to his bike in one of his pockets and ushered the men into the building. The weakest of the three seemed hesitant about the turning of the tables with Cloud having become the one in charge, nevertheless, he led the way like a loyal puppy who was eager to please.

Most of the interior had been redone and much of the places in the entrance lobby looked familiar. The experiences he had while escaping from this very building years ago, briefly crossed his mind. Aeris was still alive then, and like now, Sephiroth was only a faraway threat. Silver doors dinged and opened into a glass look-out lift. He had unpleasant memories of those re-done elevators as well. In fact, he was sure ninety-nine percent of his dealings with Shinra were bad.

As they took the never-ending escalated ride to the 70th floor, Cloud wondered if indeed it was a bad idea to allow his weapons to be removed once they arrived. The skepticism came from the knowledge that Rufus was not a trustworthy man. The elevator finally ringed, signally the end of their trip. Before Cloud even stepped out, the SOLDIERs each held out a hand, demanding wordlessly for his weapons. "We know who you are and understand that you can easily dismantle us so just cooperate and we can all have a nice day," the previous rule-upholder said with tightened lips.

They were right. He could easily cause a scene and risk the entire plan and be jailed without it having any worth, or he could take it at face value knowing that if things go wrong, sooner or later, his friends would come for him. It wasn't as if he had planned on causing an uproar. He had a feeling though, that Rufus may not actually want to harm him and really did have information. He also knew that if Rufus had something of value, Rufus was not going to give it up without a price tag. Money meant power and power meant fear.

Cloud unholstered First Ken and it rested across the three SOLDIER's awaiting hands. The men reacted to the weight of his base sword. He didn't know if they had expected it to be heavier or lighter than what fell in their grasps but he knew they were surprised by something. The other six pieces were still stored on Fenrir so if things went awry and started hitting the fan, at least he'd still have the rest of his weapon to keep him company.

Satisfied, the SOLDIERs led him into a large, once opened area, now encased in what Cloud guessed to be bullet-proof glass. Perhaps the late President should've thought of that but it may not have made any difference either. The glass probably wouldn't have saved him from being skewered regardless. Behind the flamboyantly huge desk, sat Rufus with his fingers clasped. He looked like a studious child eager to learn. Or a man trying to impose his importance to his audience, he thought darkly. To the right side of the Rufus-encased glass cube, Cloud locked eyes with Tseng and Elena standing still as statues. Having the two Turks on the outside gave the false impression that inside the cage was a safer bet. If Rufus tried anything suspicious, at least it appeared that there'd only be so far that he or the other blond could go.

"There you are, Cloud. I'm overjoyed to see you." Rufus smiled when he saw his special guest arrive. This time, the smile did reach his eyes and they flickered excitedly.

The glass doors to Rufus slid open after an audible beep. Cloud stepped in and the door beeped shut, trapping him with the man. Rufus smiled again and motioned to a set of expensive seats before his oversized desk. "Have a seat."

"No thank you. I'll stand."

"How rude. You're my special guest, you should please me a little."

"I'm not here to please you," Cloud retorted.

Rufus' lips curved up pleasingly at Cloud's stubbornness. "You should, as that's what I really want."

"What did you want to show me?" Cloud countered, brushing off Rufus' suspicious behavior.

Rufus raked a strand of blond bangs back and pointed to where Tseng and Elena stood. They both turned their backs to them and Tseng pressed a controller Cloud hadn't noticed Tseng was holding. A large projecting screen lowered from the high ceiling and a silent video began to play. Cloud immediately recognized the interiors of the Gold Saucer. The video rolled for several seconds before Tseng paused it. A clear figure was seen in the upper right hand corner walking amongst the freshly slaughtered.

"Correct," Rufus answered the unspoken question in Cloud's mind. "Notice the attire and weapon." He the waved at Tseng to continue.

Another clip from a different area played and then paused. This time the figure was directly in the middle of the screen but had crossed the path of the camera in such a high speed that even with the video stilled, the silhouette was still a blur. Despite that, it was hard to deny that the man greatly resembled Sephiroth.

Several different clips went by before Rufus waved it off. He turned his attention to Cloud and Cloud to his. "As you can see, there's ample proof of Sephiroth. I've been questioned about him being unaware of the cameras but I have a strong inkling that it wasn't that he was unaware of the cameras, I think he was simply ignoring them."

For a moment, Cloud stood quietly. Could the video have been fabricated after the fact? No, he remembered seeing the figure in the videos slaughtering people on camera. He didn't think Shinra would go through that much trouble, deceive, but never something that required far so much effort and then turn around to ask for his assistance. Then again, Rufus was nothing like his late father either. In fact, he had hoped to kill his father in what would seem an accident but that sequence of mishap failed, so when Jenova impaled his father, Rufus' plans fell into place anyway.

Cloud met Rufus' eyes. "What are you implying by showing me those videos?"

"To put it bluntly, we want your collaboration in stopping Sephiroth before he completely returns." Rufus leaned back in his oversized, over-stuffed presidential chair. "Allow me to explain in detail."

A short nod of Cloud's head had Rufus spilling his ideas like liquid over a water wheel.

"You see, when Sephiroth becomes part of the Lifestream, instead of becoming one with the Lifestream, he maintains his own self-awareness. In the time that he is there, he cannot be here. Even the great Sephiroth cannot transcend time, so to speak, however, he can project himself."

"The clones and the remnants..." Cloud trailed off, coming to the realization of where Rufus was headed.

"Exactly. But if we get to him physically before he completely reforms, then fate is in our favor."

"You can't get to the Lifestream without first being dead. And if you're dead, there are no guarantees that you'll be separate from the Lifestream," Cloud reasoned. "You're over-estimating yourself, Rufus."

The President leaned forward. "I didn't say I was going. You are."

At that, Cloud snorted in disbelief. "I've been there before and I'm not volunteering."

"Who would you send in your place then, Cloud?"

"This is your idea, not mine."

Rufus stood slowly from his seat. The deliberate speed was to not incite any sudden reaction from Cloud. "Knowing you in our years of acquaintanceship as well as doing my homework as the President of Shinra, did you not think I'd form a Plan B?"

Cloud waited.

Rufus walked slowly around his desk and toward Cloud. He swept his arms open, then proceeded to walk around Cloud's back. "These glass walls serve a specific purpose. If I can't go to where he is, I need him to come to me."

Cloud didn't bother to turn around. Normally, he would never show his back to the enemy. He soon realized that he should've remained true to that rule. A soft prickle by his ear jolted him from unintended stupor and before Cloud had the chance to react, Rufus slid a warm tongue up his neck. He jabbed his right elbow back at Rufus and Rufus lept gracefully away. When his feet touched the ground, the glass encasement rumbled, then shattered into a million pieces. Cloud's natural reaction was to shield himself with both arms. His quick judgment helped him to leap into the air and out of way of the rain of glass razors. From the aerial distance, Cloud noted the odd direction of the shards. They were flying in Rufus' direction!

With their loyal reflexes, Tseng and Elena both flew in. Elena shielded the three of them by tossing open a heavy fabric before them, halting many pieces of knife-like glass and the two pulled their Boss out of harms way. As the shards fell over the marble floors glittering like diamonds under the artificial lights, the four of them caught the millions of unmistakable reflections of Sephiroth watching them in each individual piece.

Cloud spun around on his heels, studying the large, opened room for signs of the silver-haired enemy to no avail. He couldn't have imagined Sephiroth being reflected in those shards, could he? He turned back to meet the gaze of the Turks and their Boss. Though all remained as poker-faced as he did, he knew he wasn't the only witness to that display.

"Oops. He's not very fond of me," Rufus said casually from across the room. Pieces of glass laid around his feet. In fact, the majority of the broken glasses were in their general direction as if a strong wind had blown the shards that way.

"Bring in some first aid, Elena," he continued, brushing down his white coat.

Cloud noticed a few minor cuts on the Turks' suits but that was all. The blanket-like sheet Elena had tossed, laid dormant, pierced and stabbed with glass between both parties. Elena briefly stepped out of Cloud's peripheral vision and returned with a white first aid kit, headed directly toward Cloud. He was a little perplexed as to why she was handing it to him when he felt fine.

As if reading the confusion in his eyes, Elena explained. "There are two scratches on your cheek. Do you mind?"

Cloud shook his head. "I'm fine," and backed away. "You should see if Tseng or Rufus have any injuries first."

Elena bowed and turned in her heels, grass crackling under her steps.

Rufus was concentrated on Cloud as Cloud studied the room. He couldn't help but lick his lips. Cloud tasted like utopia on his excited tongue and he conjured images of pinning the stoic blond down, ripping the clothes off that lean, fit body so he could run his hands over those tightly muscled abs hidden under the black shirt that teased him with the small exposure of Cloud's chest at the top. The burning urge to see and feel the stubborn Cloud writhing and panting, making lovely, sexual whimpers made Rufus' lower half throb. He snorted amusingly. If he wanted something, he was going to have it, no matter the means, especially since he had been quietly lusting after the blond hero from afar for too many years. Business always came first but this time, Cloud was falling into his hands and he was going to make sure he gets to Cloud before Sephiroth ruined his plans.