Zack was glad that there was not much of a "finale" to speak of. After reading the terms Reeve and Rufus had cooked up, the Wutaians started arguing amongst themselves yet again, while Rufus Shinra, who seemed like a completely different person compared to the previous day, waited and watched only to push the conversation forward whenever he saw the tide moving the right way. Sephiroth sat next to him motionlessly. Zack could not see his face from this angle, but since their conversation the night before, he had not spoken a single word, even when addressed directly, and not looked anyone in the face. It was as if he had detached himself from the world around, withdrawn deep into himself. Perhaps he needed to shut everything out to mentally prepare himself for what may be about to come.
Sephiroth had done terrible things since he joined SOLDIER. It was not just him, though. All of us. Not quite as bad as what Rufus had it in mind for Wutai, but bad enough to send shivers down anyone's spine. Although his reputation painted him as cold and ruthless in battle, Sephiroth found as little pleasure in killing as any sane person would. Nevertheless, I think the reason why Zack's words from the night before had hit him so hard was because they were very true. Sephiroth did swing his sword around recklessly and without discrimination. What stood in his path would be cut down, no matter if it was a war machine, a girl summoning a water god, or, allegedly, Lord Godo's ancestral residence in the mountains north of Wutai City. Although Hojo had done his best to condition Sephiroth into killing without hesitation, he had never quite managed to rid him of the guilt he felt afterwards. I tried to teach him to conceal himself and go straight for the target without involving other parties, but he never managed to remain undetected long enough to avoid a significant number of casualties, and eventually, his lack of patience kept him from trying further. I tried to be there for him as best as I could whenever he went overboard, but I would have much preferred it if he had been able to avoid collateral damage. This put a strain on our relationship at times, especially when he was feeling down after going overboard on the battlefield yet again. It was as if he lost all self-control and his body started moving on its own whenever his blade tasted blood. His fear of losing command over his own body and action eventually began to consume him whenever he was off the battlefield. But his insecurity only made it easier for whatever darkness that was slumbering deep inside of him to win this battle, and once he was in the zone, he never made a serious attempt to restrain himself.
Zack, naturally, had no idea about the war that was waging inside Sephiroth as the parlay went into the second round, revisions were made, and the truce was finalized after a third, shorter deliberation. Zack felt nothing but relief when Rufus and Lord Godo both put their signature and seal on the contract that would grant them a cease of all mutual aggression for five years to come. In exchange, the Leviathan materia would be returned to Wutai immediately, and Shinra would be given permission to probe the Wutaian continent for mako reserves under supervision with possible renegotiation about actual reactor construction at a later date. The borders would finally reopen for both trade and tourism, and finally, Shinra was given permission to conduct anti-Avalanche operations on Wutaian, a concession whose significance eluded Zack.
After the contract was signed and sealed, Rufus handed his copy to Reeve and turned to Sephiroth, who still held the materia in question, and held out his hand. "Sephiroth? Please hand over the materia." Sephiroth continued to sit motionlessly on his cushion, apparently ignoring that he was being addressed. Next to Zack, Tseng looked up, which seemed to cost him much effort, and he could see Aurum shifting uneasily across the room. Although he knew it was not his place to get up and walk around, he rose from his cushion to crouch next to Sephiroth to get a look on his face. Sephiroth's gaze was directed downward at the ground, his hands clenched tightly into fists resting on his knees. It took me no more than a quick look into his eyes to know that he was losing the battle he was fighting with himself. I so much wanted to believe in life that he would get better, that he could cast out the monster inside of him if he quit active duty, and be the kind and caring man he was always meant to be, but seeing him like this, that time in Wutai, I began to worry that it was the monster that would cast off its gentle, affectionate shell eventually.
Zack reached out to Sephiroth and touched his arm to get his attention, but as soon as he made contact, too quickly for a regular person to follow with their eyes, Sephiroth's hand sped to his sword and managed to unsheathe it halfway before his head whirled around and his widened eyes recognized Zack. He hesitantly pushed the sword back into its sheath while slowly gazing over the scene before him. Following his gaze, Zack noticed that, standing between them and Lord Godo, Aurum's hand was on her sword, ready to jump into action immediately, should Sephiroth so much as move even an inch from where he sat. Even Tseng had jumped up to stand between Sephiroth and the Vice President, breathing heavily and looking as if he was about to faint. Sephiroth gradually lowered his sword back on the ground and turned the palms of his hands outward in a defensive gesture, trying to assess the situation.
For the first time since they had arrived in Wutai, Rufus deescalated the situation by stepping next to Tseng, holding onto his elbow to him to keep him from falling, and repeated his earlier command: "The materia, Sephiroth! Hand it over." Zack let go of Sephiroth's arm, who reached down to his belt and brought out the Leviathan materia, glowing red from the inside. He weighed it in his hand and stood up, leaving his sword on the ground. He looked at Aurum, who let go of her own sword and stepped toward him. When the materia had changed hands, the whole room exhaled in a collective sigh of relief. Sephiroth turned around, picked up his sword and asked impatiently as if nothing had just happened: "Can we go now?"
Zack, still sitting on the floor, looked toward the Vice President and Tseng, who exchanged glances. Rufus shrugged and said unceremoniously: "I guess we're done here." Rufus turned toward Lord Godo and bowed. "It has been a pleasure, though I must admit it was too short to properly enjoy your hospitality. I hope to return to this beautiful city soon under happier circumstances." Lord Godo, holding the Leviathan materia in his hand, rose and retorted without bowing to Rufus: "You are not welcome here. Now get this loose cannon out of my city." He turned away and left the room, followed by Aurum. One after another, the lords rose and followed them out the door. The last to leave was Argentum, who turned toward them and bid them goodbye with a curt bow, which Zack responded to with a wave of his hand, glad to have made at least one new friend during this trip. Rufus smirked as he watched them leave one by one and finally turned toward his followers, stretched and announced: "Well, that was a complete success." Reeve scratched his head, and Reno and Rude, who were still standing by the door, exchanged glances. From Zack's point of view, this mission had been a complete disaster, but he was still glad to be able to go home. It was a blessing that the war was over, although he saw his chance to become a hero dwindling more and more and would have to find a different way to prove himself.
"Well, good job, gentlemen", Rufus continued when no one said anything. "How about we have a drink when we get back? It's my treat." A drink sounded good, although Zack could imagine better company than Rufus Shinra. He would certainly invite Aerith out on a date as soon as possible once he got back. Tseng, who had sat back down because he could not stand on his feet, looked up and interjected: "You might not be able to keep that promise." Rufus shook his head and corrected himself: "Tseng will treat you on my behalf, then. Let's get going." Before Tseng could protest, Rufus walked toward the door, closely followed by Reno and Rude and then Sephiroth. Zack helped Tseng, who sighed: "Why is everyone trying to make my life harder?" Zack shrugged. "What do you mean?" Tseng shook his head. "Nothing. Let's see what the President has to say once we get back."
This time, there was no servant there to bow to them and carry their suitcases or offer them tea. At least there were the same two cars waiting outside that had brought them to the palace, so at least, they did not need to walk. They were dropped off at the airport, where their two helicopters were waiting. Before they could get on, Tseng insisted on Reno and Rude searching the vehicles for bombs, bugs, or tracking devices that could have been installed by Wutai to interfere with their journey back home or spy on them. While they were waiting for the two Turks to finish their search, Zack decided to use this opportunity to quickly send a brief oral report to Director Lazard, careful not to miss any important details. And so, he reported everything, from his arrival, including his "treasure hunt" with Yuffie, making certain to emphasize that he had had no idea that the little ninja girl was the princess of Wutai. Seeing as he had been on other treasure hunts with her and had reported these events correctly, he wondered vocally why Lazard had never told him who Yuffie was. Or perhaps he himself did not know. Beside him, Tseng, too, was talking into his phone, most likely reporting his version of the events to his superior.
He was still talking when Zack finished his report, and from what he was saying, Zack understood that he was announcing their arrival at a military based, and asked for a plane to be prepared for them to return to Midgar on the same day. It was already mid-afternoon and getting back to Midgar would take half a day, so they would not get back until late at night. Zack wondered what the rush was now. Tseng needed to get to a hospital, but would it not be better to stay at Miken Island then? Zack himself was not excited to stay at a military base because they were just not fun usually, except for Junon possibly, which at least had a few bars. So he was not mad to get back to Midgar today. It just did not make that much sense to him.
When Reno and Rude finally finished their search of the helicopters, they had discovered two bugs in one of the helicopters and one in the other, but no bombs or obvious tracking devices. Talking about classified things until they changed vehicles would be prohibited because they could not assume that there were no more bugs, but it was decided that it was safe to ride the helicopters back home.
As Tseng and Rufus began to move toward the helicopter, Sephiroth looked up at a point close to the airport's gateway and rolled his eyes. "What does she want?" Zack followed his gaze and saw a figure with long, flowing black hair approaching them on a motorbike. Sephiroth did not move from his spot, waiting, leaned against the wall with his arms folded for her to get off her motorbike and approach them. Zack stood by him and wondered what was going on. Was she there to pick a fight? She stopped a few steps away and folded her arms. Sephiroth sighed and pushed himself off the wall to walk toward her. "What is it?", he called out to her with an annoyed tone. When he came close enough, she began talking to him quietly. Observing them from where he stood, he could not hear what was being said, but Sephiroth shook his head several times while he spoke. He turned away, but before he could walk off, she put her hand on his shoulder and said something close to his ear. The exchange was fascinating to watch for Zack, who knew Sephiroth as someone who was not easy to approach, and he somehow not only had a conversation with Aurum, he even allowed her to touch him. That lasted only for a very brief moment, though, because Sephiroth moved on and she let go of him.
Zack hurried to follow Sephiroth because he was the last one of the party remaining, but as he passed Aurum, she called out to him: "Hey, you!" Zack stopped and turned toward her, raising his hand. "Hey, what's up?" She folded her arms again and nodded in Sephiroth's direction. "You this blockhead's friend?" The question threw Zack off, but he responded: "Uh, yeah. I guess." She looked at him doubtfully, but continued: "Just what in the blazes happened to him?" Zack stared at her. "What do you mean?" She rolled her eyes and turned away. "Forget it. Look out for him, alright?" She waved at him and got on her motorbike. Zack raised his hand again and called after her as she sped away. "OK. Uh, see ya?"
Even more confused than before, he caught up to Sephiroth and said: "She seems nice. Do you think she's into me?" Sephiroth rolled his eyes yet again and replied: "She's a bully with a pretty face. And don't you have a girlfriend?" Zack did not gratify the question with an answer, because obviously he did have a girlfriend, but this and that had nothing to with each other to him, and instead asked what he actually wanted to know: "How do you know her?" Sephiroth looked at him for a brief moment then looked away, got into the helicopter and slammed the sliding door shut in Zack's face. "OK, sure. I guess it's a sensitive topic", Zack concluded, shrugging and walked the few steps to the other helicopter, which he was going to ride on with Reeve, Rude, Cloud and some of the other infanterists. He watched the first helicopter carrying the Vice President, Tseng, Reno and Sephiroth take off, and then his own followed closely behind, leaving him much time to contemplate what had just transpired as they made their way back to Miken Island. What he did not know was that his adventures for today were far from over.