I'd like to add this as a note as well. I want to mention that a lot of what happened while Rufus was in the Organization won't be all the way revealed. It will somewhat be like what they did with Zack in Final Fantasy 7. They mentioned him, and explained who he was, but didn't really give us any back story of what exactly happened. I know Rufus is the main character in this story, but one thing I've been thinking about is making a prequel, that way people could understand this story more, letting them know exactly why Rufus has changed (Even though he still has his basic personality, he is still very rude, and he doesn't care what people think of him, and he tends not to care about much but himself.) Though he has been forced into the life as being someone he doesn't want to be, he has new character traits.

Any questions, ask in the reviews, or PM me. I apologize again if it moves to slow, or to fast. Or if something confuses you. Honestly, this story is meant to confuse at first, because later on people will be like "Oh!" I get it!" It's like those movies where you are so confused and then something is connected and you get it.

Please review.

Disclaimer- I do not own Final Fantasy 7. I am just using the characters and world for my own entertainment. However, I do own this plot.

This is also edited to any old readers out there, so a reread wont be a bad idea. From here on out the story will be a lot different from what it was originally, before it almost seemed I was drifting away from the main mood of this story.

-Crimson

Redemption

Chapter Two – Awakening

Slowly Rufus opened his eyes, wincing at how bright the room was. His vision was blurred but he could barely make out a figure standing with their back to him. He sat up slowly, finding that by doing that small action it made his head throb even worse. He groaned softly and placed a hand on his forehead. Confusion started to swim through him because he didn't remember hitting his head – so why were they're bandages wrapped around it? He blinked, trying to clear his vision. It worked after a couple of minutes and finally he could see around him.

He already knew he was laying on the ground because he felt very uncomfortable, his muscles were sore and everything felt like he had slept on it wrong, he was also freezing cold. His suit was dirtied up and his hair wasn't gelled back anymore – it fell softly in his face, which annoyed him. His throat was dry, and when he opened his mouth to say something he quickly closed it because the person in the room with him finally turned around.

It was a man. His brown hair barely made it past his shoulders and his blue eyes seemed to hold nothing but sarcasm and mischief. He had on a black shirt and tattered blue jeans. His black trench coat came down to his ankles. It was strange because even though he seemed intimidating, the grin on his face only made him look the more friendly.

"Man am I lucky? I'm locked up with the one and only Rufus Shinra." His voice held nothing but mock humor and he crossed his arms, "They're so thoughtful."

Rufus wasn't very sure how to answer to this, so he merely just blinked and muttered, "Excuse me?" His voice was hoarse and his throat was very sore. His eyes narrowed at the man standing in front of him. He noted his surrounding – The walls, ceiling and floor were carved from dirt, so he knew he must have to be underground. He also noted the bars that were blocking them from leaving. He pushed himself up slowly to stand, not wanting to cause his head to scream at him.

"You're excused." The man mumbled, cracking his knuckles and hitting the toe of his shoe against the ground. "The names Miles, nice to actually meet'cha."

Rufus didn't care what the man's name was and he also didn't think it was nice to meet him. All he cared about was one thing - "Where am I?" He asked as he crossed his arms and grimaced at his dirty clothes. Slowly he ran a hand through his hair, still annoyed at the fact that is wasn't gelled back. Who did these people think they were? He was Rufus Shinra – he wasn't suppose to be treated like a piece of trash.

"Under the Northern Crater." He answered with a wave of his hand, there was something so nonchalant about 'Miles' and it actually bothered Rufus quite a bit.

"Why?"

"...You were kidnapped, I thought it was obvious."

Rufus bit his tongue, forcing himself not to say something smart to the man in front of him. It was more important to find out what was going on. "I understand that, but by who and why?" He said as calmly as he could.

"The 'Organization'." Miles said shrugging while he quoted their name with his fingers, "They kidnapped ya because you've fucked up – that's what they tell us at least. Ya think that could come up with a more creative name..." Rufus was about to say something, but Miles continued. "Basically, this is what's going to happen. You're their new toy, and believe me I doubt they'll stop playing with you anytime soon, since you're Mr. Rufus Shinra, the ex-president of Shin-Ra and the vice President of the WRO."

"The Organization?" Rufus repeated, trying his best to ignore how the other man was mocking him., and how a sudden feeling of sickness formed in the pit in his stomach once he heard that last sentence.

"Yup." Miles said, yawning, "The Organization. Hm…." He tapped his chin, looking like he was thinking, "It's a group of people who take those who have sinned greatly and make them repent…well more like do dirty work. They think that since they're such saints, that they can turn you into a monster and make you do what they want." He pointed to his own forehead, "That bandage on your head, well that's covering one of the worst wounds you'll ever get. They put a chip into your head-"

"A what?" Rufus asked sharply, not liking how offhandedly the other man was explaining everything, "Who are you exactly anyway?" He asked, narrowed his eyes, "You seem to think this is funny-"

"It is, in a sick way." He said with a shrug, "Like I said, the names Miles, I'm not important anymore so explaining who I was doesn't matter." He grinned then continued, "The chip, or trigger, makes you follow every order they give you. Doesn't matter what it is, they say it, you do it. If you resist, well you'll be put through unbearable pain, and you'll end up doing what they say anyway." He continued to grin, "You Rufus Shinra, are about to go through hell. Think you can handle it, Sir?"

Rufus narrowed his eyes, "Who are you to judge me?" He said venomously, "You don't know anything-"

"I know everything that everyone else knows, which seems to be the only thing to know." He said, sounding bored, "All I'm saying is you wont be catered to. You'll be treated like dirt." He raised an eyebrow then kicked himself off the wall, "Think you can handle that, Mr. President?" He drawled, smirking when he finished.

Rufus shot him a glare, "I can handle anything." He said dangerously. He had come across a few people like him, but never had they been as rude to this degree, "You think you're proving something by showing mock respect?" He crossed his arms, not really taking in what Miles had told him, "You'll see, in the end you'll be the one who dies, while I walk out of this place."

"If you say so." Miles said shaking his head.

"No, yep. Hell no! What's wrong with you? I didn't go looken' for the guy, I just found him! I was walkin' back to the bar because I forgot my wallet there - Yes I know it was pointless! You better stop yelln' at me! I was walking back to the bar and I found the kid - nah, he's not an actual kid, but he's younger than I could ever wish to be again. Yeah, we'll be here. See ya then."

Rufus opened his eyes slowly, and winced at how bad his head was throbbing. He felt nauseous and everything in the room seemed too bright. . Before he moved, he tried to survey his surroundings; He was laying on something soft and he noted that it smelt very clean. He looked around the room to see that he was in a small little room that had wood paneling all around it and even had red carpet. He sat himself up on his elbows and looked over to his right, to see that there was a bed beside him and that someone was laying in it.

It was that man from the bar, Charles. He was sitting against the headboard with a cigarette dangling out of his mouth. His phone was in his hand and he had an aggravated look on his face.

He must have either sensed that Rufus was staring at him, or just heard him wake up because he looked over and grinned slightly, shrugging - "I was walking back to the bar, taking the alleyways because I wanted to take the quickest way there, well I saw you passed out laying there on the ground." He put his hand up to his mouth and grabbed the cigarette, letting it set between his fingers.

"You found me?" He questioned, feeling awkward. He sat himself up as well and leaned against the headboard of the bed. He took a deep breath, his head was killing him and he felt so sick. He glanced over at the nightstand beside him and found that his cigarettes, phone and weapons were all there.

"Yup. You were just laying there, soakin' wet in the middle of the alley. You were out too man. I was just going to leave you there, but then I realized that if you died I'd feel bad so I dragged you to a hotel outside of town. I don't like sleeping where a lot of people are, plus if dragged a soaking man into a hotel in town, well that might raise questions." He shrugged and put his cigarette out.

Rufus grabbed his cigarette pack and took one out, hoping that this would help ease his headache. "I see – so because we're in a hotel outside of town, the people here didn't find it strange?"

"Nope. I'm sure they've seen weirder shit."

There was a comfortable silence that fell between the two of them. Rufus finished off his cigarette and cursed to himself when it didn't help with his throbbing head. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to recall what had happened before he so magically "passed out."

This is my gift to you Rufus Shinra, use it wisely.

Those words slowly came to the surface of his mind and his eyes opened suddenly. That Cetra girl's voice...Aerith she had spoken to him at the very last second, He started to remember what happened. Miles. The connection. The solution. It all slowly came back to him and then he realized something, his head hurt but he also didn't feel the pressure of the trigger anymore.

The question was though – where did Miles go?

He tried not to think about it to much, because it wasn't going to help any. He knew that Miles could take care of himself and that he'd see him later on down the road. It wasn't the fact that he didn't know where he was, it was just the fact that he left Rufus there in the middle of an alleyway that bothered him. Then again, Miles probably had his reasons.

"So, what are you going to do now?" Charles asked, looking over the the ex President.

"I don't know." He mumbled, feeling a little overwhelmed.

"Junon? Edge? Maybe even Midgar?"

Rufus sat up straight and looked over at Miles, "Midgar?" he asked, "Midgar is dead."

"You've been gone for three and a half years – things change. You're walking proof of that, aren't you?" Charles sighed, "They've been working on rebuilding Midgar almost everyday since the project started, and that was right after you left."

"I didn't leave." He said a little to quickly.

There was a few seconds of silence before Charles said, "Yeah, I guess you're right." He sighed then continued, "Anyway, they're still working on rebuilding it but sector 5 and 7 are done – they worked on those two first for whatever reason. People live there now, I wish I could say that there wasn't going to be a slums anymore, but I guess some things wont ever change...at the very least it isn't as bad as it used to, still a little sketchy, but it's bearable and still way cheaper."

He didn't say anything for a few minutes. For some reason the news of Midgar being rebuilt made him realize that life had been going on without him. He had been thinking about how different his life was, and how he missed the past – but he never thought about how other people's lives had been within the three years and a half years. He didn't really think about how life was progressing and moving on without him.

Just because he was gone, didn't mean life stopped.

"So? Any specific destination in mind?" Charles asked again, cracking his knuckles.

It was then he realized that he was free. He wasn't going back to the Organization – he didn't have to. It was all over, at least it was for him. He didn't have to go through the operations anymore, he didn't have to be tortured anymore, he didn't have to have innocent's blood on his hands. It was all over.

He was done. He could go home.

A small smile adored his face and he let himself get caught up in the idea in going "home." But where exactly was home? His smile faltered when he realized that there wasn't really a place for him to call home. Was it at the WRO, bossing around his Turks and ignoring Reeve all the time? Was it in Edge bothering AVALANCHE? Was it Junon? Midgar? Where was his home?

He thought back to the WRO and his Turks – there wasn't a point in going back there. He wasn't the same person. He still had the superior exterior and even had the same authority about him, but he didn't want the respect anymore. Over the course of the first year in the Organization, people had mocked him and he just couldn't take it. All the fake 'sirs' and 'Mr. Shinra.' or 'Mr. President.' - He just couldn't take the mockery. He told people to call him Rufus, his real name. After awhile they all did, and he knew that going back to the WRO, people would call him all of the 'respectable' names he now couldn't stand.

Three years ago he wouldn't have cared that all the respect people ever shown him was fake, he wouldn't have cared that the only reason he got everything he wanted was because people were scared of him. It was different now though, because he wasn't the one scaring people, he was being scared – he'd never admit that to anyone though. There were times when he didn't sleep for weeks at a time, and when he knew that no one was around he'd shake uncontrollably. He hated all of them, every last person inside that "Organization." He didn't want that though, if people had hated him like he hated them – it's just wrong to make people feel that much anger and terror. He didn't want it, none of the power, none of the money – all he wanted was to leave everything behind him.

But there was no way he could do that.

He had seen power abused to its fullest extent. He didn't want anything to do with it anymore, he had once been a power crazed fool. Someone who controlled people with fear. Well, he had been controlled with a chip, a simple piece of metal or whatever it was made out of. He did something that even his Turk's couldn't imagine. He didn't want anything to do with power. He just wanted to walk away and start over but he was Rufus Shinra, he couldn't walk away and start over.

Charles interrupted his thoughts, "Cid's gonna pick me up soon." His voice seemed to echo off the walls, bringing Rufus's attention all on his words - "We're gonna go to Edge, I was thinking that if you wanted you could take along. It'd give you a chance to see Midgar too – plus, where else are you really gonna go?"

He was silent for a moment. He didn't really know what he wanted to do, but Charles was right, it wasn't like he had any other place to go right now. Plus, walking around and letting people see him in broad daylight was a bad idea – he could only imagine the reactions. "Alright." He said, taking a long drag from his cigarette and sighing, "When is he suppose to be here?"

"In a few hours probably." He answered with a yawn, "Man..I haven't gotten any sleep since I found you." he ran a hand through his hair and shook his head, "I had to make sure you were still breathin', every time I closed my eyes I would get all paranoid you'd die while I was sleeping."

"How long have I been asleep?" Rufus asked, growing slightly curious to why Charles was so tired.

"For about three days." He said as he sighed, lifting his arms up to stretch. "It was like every time I closed my eyes, my conscious said 'you better stay awake, he might die on ya.' so I haven't slept in three days."

"I've been asleep for three days?" His eyes widened and he blinked stupidly, he understood why, it was just so strange knowing that for three days he hadn't done anything but lay in a bed and sleep.

"Yup. Three days." Charles said while shrugging, "Don't get the wrong idea, it's not like you've been peacefully sleeping. You've been moanin' and groanin' – I even had to flip you over and lean your head over the trashcan beside the bed so you wouldn't throw up on yourself and the bed then choke and die."

"Sounds like the past three days have sucked." Rufus commented, cringing at the idea of all of that.

"It was gross, but oh well. I saved ya – you're welcome."

It was silent for a few more seconds. Usually the silence didn't bother Rufus, he had become accustomed to being silent for the past three years, whenever he said something most of the time it was the wrong thing…needless to say he was 'punished' for it. He sighed at the thought then looked over at his phone.

"You should sleep." He commented.

"Nah." Charles said with a small wave of his hand, "I'll sleep on Cid's airship – if I try to sleep now then I wont wake up for awhile."

"Makes sense." He mumbled.

Rufus sat there, unmoving for a few seconds. The idea of seeing someone he actually knew again filled him with excitement and panic. His heart started to beat faster and he had that shaking feeling in his chest. He hadn't seen a familiar face in three and a half years – he felt like he was almost stepping back in a time warp. He was going to see Cid, someone he used to see all the time at the Seventh Heaven in Edge, well on most Fridays.

"Ya know," Charles said abruptly, putting his hands behind his head and sighing, "People are gonna wanna know where you've been – it's odd that you left all of a sudden, and not you're back, without any warning."

"I know." He said, shrugging, "Let them wonder."

"You're not going to tell them anything?"

"No."

"Why not?" Charles asked,

"It's not their business."

"Actually, considering you've been where everyone else it, it is their business." He yawned, "Besides, I'm sure your Turks would like to know where you've been."

Rufus was silent for a few moments, he knew the other man was right but that still didn't make him want to tell anyone what had happened. It wouldn't change anything. "An Explanation wont change anything, what happened, happened."

"Whatever happened down there, had a huge impact on you. People are gonna wanna know-"

"I don't care." Rufus said finally, "I don't care what people want, I don't care if they are curious, I don't give a damn. They can wonder all they want, they can say what they want, they can make up all the stories they want. I'm not telling them, unless I want to. And frankly I don't want to tell them anything, because I know exactly how they'll react."

"And how is that?"

"Pity." He said simply.

"Ah."

Rufus reached over and yanked a cigarette out of his carton, he placed between his lips roughly then lit it. He didn't want pity from anyone. He didn't want people to look at him with sad eyes and tell them they were sorry, because what did sorry do? Nothing. He didn't want any of it. All he wanted was to walk for himself again. He just wanted his freedom and he finally acquired it. He didn't want anything else.

"The truth always has a way of coming out." Charles said after about a minute, "I hope you understand that."

This is also slightly edited, the next chapter are going to be the ones that are changed the most, I really hope people will enjoy this story.

I promise there is an actual plot, it's not just Rufus brooding all the time. But he has to have his time to live again, at least for a little while longer. Soon enough though, a lot more will happen. So I hope you enjoy the ride.

Meh, sorry for a lot not happening, please review. The next chapter will be up soon.

-Crimson