A sudden knocking on the door awakened Verna from her slumber. Groaning, the girl sat up and ran a hand through her hair. She glanced towards the door to whoever was still knocking on it persistently.
"Coming," Verna called out and the knocking ceased. She opened the door to see a man dressed in what would be a tourist get up. "Can I help you?"
"The bus is leaving! Are you ready to go?"
Verna blinked, "Hang on."
Verna left the door open as she poked her head into the room's restroom. Her appearance wasn't all too shabby, even if she did sleep in her non-Turk clothes. She ran a hand through her hair once more just to make sure it didn't look like she just woke up. When it was good enough, she grabbed her purse that was lazily lying on an end table and walked out of her room. The tourist grinned at her as he quickly walked down the stairs. Verna followed him, silently cursing the tourist and all of his kind.
Upon getting on the bus and finding a relatively empty area, the drive spoke over the intercom system, "We will be heading for Junon, but we'll make a quick stop at the Chocobo farms on the way. We'll be there for lunch. Then, we'll go through the marsh."
"Marsh?" Verna questioned quietly. Wasn't the Zolom there? She gulped slightly, that monster wasn't something to mess with. What was this tourist company thinking?
Verna glanced over at the tourists. They seemed to grow excited about going across the marsh. None of them looked scared. That's when she realized something. These tourists seemed eager to meet Sephiroth and they were at Midgar shortly after President Shinra died. These weren't just your everyday tourists, these are extreme tourists.
Verna stood up and walked to the front of the bus as it began to drive off. She stopped when she was just behind the bus drive, "Exactly what are we going to do at the marsh? Are we planning on stopping?"
"Probably," The bus driver nodded. "These folks will just want to see the Zolom for themselves. They didn't just come to this continent for no reason after all. Other tourists tend to just go to Costa del Sol or the Golden Saucer, even Wutai."
"And will we be in any danger?"
"Probably not, we won't slow down enough for it to attack us, but if we run into head on there's not much we can do."
"And can anyone on here fight it?"
"Well, you're a Turk, so you can fight it, can't you?"
"But I'm not a Turk!"
"Right, right, you're on vacation," The bus driver rolled his eyes, "Just sit back down."
Verna glared at the man before retaking her seat. Was this man insane? She crossed her arms and glanced out the window. Maybe she should have gotten a weapon or some Materia. Then again, she wasted all of her money on Yuffie.
Sighing, Verna checked her cell phone for the time. It was just past 8. Having nothing better to do, she dialed her boss's number. It took a few rings before there was a gruff hello on the other side.
"Hey," Verna paused and allowed her boss to do the proper introduction for when anyone talks on the phone. "Listen, I don't have my laptop with me. You sort of sent me out of Midgar before I could grab it. Do you have any way that I can get it?"
A loud laughter was heard on the other line, causing Verna to hold her phone away from her ear. "I've already sent it to Junon. It'll be in a house closest to when you first get there, on the right. It's in the lower city, so don't even think about going up the elevator until you get the laptop!"
"Alright, fine," Verna sighed and leaned back. "Then when I get there can I ditch these tourists? You know I hate them."
"Yeah, yeah," Her boss nodded while he was on the other line. "You'll just need to figure out a way to get to the other continent. I heard Rufus was planning on going over there and that can only mean one thing!"
"Sephiroth…" Verna whispered so only her boss could hear her. "Speaking of which, I had a little encounter with him."
"Oh?" She could hear her boss leaning forward.
"Yeah," Verna scowled, "He only just tried to kill me. I guess the rumors going about him are actually true. Do you think I should put that in the story?"
"No," her boss seemed to go serious. "If we flat out state that it's actually him and that you were attacked by him then we'll lose our readers. It could also put a huge target on your back. Not only would Shin-Ra be after you, but Sephiroth could also be after you."
"If you say so," Verna frowned. She didn't realize this would be so dangerous.
"Speaking of which, your first chapter was published today. Shin-Ra's already in an uproar about it!" Her boss laughed, but it caused Verna to frown even more. "They're trying to shut us down, but they still don't even know where we are! Still, we're going to have to move location again. Can't be too safe."
"At least I won't be there to help you move," Verna smirked.
A few hours have passed after Verna spoke with her boss. The bus finally arrived at the Chocobo farms. Verna got off quickly. The tourist's excitement for the Midgar Zolom was getting to her. How idiotic could they be? They were all going to get killed by that monster! Still, she was stuck with those idiots until she got to Junon.
She watched as some of the tourists wandered off to get lunch. Verna sighed. She had no money left after Yuffie's theft. She did have a credit card, but she doubted that the farm would take it. Clicking her tongue in agitation, she leaned against a fence that contained the chocobos. She smiled at the animal's careless attitude. They certainly were something. Perhaps she could end up retiring on the country side –maybe at Kalm- and own a chocobo or two.
"Do you like them?"
"Hmm?" Verna turned around and looked down at a young girl that was smiling at them. "The chocobos? They're pretty cool."
"Do you want one? You can use it to travel the Midgar Marsh without the Zolom attacking you."
"Is that so?" Verna quirked an eyebrow. "I don't have any money on me right now, so I have to stick with the tourist group."
"You're a tourist?" The girl tilted her head. "You look more like you're a traveler looking for something."
"Well, that's true," Verna nodded. "I just need a way to get around this continent, so I have to use them."
"Alright," The girl nodded and tilted her cow-girl hat up. "Well, if you need a Chocobo, you can come here. We'll even teach you how to catch one!"
"I'll keep that in mind," The girl ran off and at that moment, the tourist group started to load back onto the bus. "And now it's time to go back to Hell…" Verna shook her head and walked back on the bus. She made sure to take the same seat she sat in earlier.
"What the…?"
Verna got off the bus as did everyone else. Everyone was silent at the sight before them. They knew that the Midgard Zolom wasn't there in the Marsh, but they didn't realize what happened, until now. A tree gashed through its entire being. It was brutally killed. There was only one person that Verna could think of that could have killed the Zolom like that.
She took a picture before getting back on the bus with everyone else.
It took only an hour or two before the tourists arrived at Junon. Verna was the first one off the bus as she wanted to get away from them as soon as possible. Once she was far away from them she looked for the house her boss was talking about.
After finding it, Verna knocked on the front door. An elderly woman opened it and quirked an eyebrow.
"Are you Ms. Lane?"
"Lane?" Verna narrowed her eyes at the strange name. However, she realized that it was her alias that she was using. "Uh, yes. I'm Elizabeth Lane. I'm here to pick up my laptop."
"Of course, deary!" The old lady ushered Verna in. She then motioned towards the front desk. "You know, I just read your news article and I found it to be intriguing. Do you honestly think that Sephiroth has turned?"
"If you read further posts you'll find out what I think," Verna smiled and then lied, "I'm still not sure what I think."
"Well, if that's so, I hope you get to writing your article!" The old woman handed Verna her laptop. Verna looked at her puzzled. "Well get to it! You can stay here for the night! Besides, the young Rufus Shinra won't be here for his welcoming until tomorrow."
"That's very kind of you ma'am, but I-!"
"I won't hear of it, Ms. Lane! Now get to it!" The woman scolded.
After a few hours, Verna finally finished her article.
It can only be expressed with great sorrow that President Shinra has been murdered. The brutish act was committed within his office. Authorities have yet to release details on the crime, as the investigation is ongoing. However, the public is growing antsy as they thirst for clues and eventually a culprit.
It's already been suspected that Sephiroth has turned against Shin-Ra, but he has been thought to be dead. Though, new details have come up that suspect this forgotten hero of the Wutai War is still alive. People have reported sighting of this ex-first class SOLDIER. Not only that, but there is physical evidence to support the theory that Sephiroth lives on.
In an investigation of Shin-Ra headquarters, I found the late president's body. He was still in his office, as authorities have yet to remove him. The man was lying face down on his desk. Through his back was a stab wound. It was a very thin and fine stab. The sword that Sephiroth used to wield was very thin and would finely slice through any of his enemies. Sephiroth most certainly could have gotten through security without getting a scratch on him. Could Sephiroth have murdered the late President Shinra? Or could it have been someone else?
Throughout my investigation of the building, I ventured onto the main elevator. Glass was shattered everywhere. As it went up I saw the neighboring elevator. Mechanical fiends that were developed by Shin-Ra were destroyed. Next to these robots were bullets. Sephiroth has never been known to use a gun. My thoughts immediately went to AVALANCHE. Further on in my investigation, I came upon a sort of destroyed containment unit that was destroyed from the outside. Above the unit was the name plate that read JENOVA. Could AVALANCHE have retrieved whatever this thing was, or could it have been Sephiroth?
My investigation left me with more questions than answers. What exactly is going on with Shin-Ra Inc.? As I continue my travels around Gaia I can only hope I find these answers. With the sightings of Sephiroth spreading and the activity of AVALANCHE following him, I too will follow these two mysteries. The journey will be dangerous, but I will make sure that the Forgotten Hero is once more remembered and the truth is brought to light.
-A/N—
So I have a question for you guys. I've decided that I want this fan-fic to have a love interest of Rufus Shinra. However, I'm debating on how I want to portray his character. After reading the novella for him, I have some notes on him, but very few fans of Final Fantasy VII have actually read him. I was thinking of having him of a man that tries to stay composed whenever someone else is nearby. He shuts off his emotions whenever he speaks to people and is very too the point. He doesn't like it when people ignore him – as his father ignored him often. He also tends to criticize people often and doesn't give others the chance to criticize him. This comes from his father always criticizing others.
However, despite him trying not to show emotions to others believe that he's actually rather emotional when he's by himself. He has a hard time controlling his laughter. At times he might use laughter as a defense. This can be shown when Cloud kills Dark Nation he bursts out laughing.
Rufus also shows signs that he shows guilt and that he can care for others. Rufus has others do the dirty work for him, and he doesn't do it directly. For example, he had Palmer go get Tiny Bronco, while he waited outside. He also doesn't show signs that he hurts a large group of people for the better – unlike his father who destroyed Sector 7 just to find AVALANCHE. Instead, Rufus just has his Turks go out to look for them. He also takes responsibility for his company's mistakes and tries to make up for them.
To help support that he cares for others is through the loyalty of his Turks. Rude, Reno, Tseng and Elena stay with him even when most of the employees at Shin-Ra quit. They also forgot about the Meteor to help find Rufus. He also saved the Turks from being killed, even after his father gave the command.
So…He hides his emotions when there are others, but when he's by himself his shell cracks. Does this sound like how Rufus would behave to you guys? TT_TT I'm struggling with this since Rufus is a minor character compared to everyone else!…So yeah, haha. _
TT_TT All of the pass keys of the late president is the same number as Rufus's birthday...Rufus thought his dad hated him! Gah! *sobs in corner*