ARGH!
Sorry. That was just me crying out in anguish now that Dirge of Cerberus is out. The arrival of this game effectively makes the fanfiction you are reading obsolete, which means that I have no chance of attracting any new readers. It is rather frustrating. Anyway...I hope those of you who are currently reading it don't get bored and give up on it.
RULER
Rufus looked down once at the sad, tattered remains of his door frame, and then looked back up again. He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms as he did so.
"…We have to stop saying hello like this, Cloud. I'm not generating any income anymore. I can't keep fixing doors."
The ex-mercenary, standing across from him from where he had walked in, took off his sunglasses in response. Apparently, Rufus had heard Fenrir pull up. He had been standing by the window and looking outside, watching him come in. However, he hadn't gone to the door to let him in, and for good reason. As casually and readily as last time, he had kicked it open with one hit. Now he stood over the cracked and indented doorway and stared at the ex-President.
"If you have a suitcase…pack it." Cloud simply ordered. "You're coming to the camp now, so I don't have to make any more of these trips."
Rufus snorted. "Really." He answered. "I kind of enjoy the scenery around here, so I think I'll decline your offer."
"I wasn't offering." Cloud retorted. "You know more about the old Shinra than anyone. You should be able to come up with more than anyone to help out our intelligence. However, that's not the main reason I'm wanting you."
This made the young man raise an eyebrow, and he leaned back against the wall while crossing his arms. "…And what is the main reason?"
Cloud crossed his arms now, indicating his intention to be there a while. His look stayed dark, however.
"In a word…insight."
Rufus kept his one eyebrow raised.
"…I'm listening."
"I should have realized it a long time ago." Cloud went on. "It was so obvious. But the person who showed up today put things more in perspective. I thought back to the Geostigma again. I had it myself, because of the Jenova cells that were in me. In retrospect, the Geostigma wasn't actually a disease at all. It was just an autoimmune response to Jenova that was present in the body. I knew I had it…and I know you had it too."
Cloud trailed off here, but kept his eyes focused on Rufus as he did so. The man looked back at him calmly, having a slight smile. In the end, he gave out another chuckle.
"Well, well Cloud…bravo. It took you only four years to figure that out." The ex-president chided. "The signs were so obvious. You ran me through with your sword, in a blow I'm sure you intended to be fatal. Yet I still had the strength to grab onto the bottom of a chopper and let it carry me away. Within less than a week I was up and walking for my Inaugeration. Then of course, there's the matter of me surviving the destruction of Shinra HQ. I told you that most of my body was covered with burns. I wasn't lying about that. How else do you think I'm standing here without a scar on me? And let's not forget my little free fall from that building. At that height, it really didn't matter if those nets were made of pillows or razor wire. I would have been dead just the same."
Cloud shook his head as he stared at the young man. "…I never would have thought you would have been SOLDIER material."
"Whoever said I was?" Rufus answered, surprising Cloud a bit. "It was my old man's idea. The fart was too coward to try out his own mutations on himself, but he wanted me to be able to outlive and outdo all my enemies. Keep his legacy going. I got an unscheduled 'tetnus' shot when I was twelve."
Cloud's jaw slackened. "…That young?" He rhetorically asked. Much as he disliked Rufus, being injected with Jenova cells was not pleasant. And the younger you were, the more unpleasant it was. Although younger was better, it was only because the cells were able to integrate with developing bodies far greater than older ones. But the results made the patients feverish, sick, mentally disturbed…and occasionally corpses. No one deserved that…and what kind of father would be sick enough to…
Rufus seemed to read Cloud's mind, and shrugged. "I guess you know why I wasn't exactly all tore up to see him turned into a human shiskabob. Whether we're friends or enemies, Cloud…that doesn't change the fact that my dad was a greedy, heartless, pig-headed asshole. We both know it."
"Anyway…" Cloud continued, moving past that point. "That explained me…and that explained you. But then…something more obvious hit me. Only people with Jenova cells were infected. I could assume that naturally meant ex-SOLDIERs and whatever original test subjects were still running around. Yet for some reason…" Here, Cloud's voice and face turned much darker…and potentially angrier.
"…Only kids like Denzel got it. How would that be possible unless they had Jenova cells in them?"
Rufus' smile faded slightly. He still kept something, but this wasn't happy or funny business. Cloud glared at him…nearly accusingly. He assumed that Rufus knew. And in a way…he had, in fact. At least, he knew more than Cloud did. He sighed a bit…and folded his hands in front of him. He looked down over his body and was silent. But while he was…he heard the clicking of footsteps in front of him. He kept staring at the floor, however…until he saw a pair of black boots stand a foot in front of his own feet. At that point, he looked back up…and found Cloud glaring at him. His fists were tightening up.
"…Did you tell your scientists to experiment on children?"
Rufus' smile faded all together. He inhaled but stayed relaxed.
"…Even I'm not that low, Cloud. I told you once that I ruled by power and fear. I did. And I did so because that's what a real leader would do. My dad…he thought that everything had a price. Land, attorneys, buildings, neighborhoods, lives… He didn't give a damn about anything so long as it had a price tag on it he could fill. In the end, he was just a fat bastard stuffed with money. I may have been a son of a bitch myself, Cloud…but even I won't steep low enough as some things. I actually cared about the people who lived under Shinra. I cared what happened to this world. I take responsibility for what my family's company did to it. Why else did you think I launched that whole crusade against Sephiroth, Meteor, and the WEAPONs that cost me my military, my company, and nearly my life? My dad made me Vice President so that I wouldn't ever be around or in a position to tell him to reconsider doing some things…like smashing one eighth of the people in a major metropolitan area to kill three terrorists. So, frankly…I don't appreciate you getting in my face at this moment."
Cloud continued to glare down at him for a moment. However, Rufus' face didn't lie, and he had a feeling he was serious about this. He kept his eyes on him, but he did take one step backward, giving a bit more room. Rufus straightened up a bit more and scratched the side of his head.
"That said…you and I both know that Shinra Inc. had plenty of psychos who were willing to stoop low enough as just about anything. Psychos who didn't think anything about going behind their superiors' backs so long as it justified their means."
Cloud heard this…and then bristled, wishing he could kill that man a second time.
"…Hojo…"
Rufus shrugged. "Guy does have the virtue of being the world's largest scapegoat. During my short-lived administration, he came up to me with a new plan. He knew how I was giving the go ahead for more improvements in military technology, and he wanted to start a new Sephiroth cloning program. Now…this was the first Sephiroth cloning program that I was aware of. He went around behind a lot of backs with the one that made you. At any rate, he noticed how the younger a person is who gets put into SOLDIER, the more easily the Jenova cells can integrate and become established with their development patterns, thereby reproducing and becoming existing cell lines within the subject. The result is a much stronger, faster, and smarter SOLDIER…assuming they, of course, survive the process. He wanted me to attempt to use this process on younger people…children less than five years of age."
"And did you?"
Rufus frowned again and sighed. "…He wanted me to. He cited the fact that we had already played God with the building blocks of people's lives ever since we started using POWs as mutants. However…he neglected to point out that he was the one who spearheaded almost all of those movements. I told him to get lost. The guy freaked me out. Only my old man really ever kept him around. Probably because my old man was about as soulless as him… Scarlet and Heidegger may have been a couple of airheaded murderous imbeciles, but they also cared more about machine and mako weapons than biological experiments. Promoting them might have been a way to get rid of Hojo eventually. Of course…since when has Hojo cared about little things like superior authority and decency stop him?"
"Do you know what he did?"
"If I had to guess, he went behind my back to a ready supply of children that nobody cared about…at least nobody with money. I noticed back in Edge how their little force was composed almost entirely of children who had been from the lower plate. There was already so much garbage and chemicals in their supplies…who would care that he mixed a bit more?
"Unfortunately for him…I did. Most of the chemicals and pollutants that got into the water that went to the Lower Plate were runoff from factories or leaks. Hojo couldn't just run around all over Midgar dumping cultures of Jenova cells and hoping that they would find their way into some kid's lunch thermos. He had to introduce it at the source, the main treatment plant. However…that plant's water went to the lower plate and upper plate alike. Once the water reached the lower plate, it didn't matter what happened to it before it reached someone's mouth. But after it left that plant, it had to be safe at that stage at least. Our filters would have picked up anyone screwing with the supply before it left the plant. He could get around it…but not in the way he wanted. He could only put in trace amounts of the stuff, not enough to match his theorhetical threshold. Yet I guess he took the chance anyway…because, low and behold, we have kids running around everywhere with the stuff in them."
Cloud tilted his head to one side. "…And when did you become aware of all this? When you started seeing the same black spots you had on the spots of the children in Midgar, and asked what you all had in common?"
"Please. I had moved out of Midgar at that point. And the pattern was so random seeming at first that it could have been any disease. I even took a bit of stock in the theory that it was the Planet avenging itself on me by sucking the life out of my tissue, just as I sucked the life out of it. What really tipped me off to the cause was when the Turks went to the Crater to get what was left of Jenova…and when I ran into three rather psychotic, violent, and powerfully mutated four year olds: Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz."
Cloud's pupils shrank slightly as his jaw slackened. He made the connection almost immediately.
"…You mean to tell me…"
"Why else do you think they were clinging so much to the thought of a mother?" Rufus cut off. "Why did they act so childish? Why did pain or distress cause them so much discomfort? What…did you think we built them? That we had three mini-Sephiroths on standby? Hojo may have only put a trace amount of Jenova into the water…but there are always exceptions. Always people with just the right combination of genes who might stumble along. But to make things perfectly clear, Cloud…that's what they were. They were children from Midgar, just like that boy you adopted. Only unlike him, the Jenova fully integrated itself with their bodies, became established, and took over, mutating them in size and power…turning them into Sephiroth clones much closer to the original than anything Hojo ever tried with an adult subject."
Cloud's head bowed in overwhelmed surprise. He stepped back again, holding his hand to his mouth. That's what they were… That's why they acted the way they did…why they seemed so simple while Sephiroth seemed so intelligent and focused. In reality…they were just kids… They were some unfortunate souls who drank the wrong water at the wrong time… They had been turned into those things by Jenova, just as Cloud had nearly been turned…
Rufus saw this, and let out another a small sigh. "To be honest, Cloud…it had a snowball's chance of working. Injestion is the most inefficient way to introduce Jenova cells. Most of them are destroyed in the stomach. What the kids drank back in the City of the Ancients had to be over a hundred times as concentrated as what we normally introduced via injection, and that was only to act on the cells already inside their bodies. Even then, within twelve hours, their own weakened immune systems were bringing them out from under their control."
Cloud didn't answer. He closed his eyes and moved his hand to his forehead, exhaling again. He felt a surge of regret inside him. Those three…they hadn't been born that way. They were once innocent flesh and blood, just like everyone else. But they were turned into those things…and in the end, he couldn't help them. He could only kill them. It wasn't even their fault…
Rufus looked at Cloud a bit longer, seeing him sullen and downcast over what he had realized. The ex-President himself straightened up a bit off the wall. He gave Cloud some more time to take this in, but not too much. After all…it was too late to do anything about it now. And after this, he had some questions of his own.
"It's been two years since Edge, Cloud. Why are you suddenly interested in figuring this out now?"
Cloud kept his head bowed for a moment, but then looked up again and back into Rufus' eyes.
"…Because Kadaj had a 'little brother', and he's arrived on my doorstep."
Rufus raised an eyebrow at this.
"…Maybe moving to the Planet Protector Army camp wouldn't be so dull after all…"
RULER
A grand total of two days had passed since the Turks found themselves under arrest by the Planet Protector Army. Since then, they had been shipped to a temporary prison cell. It wasn't much. Apparently, it had been used to house the Zola character before. As such, it had rather extreme security measures. They were all in the same room, but it didn't really matter. So much as touching one of the bars could be fatal, and they were too strong for even four people to find a way out of. The rest of the POWs had filled their other prisoner shelter to capacity, leaving them there.
However, it was around noon on the second day when Reno noticed the door to the small jailhouse open. On turning to it, he saw General Ragnar Vice himself walk in. He had a rather stern and emotionless look, and he had some twenty armed soldiers along with him. Combined with the four men who were already guarding the cell, and that equaled up to a sizable number. And for the moment, Reno had no weapon. His nightstick had been confiscated, as had all of their weapons. Only Rude retained his initial toughness. If the intentions of this group were hostile, they were in big trouble. However…they had worse odds, and Reno doubted that Ragnar was that kind of person. He stood up in front of the bars when he entered, standing straight and tall and waiting for what he had to say.
Once inside, Ragnar came to a halt. He looked to the cell for a moment, and then gestured to it. "…Let them out."
The guard jailer gave a nod, and then turned to the controls on the bars. He began to deactivate them. As he did, Reno raised an eyebrow. He hadn't been expecting that. He turned and looked back to his companions. Rude was leaning against a wall. Elena was lying on one cot, looking up at the ceiling. Krystea was seated on the floor, fooling with one of her slip-on scrub shoes, for she hadn't yet changed clothes. However, on hearing this, they all turned and looked over to Reno. Rude himself straightened up off of the wall. He turned to the Turk afterward, and flashed him a look underneath his glasses, as if to say something…
Should we jump them now?
Reno paused at that, scrunching his lips. But after looking thoughtful a moment, he gave a small head shake to them. Rude didn't question it again. He and the other two Turks rose and walked up to Reno's side. Moments later, the bars were off, and the jailer came forward and unlocked the cell. The four Turks immediately and silently stepped out.
"Let's go outside." Ragnar said as soon as they did so, and then turned and began to walk to the door. Reno, seeing nothing better to do, did as he was told and followed. The other three followed along behind him. They all passed under the doorway, and out into the street beyond. As they did, Reno took a moment to look around. The twenty had redeployed, it seemed, surrounding the area and the four prisoners along with it. He also noticed that they seemed to have a rather interesting choice of a commander. It was Tifa. And she was wearing an interesting combat uniform that was looser and more relaxed, with an emblem that matched those of the soldiers around her. Apparently, she had her own special unit…and here they were.
Once they were clear of the building, Ragnar stopped and turned around. The four Turks halted and stared back at him. Reno turned his head to the sides, looking around at the guards and the situation. He took note of the wind and how empty Midgar still was. In the end, he turned back to Ragnar. He was about to fish for a cigarette, only to remember he had none. They had been taken from him. And so, he lowered his shades over his eyes to block out the noonday sun, and then put his hands in his pockets instead.
"So…what's the verdict, junior?"
Ragnar narrowed his gaze. "First of all…I hate being called junior."
Reno looked unimpressed. "Well, I hate spending two days in a jail cell. It's tough all over I guess."
The general exhaled, but then continued. "You said me and Cloud were part of your job. So was the Sierra. You tried to kill us and blow up our ship. My friends told me that you guys don't give up on a job once you start…so I can only assume you'll try again if I let you go."
"Not this time, junior." Reno answered, leaning back a bit and seeming rather bored at the exchange. "You were there. We were called off. We don't take risks we don't get paid for."
"Well, if it hadn't been for Krystea turning on you, we'd be dead and Aerith would be a Shinra specimen." Ragnar answered back.
"That's life." Reno answered with a shrug. "So what are you going to do? You're obviously coming to the point that you think we're a threat. The question is what you plan on doing about it. Somehow, you don't strike me as the type who would put Leers himself in front of a firing squad. The alternative is sticking us back in that cell, which is fine with me, because we'll break out of it within two weeks. So which is it?"
Ragnar crossed his arms in response, frowning at Reno the whole time. It was obvious that he didn't like him. However, Reno didn't really care. He wasn't looking for a fan club. He inhaled again and leaned back a bit himself, and then finally spoke up.
"…I might be willing to let this slide."
Reno was caught off guard a moment. He hadn't really expected that. Now this was a bit interesting. However, at the same time, Ragnar was talking like someone who held the fate of the Turks in his hands. In Reno's estimation, Ragnar didn't hold a damn thing. The Turk continued to look bored, and actually chuckled a bit.
"Oh…how merciful." He sarcastically answered. "As if we actually needed your forgiveness, or cared about it."
"I'm willing to let you all go back, scott free." Ragnar continued regardless. He gestured behind himself. Reno cast a glance in the direction, and saw the truck that the soldiers had arrived in. "That will take you out to the airfield, where your helicopter is refueled and waiting." The general went on. "It can get you back to the new base they're building. What I want in return for this is for you to act as counter-spy intelligence. You can keep doing missions for them, if you have to…but I want to know who they're spies are and where, and where they're intending any espionage. Since you guys are their highest level of espionage, I figure you'll know all their members."
Reno smiled at this, and let out another snicker.
"So…you want to hire us."
Ragnar sighed. "…I didn't say that. I'm not paying you for this."
"Well then, you're up a creek, junior." Reno simply answered. "You're wanting us to act as double agents, which is always a nasty business, and one that I don't really enjoy doing. If you're trying to blackmail us, then you're failing badly. I already told you that I could get out of your camp if I wanted, so imprisonment is not a negotiating point in your favor. Quid pro quo. If you want me and my group to stick out our necks for you, then you'll have to come up with something we want."
Ragnar continued to frown. "This is hardly asking you to stick out your necks. I'm taking a chance by letting you go, because I know you'll only carry out more missions against us. You might even turn around and try to stab me in the back. All I want you to do is tell us who their operatives are."
Reno shrugged. "Still an unnecessary risk…and inconvenience." He answered back. "Make us an offer."
Ragnar paused after this, and looked over the four of them. All, including Krystea, had turned cold and emotionless, and glared at him waiting for his answer. Reno nearly smiled wider at it. He didn't know if Ragnar thought he would get support from her, but if he did he was sorely mistaken. Krystea was still a Turk, not a flower girl. And her nature was theirs. They all looked on simply, waiting for Ragnar to make a better deal. Reno actually felt like this was a bit of a challenge. Could the kid actually come up with something? Perhaps actually surprise him? Or was this going to end up being some boring battle of wits, and he should go back to thinking of how to get around the security system?
In the end, Ragnar exhaled again, and shook his head. "Alright then…you leave me no choice."
Hearing this, Reno once again found himself puzzled…and intrigued. Rude showed nothing, but both Elena and Krystea had their looks break down a moment, and they formed some confusion on their faces. As for Ragnar, he simply reached down to his own side, and went into his pocket. A moment later, he began to pull out a device.
"You're right in what you're thinking right now, Reno." Ragnar went on. "I don't want to kill you, and I don't think I could execute you in a military style." A pause. "…But that doesn't meant I wouldn't let someone else do it."
Ragnar turned around the device for the group to see. On looking at it…the Turks recognized what it was immediately. It was a tape recorder. And now, Ragnar pressed the play button, and let what was on it be presented to the Turks.
To their surprise…it was their own voices.
"This explains why she risked her neck to save Aerith. She thinks Aerith is her sister. Damnit…she should have told us about this. We would have been able to point out a dozen reasons why that can't be true."
"I think there's a bit more at stake than just that, Elena. I'm thinking the New Shinra don't exactly know about this particular little document. If they did…then Krystea's own head is in a noose. They didn't think anything about her mother. Tseng spent his career in the Turks trying to nab Aerith. They could be looking to make her their guinea pig too if they find out about this."
"So now what? I mean…Krystea thinks she's her sister. If it was any of us…wouldn't we have acted the same way? Tried to save her life? Knowing what New Shinra will do to her if they catch her?"
"Family ties mean nothing to the job of a Turk. We're supposed to do our job even if it means turning in our own mother. …But in all honesty, I don't have a family. I've never had to test myself to see if I'd go through with it."
"…I don't like that Cetra. I never did…and I don't like her even more now that she's some witch… But…it doesn't seem right to bust her if Krystea's involved…"
"We're in a bad spot. If we bring Aerith in, we'll either have to kill Krystea to do it, or bring her back alive and have them find out who she really is. Then they'll both be test subjects."
"But if we don't…then we're all fugitives. …And I, for one, will die before I go up to Cloud and beg him for protection or asylum."
"…So…what's the move?"
"We're Turks. We do a job that we were told to do. No matter how unpleasant…no matter how dirty…we get the job done. What we feel about it was no longer a factor the day we put on the suit. It goes with the territory, no matter how bad or good we feel about it.
"But…we were screwed on this mission on the start. Rude is absolutely right about our commitment to the job…but it's because of a special case like he mentioned that we need to know everything about a mission before we begin. As any good assassin knows, you never make the matter personal. It screws up things far too much, and it's done so now. If we had known the full story before taking this mission, we never would have accepted. And that, I believe, falls under the jurisdiction of a problem that is in the client's hands. And it doesn't matter how bad or good he feels about it, or whether he wants our heads on his wall for it or not. It's still, at the end of all things, his lack of foresight.
"Alright then…let's get ready. When Krystea gets here…I guess we'll be helping her and Aerith to get off of this continent, and maybe getting ourselves off in the process…"
The eyes of Elena and Krystea progressively widened as this conversation took place, and anxiety crept upon them. Rude's jaw tightened, and he let out a long exhale of air. Reno's smile faltered slightly, although it didn't disappear. It wasn't because he was confident…it was because he didn't want to show fear before anyone. Once Reno's last bit of dialogue ceased, Ragnar stopped the tape, and returned it to his pocket.
"Well, well, well…" Reno announced aloud. "I don't know what to be more surprised at…how ironically the tables turned, or how you actually proved yourself to be clever. How did you get this?"
"From Vincent Valentine." Ragnar answered. "He had been monitoring the New Shinra spies for months. He bugged every hotel room he found out about that had uses simply for New Shinra operatives. You guys happened to pick the wrong one. If I edited this tape just a bit, it could look like you four deliberately sabatoged the mission to help Aerith."
"Why you little-" Elena began to sneer, before Rude reached out and stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.
"So what?" Reno retorted with a bored voice. "Then New Shinra would be out for us. You think that matters?"
"It should." Ragnar answered calmly, seeming to be more at ease now. "You'll have made enemies of the PPA and New Shinra. There won't be many places left on Gaia you can reside safely, and no one left to pay you for your jobs. You'll be able to stay on the run, but for how long? How long would it be before the money dried up? Or someone got lucky?"
"Again, junior…lay off the threats." Reno simply answered. "You're out of your league there. They'll always be someone willing to hire us. You may make my life a bit more inconvenient, but far from the living hell you wish I'd be living in."
Ragnar paused a moment. However, it wasn't because he was at a loss for words…and Reno realized that the moment he saw it. It was because he had another card up his sleeve. The Turk had hoped that perhaps the kid wouldn't think of it…but it was too much to expect him to be that stupid. The truth was…this kid would haven't lasted as leader so long if he hadn't learned to exploit every weakness. He finally spilled it.
"Then why don't I send the tape as is…and let New Shinra know that they have a perfectly good Cetra specimen right there?"
Krystea's jaw slackened at that. Elena's eyes widened in shock. Then, she turned fearsome again, and nearly lunged at Ragnar once more. It was once again due to Rude's intervention that she didn't. Reno kept his smile and looked calm…but he felt his insides turn slightly at that, and tried to suppress any sweat from forming. He didn't care about almost anyone…but the Turks were an exception. They were his partners, his friends…and even his family.
Ragnar pressed his advantage, now that he finally had it. "Krystea may have managed to get that information away from New Shinra before they realized it, but this tape makes it clear who she's related to. After that, you won't be mere criminals. You'll be fugitives. You'll be hunted just like Cloud and his group was hunted, and just like you hunted Aerith two days ago. And you can rest assured you won't get any sympathy or help from my army. You said you couldn't break out from here for another two weeks. That's enough time for me to use Krystea as a negotiating point with General Leers for something I want."
Elena bristled again. Krystea was growing fearful. Rude was struggling to hold the former woman from charging. Reno looked over the general, and saw how he had grown firm and solid in what he said. The Turk turned his head from left to right, and moved his hands in his pockets for a moment. He seemed to be looking Ragnar over, examining him and probing him. In the end, he finally did something.
He laughed.
"Nice try, junior…" He finally sneered. "But once again, you're out of your league. Now the game is cards, and you're trying to bluff me. Well…I'm afraid I'm going to have to call. You see, general…I know you. I know you a hell of a lot better than you know me. And I know who you are. You're a wishy washy, bleeding heart, nature loving country hick. I know this because otherwise you never would have got Cloud and his gang to come with you. They gravitate to little shrimps like you all the time. Even if that wasn't the case, I saw already how you've made a new friend with Aerith. And you honestly expect me to believe, for one minute, that you'd actually break her poor little heart by sending her sister off to the chemistry sets? You'd never hear the end of it. You don't have the guts, you don't have the balls, and your heart's too damn big for you to do that to anyone, let alone Krystea."
Silence hung on the air. The Turks looked back to Ragnar, and waited for him to make the next move. A wind blew by, the only sound on the silence. The general stood there calmly for a moment, not reacting to this tirade.
Then…at last, Ragnar moved. His face set like stone. His eyes blazed up with an inner power…a power that the Turks hadn't seen before. Ragnar's men had. It was the same force of will and strength that came to him every now and then, always when the army was in its greatest need. It came forth now…and it blazed hotter than Aerith's own flames. Seeing it…even Elena cooled and backed down slightly. Rude and Krystea stared at him…and both began to feel uneasy within. Reno alone stood his ground, seeming totally calm…but inside suddenly not feeling well.
Ragnar, perfectly calm, without the slightest misstep in his casual air, walked forward to Reno. The man stood taller than him, but Ragnar looked up into his hidden eyes. He continued to close until he was nearly touching noses to him. There…he reached up, took Reno's glasses, and without quivering at all raised the lenses off of his face and gently set them back on his head. Now…Reno's unguarded eyes looked straight and deep into Ragnar's own blazing, fierce ones.
"…Try me."
It was two of the most powerful words Reno ever heard.
Reno's smile stayed, and his features didn't break as he stared back into Ragnar's eyes. However…strong as he was…he couldn't hide the fact that his eyeballs were shaking…and that a bead of sweat slowly rolled down one side of his head.
Ragnar held that position for a few moments more, but then finally stepped back. Calmer, he turned and began to walk away. "Put them back in the cell. This was a waste of time…"
"Wait."
Ragnar froze where he was, caught by that one word. Slowly, he turned around and looked back to Reno. The Turk, on his part…couldn't look in his eyes anymore. He turned his head down slightly, and dug one of his shoes against the ground. The smile was still on his face, but it was obvious that his mood had changed. He hesitated a moment, but then snickered and shook his head.
"Junior…" He slowly said aloud, still smiling, his voice airy and light, as if he was daydreaming. "…I am going to bash your brains in and break every bone in your body if I ever find out you were bluffing…but deal."
A smile spread on Ragnar's face at that. He gave a single nod.
"…Deal."
RULER
Ragnar stood straight and tall as he watched the truck sputter to life. A moment later, it kicked into gear and began to drive away down the road. The prison now empty, the four guards who had been present began to clean and lock up. The other twenty had accompanied the four Turks, leaving only Ragnar and Tifa behind. The general was expressionless as he saw the truck go down the street, turn a corner, and then become lost from view. The sound of the engine slowly faded.
While he stood there, he sensed someone stepping up next to him. He turned slightly to the side, and saw that it was Tifa. She was looking out after the truck as well. However, she also spoke to Ragnar.
"…Would you have really done it?"
Ragnar looked back ahead at that. He inhaled once again.
"…Master Bahamut taught me that the only true way to fake out an opponent is to believe the bluff yourself. As of now, I could never sentence another human being to that fate. Especially not to someone like that general." The youth paused after saying that, and slowly sighed.
"But at that moment…the moment when I was trying to convince Reno…I would have sold her to Leers in a heartbeat."
Tifa didn't answer. She continued to stare out ahead at the truck, not changing expressions. Ragnar looked a bit sullen after a moment. "…That change your opinion of me?" Ragnar asked. "Not quite the innocent kid I was who stumbled into the Seventh Heaven?"
"No." Tifa simply answered. "…That's something Cloud would have done."
Ragnar wasn't sure whether that was a compliment, a complaint, or a statement of fact. He just continued to look out. The engines in the distance continued to fade. And yet…as they stood there, Ragnar realized the sound wasn't fading all together… In fact, it was getting stronger, it seemed. As he continued to listen, he realized it wasn't coming from in front of him. It was coming from behind. And it was of a different quality than a car. It was much louder…leading Ragnar to recognize what it was almost immediately.
Both he and Tifa turned around to see the source. Coming down the road, already slowing down from having gone full speed, was Fenrir. Even from here, Ragnar could already see Cloud's tuft of gravity-defying blond hair. He must have been back from his trip already. At any rate, he stood there and waited as Cloud drove down the road. He continued to slow as he got nearer, until he came to a perfect stop just about ten feet in front of them.
Once there, Cloud shut off the engines, and moved his sunglasses back off his head. He quickly dismounted the motorcycle. As he did, Ragnar noticed that he wasn't alone. A man, wearing a long white coat that clashed with Cloud's black, soon began to pull himself off the rear end as well. Ragnar had only known New Shinra, and then only under General Leers. He had little concept for who was previously in authority. Even then, he hadn't gone on the mission with Cloud and the others, and developed any animosity for the people who used to be their enemies. As such, he didn't react much as he saw the man step off of the motorcycle and stand tall, looking around the area as he held onto only a framed square and a rather small suitcase.
"Hmm." He said aloud. "Even the condemned neighborhoods look better when the sun can shine on them."
Ragnar noticed a shifting at his side. He turned and looked to Tifa. He soon noticed she had changed. Her normal pleasant face had tightened up, and she gave a dark look to the white coated man in front of her. Ragnar noticed her cracking the knuckles in her good hand.
"…I didn't know you'd bring him back with you, Cloud."
The man looked over to Tifa, his face a sullen frown.
"Hello to you too."
Cloud, on his part, walked up to the young man. After that, he indicated outward to the new arrival. "General Ragnar Vice…allow me to introduce former President of Shinra Inc., Rufus Shinra."
Rufus turned to Ragnar, and gave him a once over. After that, however, he gave a nod. "Finally seeing you in the flesh. Don't expect any cracks from me about your age. I was only eighteen myself when I took control of Shinra Inc."
Much as that had intended to not be an insult, Ragnar still found himself bristling at it.
"…I'm twenty-one."
Rufus raised an eyebrow at that. He looked over the young man again, as if inspecting him to verify that claim. He hesitated a moment, but then finally shrugged. "Whatever floats your boat, general. You're not my responsibility anyway, unlike the last general I knew."
"I assume there's a good reason you brought him over here." Tifa sourly spoke up, crossing her arms and continuing to glare at the ex-President.
"Well, for one thing, I don't want to run over to Healin Lodge every time a problem like Azure shows up." Cloud responded. "For another, I'd like to keep him around as a consultant now. He's the one who knew everything about Shinra Inc. before they turned rogue. He might be able to help us."
"I don't know about that." Rufus answered as he stepped forward a bit more. "Otherwise, Leers might have shanghaied me himself by now. I might hurt your cause. After all, I start hanging around with you, people might start thinking you're trying to bring the old Shinra Inc. back into power, and this boils down to some power struggle for who inherits the business. Don't expect me to make myself public. Personally, I'd rather just retreated to my little hovel in the mountains where no one would know I was with you."
"…And as far away from any damage as possible too." Tifa answered darkly.
Rufus rolled his eyes and sighed again. He turned to the side and faced Tifa. He appeared very tired looking.
"…You aren't still mad about me using AVALANCHE as a public execution scapegoat, are you?" He asked in a mostly bored tone.
A moment later…a rather loud smacking sound went out as Rufus' head snapped violently to the side. His eyes closed and he let out a grunt of pain, for he was nearly knocked off his feet. However, Tifa, her fist still extended over where she crossed him, made sure not to knock him down. That kind of punch would have given most of its power up to the fall. She wanted his face to take all of it.
"Yes." Tifa snapped back.
Ragnar had taken a step back, stunned at how Tifa had suddenly decked him like that. Cloud himself lowered his head and sighed a bit himself, seeming to have expected this but not wanted to deal with it. Rufus' eyes opened, and he let out a low groan. He slowly pulled himself back up straight. As he did, he wiped his mouth where a large, dark spot was forming, and spat to the side. There was a wad of blood in it.
"Bash my face to a pulp if you want. It won't change human nature." The ex-President simply answered. "You hate me for doing that. Why don't you hate these people you live among? They're the non-thinking idiots who would have devoured your public death and taken it as fact. And by the way…I had plenty of reasons to execute you that had nothing to do with making you the blame for the incident. Which…by the way…was indeed the fault of AVALANCHE, in particular him." Here, he gestured to the side, pointing a thumb at Cloud.
The ex-mercenary didn't react to this. However, Tifa tensed up again, and got ready to strike once more. "What's that you said about me being able to bash your face to a pulp if I wanted?"
"Alright, that's enough." Cloud suddenly said, stepping in between the two. He turned and gave a dark, stopping look to Rufus, but when he turned to Tifa he softened up somewhat. His look was more of an asking question rather than a command, as if he was asking her to please tolerate this. Tifa bristled a bit longer, but finally huffed and stepped back. Rufus himself eased up a little. He raised his hand and brushed back a strand of hair from his face.
"I didn't come here to debate the reasoning of my actions to you anyway." He stated. "However, if you think I'm going to crawl into some hole while I'm here, you're wrong. I wouldn't have come if that was my intention. I may not be that good to you as a soldier, and I may not be able to go public, but I still might be able to do something."
The ex-President turned to Cloud after that. "I think I'll rely on my old employee Reeve to try and set me up. Don't take it personally…but for the reasons I mentioned already, I think it's best if I didn't hang around your installations. Everyone there should recognize my face."
Ragnar leaned back up and smoothed himself out a bit. Now that Tifa was crossing her arms and trying not to pout, things were calming down once again. Once more, he looked to Rufus and noticed what he had in his arms. It wasn't much at all. He scratched his chin as he looked at them. "…Planning on wearing the same clothes every day, I guess…"
Rufus turned to Ragnar at that, noticing the comment. Afterward, he looked down again at his things, noticing that Ragnar was looking at them. "These?" He responded. "I always travel light. Just the essentials. Underwear, toothbrush, about thirty extra shotgun shells…the usual things."
Ragnar pointed to the frame. "What about that?"
"This?" Rufus answered. He looked down, and noticed what the object was. At that, he bent down and set his small suitcase on the ground, and then straightened up again. He pulled the frame out and held it in front of him. However, he looked to Ragnar as he did and angled it somewhat, allowing him to see it. When Ragnar looked at it, he realized it was a photograph.
"Just a bit of a momento." Rufus explained. "Naturally, I didn't show myself at the opening of the Meteorfall Monument in Edge, although I funded its construction…or rather, to most of the world, a trust fund in my memory did. I had a photographer take this panoramic picture of it. I wanted to see the city there on the eve of its new age, and know that although I may have led to the former's destruction, I marked the birth of the latter."
Ragnar examined the picture a moment. He had seen that monument a hundred times by now. He passed by it often while moving through the city. It also gave a great view of Midgar's skyline. You could see almost all of the ruins of the old upper plate, or at least the supports. If you looked really hard…you could almost see the ruins of Mako Reactor No. 4 on the far side of the city… Seeing Mako Reactor No. 5 or No. 6 was impossible, though. There was too much wreckage in the way from…
On seeing this, however…Ragnar froze.
"…What's that?" He asked, pointing his finger at the picture, on the wreckage that had caught his eye.
Cloud noticed the sudden change in Ragnar. So did Tifa. On seeing him like this, they realized he wasn't asking an idle question. They stepped forward at once and looked to the picture as well. Rufus, on his part, saw what Ragnar was pointing at, and gave a shrug.
"Not much…at least, not at that point. That's the ruins of the Sister Ray. To this day, it's the strongest weapon mankind has ever managed to build. Too bad it died on its maiden voyage…or then again, maybe it was providence. That thing turned this entire city black with one shot."
"I remember it from when Cloud talked about it." Ragnar answered, seeming disinterested with that part of its history. "What I'm wondering, is why is it in this picture…"
After saying this, Ragnar backed away from it and looked up. His hand pointed out into the sky. The other three with him looked and followed his finger. They found themselves looking into the skyline of Midgar as it was now, right back to where the wreckage had been. However, there was no barrel now, or assemblage of machines. It was only the skeleton of the tower that had supported it.
"…And not here?"
The three were silent a moment. Eventually, Tifa gave a shrug.
"About three months before you walked through my door, there was a work crew out here getting rid of it. They had city ordinance uniforms. I figured they were finally cleaning up some of the debris in this town. But they stopped after they removed that wreckage."
"City ordinance…" Ragnar echoed, looking away from the sky and back to Tifa. "…Are you sure?"
The woman paused, but then nodded. "Yeah…they had the right insignias and ID and everything."
"Did Reeve ever say anything about cleaning it up? Having it dismantled?"
Tifa paused a moment, but then shook her head with a confused look. "Well, no…but he wouldn't say that just to me…"
"What are you getting at, kid?" Cloud interrupted, focusing on Ragnar.
The young man turned and stared hard at the ex-mercenary at that.
"…I'm getting at this. Before I showed up in town and told everyone that the New Shinra was still around, none of you suspected they still existed. But I know they had to be running right under your noses, because they had been raiding their old storage depots and munitions deposits for months. And I'm thinking…what were they running around as? They couldn't be there in their old blue uniforms digging up that stuff. Wouldn't they be running around as mundane objects? Dock workers? Tourists? Electricians? Garbagemen?" He paused after this, giving his tone a more dangerous edge.
"…City ordinance workers?"
It hit all three of them at once. Tifa's eyes went wide as saucers and her jaw loosened. Cloud's own eyes enlarged as the obviousness slapped him in the face. Rufus himself looked back down to his picture, and then back up to the empty space in reality. His lips began to move as he did so, his own worry increasing. He was silent for a moment…but grew more audible as he went on.
"The three locking mechanisms…the energy cutoff switches…the firing generators…" He looked up again at that. "They're all gone."
The four turned and looked back up to the empty space. For a moment of silence…they stood there and stared blankly at it…realizing what it represented. A cold feeling rippled through them all.
"…It was damaged beyond repair…right?" Ragnar finally ventured.
Rufus didn't change. Only continued to stare coldly at the dead space.
"…One can only hope."
RULER
To be continued...