The ocean waves lapped calmly against the white beaches beneath Junon, the shadows of the fortress city casting dark reflections in the water. Nothing had changed in the city if one saw it from far enough away; the only difference was in that the red banners celebrating Rufus Shinra's presidency had been torn down. Occasionally, the clear surface of the water would be broken by a dolphin leaping out of the ocean, but it was as though the area had been deserted. Not a person walked the streets. Only a few scattered people, mostly guards, were visible on the upper levels of the city. Junon slept, as did the calm ocean below, its salt waters gently cleansing the beaches of the lower earth.

High above the waters, a silver vessel laboriously settled itself onto the concrete tarmac, its many propellers slicing through the air with numerous creaks and groans. The handful of men patrolling the Junon airfield gave it an uneasy look, fidgeting with their rifles, but when the craft swung around, it revealed to them an emblem they recognized like their own names: the bikini goddess, Lady Luck.

The Highwind had come home.

The first to recognize the airship gave a whoop and started trotting towards the vehicle, waving his companions along behind him. The assembly of fifteen or so men herded towards the Highwind, grinning ear to ear, calling out cheerfully to one another, their voices small and puny to those up above in the craft, their words indistinguishable over the dimming roar of the engines.

Cid peered down at them from the outside of his ship, rolling the cigarette between his fingers. "Awright! Looks like 'er old crew comin' in. You guys ready to go?"

Tifa nodded, throwing a look over her shoulder to Rufus. "Yeah. We got him a disguise. He shouldn't be recognized, as long as he doesn't do anything stupid."

The Gold Weapon ignored her thinly veiled warning, and gazed over the skyline of Junon, at the cold buildings behind their steel fortifications. To hide his identity, they had bought in Nibelheim black trousers, a long black trenchcoat, and a scarf which he tied over his face so that his nose and mouth were covered. All that could be seen of facial features were slightly gaunt cheekbones and intensely glowing Mako eyes. Over his forehead he wore someone's spare kerchief, in a sort of headband, pulling his hair out of his face and accentuating the scars over his right temple. Wrapped in his black garb, with only his eyes revealed to the world, he was darkly, intensely mysterious. Needless to say, he would have much rather preferred to remain in his customary white suit, but the situation called for something a bit different. As far as Junon was concerned, Rufus Shinra didn't even exist.

"He looks kinda... creepy," Yuffie said out of nowhere, watching Rufus gingerly adjust the headband over his forehead. The ex-President sent her a baleful look, but said nothing.

"Well, this way, fewer people will approach him," Tifa noted, watching idly as Cloud began installing the rope ladder. "We don't want too much attention to be drawn to him, after all. The fewer people who see him, the better."

Yuffie snorted. "Stand him next to Vincent, and *no one's* going to want to approach him."

The red-cloaked enigma standing a bit apart from everyone else merely gave her an even stare and remained unmoving. Tifa, Cloud, and Cid all hastily shot him apologetic looks, as though making amends for Yuffie's rude behavior, but he didn't even acknowledge it. Vincent had come to Junon only reluctantly, scarcely believing the explanation that Rufus had offered him, but heartened by the newfound knowledge of his past. He couldn't quite find a satisfying answer to why he had come, but the rest of AVALANCHE wouldn't be swayed. He accompanied them on their journey. Per usual, he hadn't said a word to them the entire trip.

Rufus cast a glance over his shoulder at his aloof comrade. "I think," he said archly, "I would rather not."

"Don't be an asshole, Rufus," Cid reprimanded, looking up from helping Cloud with the latter. "We've gotta put up with you, you can put up with Vincent. He ain't even sayin' nothing, and y-"

"Leave it be, Cid," Vincent interrupted levelly. Cid scowled, but conceded to silence. Rufus turned back to regarding the fortress city with a vaguely wistful look in his eyes.

Cloud got to his feet and threw the bundle of rope overboard, watching as it fell to the concrete and unraveled into a ladder. The clump of men below waited with their faces turned upwards and necks craning to get the first glimpse of AVALANCHE, the saviors of the Planet, protectors of all mankind. The mercenary gave them one last look and turned to his friends, shrugging easily. "Well, ready to go, guys?"

"Yeah." Reeve tapped his palm on Cait Sith's manual controller, the android licking its paw at his side. "I'm ready anytime, Cloud."

"Real quick," Barret interjected, rubbing his gun-arm absently. "Go over the plan. We get some 'a these scrubs to help Cid with rebuildin' the Highwind, right?"

"Right." Cloud crossed his arms. "And then-"

"Then, we go up to the top of Junon and make our way to Rufus's place. That it?"

"Essentially, yeah." The spiky-haired young man glanced over at the ex-President, who was now standing with head bowed, silently pondering. "But, Rufus, the entire time, you've *gotta* stay in character, alright? You don't want to blow your cover."

He sighed and stuffed one hand into the pocket of his overcoat. "I'm aware of that, Cloud. Believe me. I won't say anything, and I won't lose control and proclaim myself President again. You have my word."

"Enough of this yakkin," Cid called suddenly, one foot already in the ladder in preparation for his descent. "Let's get a move on!"

AVALANCHE cast dubious glances all around, but followed the Captain down the long rope towards the crowd below, who greeted them with a smattering of applause and a chorus of whistles. Tifa watched down as Cid, immediately upon stepping onto the concrete, was surrounded by the crowd and was given handshakes all around. The old pilot, never at a loss for words, returned all greetings in a loud voice, grinning ear to ear, gesturing up towards the Airship.. No doubt already recruiting a restoration team.

"Some riot," Rufus muttered from behind her. "I've seen greater pandemonium at an executive dinner party."

"Well, it's just what the Turks *said*," Yuffie protested indignantly, crossing her arms over her chest. "So sue me."

"Aww, quiet, brat," Barret said harshly, starting down the latter with Red tucked firmly under his gun-arm. "Good thing we didn't listen to you."

Yuffie stuck her tongue out at him, then turned to Rufus and Tifa, rolling her eyes. "I didn't even believe it either, you know. I just thought I might pre-warn you, just in case." And without giving them a chance to reply, she scampered over to the ladder and started climbing nimbly down, grinning excitedly at the congregation that was so enthousiastically greeting the rest of her party

------

Cloud, Cid, Barret, Yuffie, Red XIII, and Cait were all being congratulated heartily when Tifa finally made her way to the airfield. Immediately, she was taken by the hand by Cid, who pulled her over and introduced her to the crowd. "This is one of the best damned fighters I've ever seen, guys. You should see this gal's moves!"

She blushed modestly as the group was moved to applause, the clump of eight or nine ex-soldiers grinning broadly at her. Behind them, she saw Reeve deep in conversation with one of the men, probably someone who he knew from his former employment. The executive had been greeted warmly by the soldiers, but immediately treated with some degree of uneasiness, probably due to his location within the Shinra hierarchy.

A rough-faced, middle aged man with the stubble of a beard dotting his chin snapped her back to attention by taking her hand and giving it a hard pump. "Miss Lockheart, nice ta meetcha, it's a real honor."

She smiled at the man, her small hands lost in the coarseness and largeness of his own. "My pleasure, sir."

"After what ya did in the North Crater," the man went on, brushing back a shock of dark blonde hair from his age-lined eyes, "you AVALANCHE are the biggest heroes in Junon."

"Eh, uh, we heard there were riots," Cid added, glancing at Yuffie, who was halfway across the tarmac with Cloud. "Some people were getting kicked out of the city, or something like that."

"Well... There was an uprising against everyone who was in Shinra, but that's pretty much over now. They're all gone. Although," the man added in a whisper, "what's *that* feller doin' here? Isn't he a Shinra?"

Tifa startled visibly, her eyes widening. "No. There's no one from Shinra here. We're all AVALANCHE." Cid, at her side, shot a quick look over his shoulder towards the ladder of the Airship, where Rufus was taking his first step onto the concrete.

"You sure? Even that goatee feller over there?" The man gestured to the 'feller', Reeve, who was now surrounded by several more soldiers, and was explaining something to them about Cait Sith. "I swear I've seen him in some-"

"Oh, no, he's sort of our undercover connection. He's an AVALANCHE, too," Cid grinned weakly at the man, taking a long, thankful drag off of his cigarette. "I'd trust that guy with my life, so ya don't need to worry about him."

Tifa turned away from the man for a moment and watched Vincent and Rufus, who were a little apart from the crowd and each other. A couple of rogue guards noticed them, and, a bit intimidated by the glinting gold claw sported by Vincent, made a beeline for the ex-President of Shinra. Rufus didn't move a muscle, just simply watched them approach with absolutely nothing showing in his eyes.

"Hey, sir," one of the soldiers greeted, slinging his rifle over his back. "Congratulations. It's a pleasure to meet you..." He offered his hand, grinning ear to ear, thrilled to be standing next to a real live AVALANCHE, though Rufus didn't even seem to be paying attention. "I'm Ramie, and it's so... Wow, I mean, you saved the world! It's... wow..."

Rufus regarded the youth silently, not even shaking his hand. /Actually, kid,/ he thought ironic, /I'm the one who nearly destroyed it./ "Yes?"

Tifa realized vaguely that Rufus had changed his voice the slightest bit, taken away the haughty tone, deepening it a note. It was recognizable, but only barely. She let out her breath slowly, thankfully, and quickly made her way over to the threesome hoping to give Rufus and Vincent the time they needed to evade any more conversation.

"Well... sir..." The other soldier, a bit older than Ramie, with his thin mouth pressed into a hard line, scratched the back of his head without putting away his rifle. "Sorry. He's still a kid. He's still green, y'know?"

Rufus nodded slowly, but his mind wasn't on these things; he had already started to completely ignore Ramie and his friend. These Junon soldiers were evoking in him unpleasant memories, memories he would have liked to have left behind in the Weapon's blast. How many times had he stood in this exact same spot, ready to lift off in the airship with his executives? He had come back, but he wasn't really returning. He was a walking nonexistence.

"Are you with AVALANCHE?" the second soldier was asking him, a thoughtful frown on his face. "I don't remember seeing you on the Wanted posters. They were only here," he added hastily, "when Shinra was in charge."

Rufus's blood chilled at the words. "I know."

"What's your name?" Ramie asked, glancing at his older friend. "He's right; I don't really remember you either. Why did you decide to join AVALANCHE, Mr....?"

Rufus was still half-listening, his mind dwelling instead on his old employees; Heidegger, Reno, Rude, Hojo... Scarlet... Heidegger glaring at the soldiers, probably even these two at some point in his career... Reno, with his sloppy habits, only a thin layer of respect over his complete disregard for everyone and everything... Rude always by his side, but never saying a word. And Scarlet... Junon had been her pride and joy, her pet project. The Sister Ray, the development of the Prod Clod, the defensive mechanics that had protected the city in the Weapon attack... She held so much pride for this place in that dark little heart of hers... But those days were over now...

"What's your name?"

Rufus was startled back into consciousness, dimly hearing the question and blurting out the first answer that came to his mind. "Scarlet."

"Scarlet!?!" Ramie asked incredulously. "That was-"

"*Scar*," Tifa corrected, stepping up next to Rufus and putting her hand on his shoulder. "His name is Scar."

"Ohhh..." The two soldiers nodded understandingly. "From that mark on your forehead, right? So that's, like, your alias? What made you join AVAL-"

Tifa interrupted their questions, holding out one hand in apology. "Sorry, guys, but I've gotta have a word with Scar and Vincent here. "Can you excuse us?"

The soldiers nodded respectfully to her, then shouldered their guns and wandered off, talking excitedly to each other about their encounter with a real life AVALANCHE. Rufus watched them leave with a look of distaste in his eyes, hands stuffed into his trenchcoat. Vincent hadn't moved the entire time, but stood staring at the floor behind the former President.

"You guys holding up alright?" Tifa asked quickly, in a low whisper. "... Scar?"

Rufus glared at her. "Just get me to my mansion, Miss Lockheart. I want to get out of these horrible clothes as fast as possible."

She laughed softly at him. "You are such a pris, *Mr Scar*."

"What!?!" He drew back, his eyebrows furrowing together. "I am *not*! You-" He broke off suddenly, realizing that he hadn't concealed his voice, and had cried out rather loudly. But a quick glance around confirmed that no one had really been listening to him, and disaster was, for the moment, averted.

"Vincent? Are you alright?" Tifa inquired of the other man, trying desperately to appear natural, lest anyone suspect. "You're quiet."

"Yes. You should know by now," Vincent responded softly. "This is merely how I am."

Her mouth was open to reply, but, all of a sudden, a voice rang out from behind her. "Eh! I don't know *these* two yet!"

She whirled around, and came face to face with the first man she had been introduced to, the dark-blonde who had previously suspected Reeve. He was grinning over her shoulder, at Rufus and Vincent, who both looked on unflinchingly. "How are ya? You with AVALANCHE, too?"

Rufus glanced at Vincent. "Yes," said the red-cloaked man.

The soldier nodded, then squinted a little at Rufus. "What's your name, sir?"

"Scar."

"Scar, eh? Are you from around here?"

"No."

"Oh..." The soldier scratched the back of his head, puzzling. "Have you ever been to Junon?"

"Not in a long time," Rufus responded softly. "A very very long time."

"Oh... Well, I dunno, I just thought we'd met or something. Maybe not." He shrugged and turned back to Tifa again, who's face had creased into a worried frown. When attention returned back to her again, she quickly composed herself and grinned amiably at the man. "What are AVALANCHE's plans then, Miss Lockheart?"

"Well..." She shrugged. "I'm not sure. We just need help rebuilding the Highwind, so we can fly-... Er, well, we've just got to finish up a few things, that's all."

"Well, if you're going to be in town, you should stop at the rally today. I'm sure they'd love you there. You being AVALANCHE, and all."

"Rally?" She frowned. "What rally?"

The man smiled warmly and was about to explain, but her attention was suddenly diverted when Cloud called out, "Tifa?"

"Yeah?" She swung around to see the rest of AVALANCHE waiting for her, Vincent, and Rufus, their provisions and knapsacks having been unloaded from the airship by the eager soldiers and now resting in a pile at their feet. "Cid's got the crew together. We're going now. Are you ready?"

"Yeah." She glanced over her shoulder at Rufus and Vincent, then once more at the soldier. She would find out about the rally later. Rufus was shooting her visual daggers, telling her that it was time to leave. "Let's go."

She had forgotten how weak her body was. Her spirit was strong, but physically, she was not as superior as her son. The side oceans lay out before her, the oceans that she would not be able to cross easily. It would take perhaps all over her strength to overcome the great waters, but it would be worth it in the end. Yes, in the end, her triumph would be forever immortalized, as well as her own self. The reign of Jenova was coming. She had to be strong enough to summon it.

She rested briefly, using all of her strength to keep moving, keep going northwards, or die trying...

As soon as the steel door of the railcar creaked open, the faint noise of cheering reverberated softly around the room. AVALANCHE glanced at each other, confused, uncomprehending. A crowd? Perhaps the riots Yuffie had mentioned?

The young Ninja led the way out of the car, stepping outside and tossing over her shoulder, "What'd I tell you?"

Her friends shouldered their provisions again and stepped outside into the bright sunlight. The air was electric with cheers, coming faintly from down the street and echoed by a loud, deep voice, booming over all the rest. Someone on a public address service. What...?

"I believe what we're hearing is the rally," Vincent deadpanned to Rufus. The young man turned and arched an eyebrow at the ex-Turk, but said nothing in reply, merely cocking his head and listening harder to the sounds. There was indeed someone making a speech, being punctuated every few moments by more yelling from the crowd. A rally. But for what? To what end? Who would be holding a rally?

Cait Sith was the one who voiced the questions first. "What the hell's all the noise for?"

"A rally," Rufus replied simply. "One of the soldiers mentioned it. I don't know what for. But we'll soon find out, won't we?"

"Why?" Cid's voice was openly suspicious. "What're you thinkin, Shinra?"

"I'm merely going to tell you, *this* is the way to my mansion." And with that, Rufus picked up his bags and started walking, ignoring the dirty look Cid shot him. "And, by the way, from now on, it would be a good idea *not* to call me 'Shinra'. Thanks to Miss Lockheart, my new alias is 'Scar'."

Tifa looked ready to protest the tone in Rufus's voice, but Cid put his hand on her arm and shot her a sympathetic look, so she submitted instead to keeping her mouth shut. It hadn't been *her* fault that Rufus had been daydreaming and blurting out the name of his dead executives... But it was pointless to argue about it.

They kept walking, following Rufus as he glanced from street to street, moving almost too quickly for them to keep up. He had only a light duffel, with virtually no possessions save what he had been wearing the day he was dragged from the Midgar wreckage. Meanwhile, the rest of the team was carrying their provisions from practically the entire journey, with two bags apiece, and were more weighted down than the slim young ex-President. But Rufus took no heed of this, simply kept walking, kept moving, with the sounds growing louder every moment. The voice, as well, became clearer and clearer, until words and phrases could be deciphered. They all listened intently to the deep baritone of the speaker, shouting fire and brimstone from off in the distance.

"... difference in... Subsequently, I intend to... There is no... Have freedom..."

"Who is that?" Cloud wondered to himself. "I swear, that's a familiar voice."

"Maybe one of the ex-Shinra executives? Or someone we ran into when we were in Junon before?" Tifa shook her head, her long brown hair swishing back and forth as she did so. "You're right, it's familiar."

"Out from the... No more of... piggish greed... Junon! We are..."

Red barked out to Rufus, who was walking quickly, head down, as though on a mission. "Wait for us, won't you? You're leaving us behind!" The plea was ignored.

"Free from the ... domination... curse of Shinra!"

Rufus took this opportunity to pause and look around him, sniffing the wind as though for danger. "Who is that," he murmured. "I swear, I've... I've heard that voice before..."

"We're close now," Cid said, coming up behind the boy. "You ok?"

"Yes... But what is that rally *for*?" He thought a moment or two, then nodded adamantly. "It's only a few blocks away. I'm going." And then he had shrugged off his pack and handed it to someone, and was striding quickly down the street, towards the noise and the cheers that were still echoing around them.

The Captain yelled angrily after him, the cigarette falling out of his mouth.. "Hey, kid! We've gotta move!"

Rufus, needless to say, completely ignored him, and kept going down the street. He could see a crowd now, standing anxiously and craning their necks for a glimpse of something, and the sentences were booming so much clearer over the unseen loudspeaker. "Trapped under the darkness of Midgar for so long, we are finally free from our captors."

They *couldn't* be speaking of Shinra. Not Shinra. Rufus doubled his pace, vaguely hearing a few members of AVALANCHE puffing behind him, but affecting not to notice. His breath was coming shorter, and he was almost stifling in this foreign new trenchcoat, which was much heavier than the light suit he had been wearing previously. Added, he was weaker than before, due to his three weeks of being bedridden. //So much for being an all-powerful Weapon... What a joke...// The voice was starting to pound at him, its damnation of power and corruption ringing in his ears. He kept going.

All at once, the buildings seemed to cease their endless rows of steel and brick wall, and Rufus was in the heart of Junon, the meeting place for all citizens during public ceremonies. And, apparently, all citizens were there. He held his breath to see the countless millions gathered in the area, small vendor shops set up along the sides, and a long, densely populated stretch leading to the podium where Rufus himself had made his appointment speech. Except something had changed since then. Something very drastic.

His breathing nearly stopped when he looked down the long expanse of crowd and noticed several banners and posters, all bearing the same emblem: the Shinra logo with a large X scribbled through it. There must have been twenty or more of them, the crowd waving them enthousiastically as the speaker cursed Shinra's tyranny and the corruption of its leaders. Especially Rufus himself. They booed heartily when he mentioned something Shinra had done, such as destroyed Sector 7. They cheered when he spoke of his own virtues. It was, as Ramie and his friend had told him, an uprising against Shinra. They had overthrown Shinra.

Rufus Shinra.

He leaned against the wall, craning his neck to see over the people ahead of him. The man at the podium was standing next to a large screen, which his image was projected on as he spoke, so that everyone, no matter how far away, could read the emotion and conviction on his face. He was a slightly balding man, sixty or so, with grey hair and snipped features, every one drawn into a very hard line. The hard lines of a man embittered by years and years of neglect and having been forgotten.

"Now, I know you are aware that I, too, worked for Shinra..."

The crowd around him started making assorted booing and muttering noises, but Rufus barely heard. All he knew was the roaring in his ears and the sudden rush of blood to his heart. //It couldn't possibly be...!//

"But I saw everything that they had done, to the people in Midgar, to *my* people in Midgar, and I now know..."

The hard-lined features. The long years in Midgar. The voice. The despisement of Shinra. It couldn't have been. But it was, oh it was. It was the man whom Shinra least appreciated, the man Rufus had practically locked in the basement and ignored all those years. He was a puppet of the company, who's power was only arbitrary, who spent all of his days holed in his office whiling away his time. Dreaming of the day like this, when he would become the powerful one.

"... the destruction that Shinra has wreaked upon our Planet. Midgar is destroyed, as well. And now, in the aftermath of the Meteor crisis, all eyes turn upon our city for the answer. Yes, Junon, we can put together the pieces and build a whole new era!"

Putting together folders, sorting through data. He had never been in power before. He wasn't a mayor, he was a librarian.

Mayor Domino.

Rufus had only realized this, when everything started to move like a dream. He was outraged. Domino. Domino had new control over Junon. Domino was the premier now. *Domino*!!! And he had the audacity to denounce Shinra, after all of those years of... Now the entire city of Junon was against Rufus. He had known it before, warned by Reeve, but now he knew, and he couldn't deny anymore. To them, Rufus Shinra was nothing. Their leader was... *Domino*...

Rufus couldn't stand it. He didn't even know what he was doing, but one hand reached up and ripped the scarf from his face, his countenance clearly visible now, and pushing the headband from his forehead. Shoving people aside, he moved through the crowd, the Mako in his eyes burning with a furious fire that would crush any opposition. Rufus Shinra was no one to be trifled with. He could stare down executives with a glance. Especially *Domino*...

He couldn't bear losing his company like this, losing all of his power. Losing all of his supporters. They all hated Shinra now; he knew it. But he had no choice, no way to stop himself from running up there and facing off against Domino, provoking a confrontation. He moved faster, shoving people aside, disregarding the people around him, only focusing on one thing: the podium that was so far away, that he would reach if it killed him. Domino be damned.. He would never be overcome by a man such as *this*...

He pushed past onlooker after onlooker, not heeding direction or reaction, until, suddenly, he felt a strong arm around his waist, and he was being lifted bodily into the air. Before he could cry out in fear and anger, a strong hand came out of nowhere and clamped down with threatening force.

He couldn't even scream; his voice had been stifled and he was being carried off by his unseen assailant, though he struggled desperately against the strong arms. There was something cold and metal digging into his stomach, and whoever he was moved much faster than Rufus had, forcing the boy's head down so no one would recognize his face. The boy wanted to cry out, wanted to scream for help, as he finally panicked. //This can't be happening...// He was pressed hard against his captor, unable to struggle enough to get himself free, his arm pinned hard against the other mans side. And always, the two were moving, moving slowly towards the dark backstreets and alleyways, deserted to all but the rats.

Rufus pulled desperately at the hand at his mouth, squinting his eyes shut, gasping with the effort. //Let me go... let me go...// The man only pressed harder on the boy's mouth, squeezing his waist tighter as well, causing horrible pain until the boy stopped his struggles and allowed himself to be moved away without a great fight. //Oh, my Planet, I never should have...//

Finally, kidnapped and kidnapper were in an alleyway, the shadows stretching along both sides of the narrow lane. Rufus was shoved against the wall roughly, closing his eyes in dreadful anticipation of the blows he was sure would be rained down on him. //They know who I am... They won't hesitate to kill me...// He had come so far, fought so hard, and now he would be ended *here*...

"Damned kid," a gruff voice snapped at him. "As much as I'd love to see you get yer ass whooped, you'd better be glad I saved your life."

Rufus peeked one eye open, his heart all at once leaping to his mouth and crashing to his feet. "Ohh... Barret..."

The infuriated miner slammed his gun-arm on the wall next to Rufus's head, almost making the boy flinch. "Damned right! Don't you forget it! You were gonna get *creamed* out there! Why da *hell* did you take off your disguise? Do you wanna *scream* that you're the--" He caught himself before screaming the secret out loud, and continued with a slightly lower voice. "They didn't look too happy with you, and running out there like that was *suicide*! Damned crazy kid." He glowered furiously at the boy, tearing the scarf from his fingers and holding it roughly out to him. "Put this back on."

Rufus's heart had slowed, and his fear slowly melted into indignation. "No."

"WHY DA HELL NOT!?!" Barret lost control of his voice and hollered at the youth, before remembering once more the large crowd outside and lowering his voice again. "You're *dead*, remember? You're in disguise, unless you wanna get killed."

"Barret... You don't understand. They're... they're slandering Shinra out there. My company. They're slandering *me*. Making a public spectacle out of my death. I can't just-"

"Public spectacle outta yer death? You wanted to *televise* me 'n Tifa's execution!!!" Barret pointed out furiously. He shoved one of Rufus's shoulders against the wall, then turned his back on him, marching agitatedly to the end of the lane, which opened up to a deserted main road. "If you still wanna go out there, fine. You wanna get yourself killed, that's great. Good riddance. But I warned ya."

Rufus watched the older man go, cursing himself harshly in his mind, staring bitterly at the scarf in his hands. He pondered a few moments, contemplating his options, but a final cheer from outside the alley finally settled his mind. Holding his head high, he brushed off his bulky black trenchcoat and let his breath out shakily, angrily. Then, he turned and walked out into the open again, standing at the fair end of the crowd. Who had all of their backs to him.

He looked once more at the waving anti-Shinra banners, listened to the words of Domino, feeling the rage boil within himself. Rufus instinctly knew who had been in charge of the riots and the exile of all the former Shinra employees, and he knew that it was *this* mans fault he couldn't ever go back to how he once was. For the first time in his life, Rufus Shinra was helpless. He had found someone who had become even more powerful than him.

And there was nothing he could do about it.

He watched only a moment more, disgusted with the old man denouncing him publicly in front of millions of people in the Junon amphitheater. But then it was too much for him, too much for him to take. He had to get out of there. There was nothing he could do.

"I swear to you, Domino..." he murmured, Mako eyes burning at the new mayor of Junon. "I swear, one day, you will hang for this."

He didn't want to hear any more. Pulling her kerchief over his nose and mouth, he strode purposefully into the alleyway he had come from, following the direction Barret had taken back to AVALANCHE.