Chapter 84: A Good Son
"This is too fun, sir!" Kadaj gloated as he paced around Rufus' office. "Any requests for the next act?"
In response, Rufus pulled out his cell phone.
"What are you doing?" Kadaj commanded.
"Calling my girlfriend," the president replied. "She can summon worse things than that."
And, suddenly, both of them heard footsteps ascending the stairs.
Rufus put his phone away.
A moment later, two figures came into view.
One of them had long, raven-colored hair.
The other had blond, spiky hair.
It was Cloud and Tifa.
"I thought your girlfriend was Captain Mast," Kadaj pointed out.
"How the hell did you get past security?!" Rufus demanded. "What the hell did you tell them?"
"The truth," Tifa replied. "I'm President of the Western Continent."
Cloud and Tifa then scanned the office. They scanned Kadaj. They then took particular interest in Rufus, who was standing.
"You were expecting me in a wheelchair, too, weren't you?" Rufus continued.
Cloud scratched his head; he had been having premonitions of seeing Rufus in a wheelchair. But not in this case.
"I didn't think I could fool you twice," Rufus said. "I know you've been having premonitions about the future. That is, the 0016 that I came from. That's right, I'm the Prime Rufus Shinra, not the one you killed in the elevator two years ago."
"I'm a hundred percent fully aware," Tifa acknowledged.
"This is a nice new timeline," Rufus continued. "Midgar was never destroyed. Zack Fair is alive. So is your cousin Tobin, and his wife, Cissnei. Jessie Raspberry's alive and married to Barret. Cid and Shera are engaged and planning a destination wedding in Eros Nova. And you two are married and have a daughter. What a wonderful world indeed."
There was a nasty silence.
Cloud and Tifa knew he was building up to something. They both stood there in anticipation.
"I was there when you died," Rufus continued.
FLASHBACK….
"Cloud," she began as tears streamed down her face, "I'm so sorry."
Cloud turned to Bestla. "Reverse it!" he demanded. "Reverse it now!"
"Cloud," Tifa continued to sob, "it's too late. Listen…"
"Don't do this!" Cloud pleaded. "Please don't die!"
"Cloud, I have to," answered Tifa. "But before I go, I want you to know something…I wish….I wish….I wish I could have been with you…Cloud...I…will…always….love….you…OHHH!"
Those were Tifa's last words. Her body turned a light brown. Then she disintegrated into dust.
…END FLASHBACK
"We cry when we're born," Rufus continued, "we may as well cry when we die. It even stung me for a moment, even though I knew you'd get a second chance. And boy did you get it, and nail it."
"So you did travel back with Bestla," Cloud deduced.
"I gave her the last piece of the Chronus Wand," Rufus informed him. "Of course, I was going to betray and kill her later on, but your little friend Aerith did her own dirty work. I must say the 0007 Aerith put up a much bigger fight than the Prime one did. She faked her death, and got to spend that time with Cloud that she always wanted."
Cloud began to cringe.
"That's right," Rufus continued. "Cloud bought my father's beach house and turned it into their love nest. They were having sex almost every day, and even got engaged. Too bad she got killed for real."
"I guess you've been looking through some keyholes," Kadaj commented.
Rufus then turned to Tifa.
"And then, you took him back and proposed to him just a few days later," he continued. "You must be either the strongest woman I've known, or the dumbest woman I've known."
Tifa then stepped forward.
"You kidnapped my daughter," she growled.
"I'm afraid you're mistaken," Rufus insisted. "That was Jack and Sumner Balen."
"Is that so?" Tifa said.
Rufus then cracked his knuckles and walked over to a nearby file cabinet. He opened one of the drawers, and took out a box.
"You'll never believe what's in here," Rufus announced as he walked back over to Cloud and Tifa.
"We already know," Tifa dismissed. "Jenova's head was in that box the whole time."
Kadaj's eyes widened.
"I'm afraid not," Rufus dismissed. "Take a look. It's worth it, trust me."
Rufus opened the box.
Cloud and Tifa immediately saw the contents.
Ashes.
There was nothing but ashes.
"Do you know what this is?" Rufus inquired.
Tifa felt her stomach tighten, and she clutched Cloud's hand.
Tifa was not a woman who was easily upset or disturbed, but this was a rare exception.
"This is you," Rufus announced. "Tiffany Claire Lockhart, Prime. Born May 3, 1987. Died, August 19, 0016."
He paused.
"Or rather, this is what's left. As you can see, even though you undid your death, these ashes, much like me, have been protected from all paradoxes by traveling through time. These will always remind me of your original fate."
He then closed the pitiful box and returned it to the file cabinet.
He then pulled a remote out of his pocket.
He clicked the button.
Suddenly, one of the pillars in the office opened up.
Inside was a familiar-looking corpse, stripped of clothing from the waist up, and preserved in some kind of fluid. There was a gunshot wound on the stomach.
It was the Prime Cloud.
"Cloud Strife," Rufus continued. "Prime. Born, August 19, 1986. Died, August 19, 2016. How sad. You died on your thirtieth birthday. And from a gunshot to the stomach; a rather slow and painful way to go."
He then pressed the remote again, and the pillar closed, sealing the Prime Cloud's corpse from view.
"See?" Rufus continued to taunt. "I literally have both your asses. As for the Prime Barret…."
Rufus walked over to the file cabinet and produced another box.
"How would you like to see the Prime Barret's head?" he offered.
"Enough of this," Tifa demanded.
"Just kidding," Rufus said. "This isn't the Prime Barret's head. It's Jenova's!"
"Mother!"
Rufus then tossed the box out the open window.
"A good son would have known," he taunted.
