Barret's eyes scanned the room, finally coming to rest on the prone form of Rufus Shinra, the President of the company he had fought his entire life to topple. His nemesis, his archenemy, the one man he hated most. Lying in front of him right now, eyes open and staring angrily at the ceiling. He advanced slowly.

"Reeve... I'm... going... to... kill... you," he spat, accenting each word with one more forceful step towards Rufus. The redhead didn't look at him, simply kept his eyes staring to the sky, as though he didn't even notice the burly man advancing towards him with murder on his mind. "I thought you were one of *us*, Reeve."

"I am one of you," the man stammered hurriedly, grabbing a hold of Barret's gun-arm and forcing it down to point at the floor. "Just listen to me, Barret. He's not President of Shinra anymore. Shinra's over. He's just a guy now, just a normal guy, and you can't-"

Barret flung him away with an angry toss of his arm, and advanced towards Rufus again. "Normal guy, my @$^*@. Normal guy who sucked all the life outta this goddamned planet. Who shoulda been dead."

Rufus didn't move, but his voice was loud and clear. "As opposed to a man that blew up several reactors in blatant terrorist attacks, and killed millions of Shinra employees," he deadpanned, not averting his vision. "As well as was involved in the grand theft of the company Airship. As well as-"

"**Shut up**!" Barret raised his gun-arm and was moments from firing and effectively ending the boy's life, but before he could shoot, Vincent darted in front of him and said calmly, "Stop."

Barret hesitated, then narrowed his eyes and glared at Vincent. "I woulda expected more from you, Vinc-" But his words were cut off by a sudden flash of green light and a fluttering of Vincent's cape. Then, to his shock, Barret became instantly paralyzed, unable to move a muscle.

Reeve stood at Vincent's side, gasping. "What ... was that?"

"Stop spell." Vincent turned and gave a baleful look at Rufus, who hadn't so much as flinched since Barret came into the room. "You had better start being more courteous."

Rufus mumbled something, but the ex-Turk ignored it, instead taking a hold on Barret's gun-arm and fiddling with it, finally straightening and depositing a handful of bullets into his pocket. "He's unarmed."

Reeve slowly moved so that he was standing between Barret and the bed, Cait Sith at his side, guarding Rufus, who still lay unmoving. "Can he hear me?"

"When it wears off." Vincent shrugged and moved over to the stairs again. "The others will be coming soon. Rufus, please keep your comments to yourself, if at all possible."

Reeve ignored Rufus's murmers from behind him and concentrated on Barret, who slowly began to return to life, staring with his upper lip twitching in rage. As soon as he could open his mouth, he let out a growl and spat at Reeve, "What was that for?"

"C'mon, Barret, we just don't wanna see anyone get hurt. Calm down, will you?"

Barret was practically breathing fire. "Goddamned Shinra spy."

"Look, I have my loyalties all with AVALANCHE. But this was a dying man, I couldn't very well turn him out on the street, could I?" Reeve pleaded with Barret, glancing nervously at the gun-arm which started twitching to life and moved to aim at Rufus's head once more. "He's a human being, and-"

"I think he's set to take a little punishment," Barret growled, not taking his eyes from Reeve. "And why the hell didn't you tell any 'a us? We're your friends, and we've got more to do with him than you."

"I worked for Shinra, I had plenty to do with him," Reeve said nervously, shooting a look at Cait Sith. "And I knew you would try to murder him. Like just now. Come on, Barret, calm down..."

"Barret, there's no use in killing him," Vincent said from the head of the stairs, crouched with his head bowed. "He's too weak to do anything. And he is powerless. Let your revenge be in the fact that you have won."

"Hear that, Shinra?" Barret spat over Reeve's shoulder. "We won."

Rufus coughed weakly, blowing his breath out in a shaky sigh. "Congratulations."

Barret's retort was interrupted by the clumping of feet up the stairs, and Vincent's soft request of, "Please, put down your weapons."

"Where's Rufus?" Cloud's voice was firm, but worried, the top of his spiky head visible on the stairs. "Where the hell is he?"

"He's weak, and he's defenseless. I need your word that you will not use your weapons against him."

"I need *his* word that he ain't gonna be tearin' any more shit up!" Cid snapped from an unseen point downstairs. "And then *maybe* I'll consider not running him through!"

Vincent turned his back on them, drawing himself into his cape. "He is completely incapable of even standing, let alone causing any of you harm. Please be rational."

"He's got wierd crap in his eyes!" Yuffie squeaked loudly. "They're all messed up like Cloud's!"

"Stop, Yuffie!" Tifa barked, before passing Cloud and walking up the stairs, putting her hand on Vincent's shoulder. He didn't move. "Look, we promise not to hurt him now. Why did you lie to us?"

"I had no knowledge of this until last night," Vincent stated, glancing at her over his shoulder. "Reeve anticipated such an attack from AVALANCHE when he was first brought here several weeks ago. Fearing for Rufus's safety, he simply decided not to tell you."

"But you didn't tell us."

"That was per Reeve's request."

Tifa shot a glance over at the bed, and walked slowly up to Reeve. "You couldn't trust us?"

The executive shrugged and guestured to Barret, who had retreated and was standing by the bannister of the stairs, glowering darkly. "Barret here already proved that I couldn't. Look, guys, he's real sick, and something happened-"

Rufus interrupted, his eyes closed, voice shaky. "Reeve, that's not of their concern."

At the sound of his wavering voice, Vincent turned, and Cloud took a hesitant step up the stairs. Behind him came the rest of AVALANCHE, passing him to walk into the room and crowd around his bed, glancing warily at each other but not raising their weapons. Vincent joined them, his face expressionless. Only Reeve and Cait Sith were broken from the circle, standing next to the bed, as though guarding the fallen President.

"Rufus," Cloud said slowly, scarcely able to believe his own eyes. "Rufus Shinra."

The boy opened his eyes and stared at Cloud with his own glowing blue Mako light. "So we meet again Cloud."

"Damn, man! What happened to your eyes!" Barret hadn't taken the time to listen to Yuffie's description of them, nor had he noticed them in his rage when he entered the room. "They're like a SOLDIER!"

"We dunno," Reeve ventured slowly, glancing at his President. "Honestly, we don't. Neither does he. That's why-"

"He could be lying," Cid mumbled, but Cait Sith shook his head at him warningly. Rufus didn't even flinch.

"I'm as glad to see all of you as you are to see me," he sighed, moving a shaking hand up to brush back his hair. "I would like nothing better than to leave right now and never see any of you again."

"Why didn't you die?" Tifa said softly from the end of the bed, moving her vision from Cloud to Rufus. "You were hit by Weapon."

"I..." Rufus shook his head wearily, his head swimming, vision blurry. "It's no matter."

Reeve answered for him, trying hard to appease his friends. "He told me that he might have been dead, before. Maybe it could have been-"

Yuffie gave a short laugh, cutting him off. "That's a good one. You expect us to believe that you're *dead* right now?"

Rufus glared at her weakly. "You wouldn't understand even if I told you, brat."

She was about to retort, but Cid held out his hand and silenced her. There was a pause as he took a meditative drag on his cigarette and rubbed the back of his head slowly. "What do you mean, you *think* you *died*? You're sittin' right here, ain't ya?"

"I was in the Lifestream." Rufus weakly pushed back a few locks of hair, which he vaguely noticed was much shorter. "After Weapon hit."

Cloud's voice was subdued. "Perhaps he fell into it somehow..."

Reeve shook his head. "They found him in the basement of the Shinra building, bleeding and apparantly not alive. His heart wasn't beating and he wasn't breathing. They... They thought he was dead until all of a sudden they said he just coughed and screamed or something, and then was awake again." He fumbled nervously with his goatee and avoided the piercing gaze of Rufus, staring down at the floor. "And it does not come to the surface in Midgar, especially not in the Shinra building."

"Well..." Red looked at the floor, licking his teeth meditatively. "Perhaps he recieved an infusion in the Shinra building? Do you remember anything?"

"No." Rufus sighed and closed his eyes, his voice taking an arrogant and bitter edge. "I don't remember a thing, after I defeated Weapon - for *you* - and broke the barrier around the Northern Cave with the Sister Ray, which I suppose you took full advantage of."

Barret growled angrily. "You didn't do *shit* for us!"

"How were you planning to get into the Crater with the barrier of light, then, Barret?" Cait Sith interjected. "Just say 'Open Sesame' and waltz right down?"

"Look, cat, I didn't ask you!" the miner raged, slamming his gun-arm down on a table. "And... and... Aw, *shit*! Don't tell me I should be grateful."

The rest of the group was thoughtful, looking around at each other in silence.

"Well," Cid coughed, one hand on his hip. "Don't change much, though. I still don't trust the sonuvabitch."

"Likewise," Rufus muttered sourly.

"So... So what do we do?" Cloud pinched the bridge of his nose in thought, his eyes burning into Reeve. "We can't believe him."

"We can just make sure he survives this and then get him as far away from anyone else as possible," Cait Sith offered weakly. Cid glanced at him and muttered a curse.

"Well, look, it doesn't look like he's gonna be starting any more reactors up at the moment, is he? The public would riot and kill him anyway," Reeve shrugged, holding a hand out to Cloud. "And, besides, who's going to work for him anymore? I'm not, Heidegger and Scarlet can't, and everyone else is too negligible or unwilling."

"We're not worried about what he's going to do," Red stated, his sharp white teeth flashing. "The concern stems from what he's done in the past."

... to atone for your sins... Rufus didn't even blink, just fixed his eyes on the ceiling once more and listened in silence.

"It was his Dad that killed Sector 7. Not him." Reeve scratched the back of his head and shrugged. "That wasn't his fault."

"How about ruling the world in fear? You weren't there to hear that," Tifa countered. "He's just as evil, if not worse. And he tried to execute Barret and I."

Cait Sith shook his head sorrowfully. "She's right, Reeve."

Barret raised his gun-arm, staring pointedly at Reeve. "And you're lucky that your little robot buddy bailed us out, too, or we'd be dead. For *real*, though."

"Like I said, you wouldn't understand," Rufus answered coldly.

"Want me to make it more permanent?" Cid threatened, his grip tighting on the Venus Gospel. "I'll do that for you if you want."

Rufus's lungs filled with air, and then he blew it out with several more coughs, eyes squeezed shut in pain. Return to death, to the Lifestream, to the horrible accusations... But he was too proud to tell them, too proud to show his weakness. "You don't even know."

"It doesn't matter!" Barret cried, stepping forward and slamming his gun-arm down on the bedside table. "You're Shinra slime! You and your damned company nearly killed us all, and I don't care what you've been through! You shoulda died when Weapon killed ya!"

Rufus smirked. "How eloquent. A real wordsmith."

"I say we nail the #$(&@ and forget about it," Yuffie said angrily. "That's eloquent enough."

"But what about his eyes?" Red barked, getting to his feet and swishing his tail. "That worries me; it gives me the idea that perhaps something did happen to him. Something... something that we really need to know about."

"Jenova is dead. We killed it." Cloud's voice was hard, no-nonsense, no jokes. "It couldn't have possibly survived."

"All of it? There's still some in you, isn't there? Did that die?" Red tossed his mane and faced his friend, his yellow eye squinted. "We don't know that, Cloud. This is too serious to ignore just yet."

"Besides, he's not going to do anything to us now," Tifa added. "We'll get revenge later. Red's right. I hate to say it, but we can't do anything until we know what's happened."

"Fine." Barret spat and lowered his gun-arm, looking pointedly at the boy who lay in bed, skin marked with burns and eyes glowing with Mako. "It ain't my idea. We ain't gonna kill ya - YET. Consider yourself a prisoner of AVALANCHE."

Rufus sighed and stared ahead, haughty as ever. "Wonderful."

He looked out the window with his blue, glowing eyes wide. His mouth hung open in shock. "That... That's it?"

"That's Midgar," Cloud said softly from behind him. He could see the tangled mass of scrap metal basking in the noonday sun over Rufus's shoulder, and it came as a shock even to him, even to someone who had watched it been destroyed. It seemed to be worse every time he looked, the wreckage looking even more devastating as the days went on. And to be the former President of that once-proud city, and to literally wake up one morning to find it demolished... He almost felt sorry for this Shinra bastard.

"M-... Midgar..." Rufus put his hands to his head, clenching a few stray peices of strawberry hair, almost letting out a low moan. "It's... Oh, God..."

"There weren't many survivors," Cloud muttered to the ground, scratching the back of his head. "They all either died when Meteor started sucking up the ground, or they were cut off from all supplies when the entrances were blocked by rubble. There were crews trying to salvage some lives, but so far you're the only one I heard of that came back..." He shook his head, not daring to look at the other man, who was standing like a stone gazing at the destruction. "I'm sorry."

"No one? The entire city died?"

"Yeah. It's, uh... It was emptied out a little after you were taken out, because Reeve took control and ordered everyone to flee, but the people in the slums couldn't escape... Look, I'm-"

"So where did they all go?"

"I don't know. Probably moved away to Junon, or here even." Cloud turned and glanced at Tifa, who was sitting at a table behind him playing solitaire, trying hard to keep the sympathy from her face. "Wherever they went, they can't go back now."

Rufus bowed his head and turned his back on the window, stunned into silence. His... Midgar. The city he had control of, the city Shinra had built its foundation upon, completely wiped out. All of it.

Tifa lifted her head and regarded him quietly, her eyes moving up his still form. He had recovered nicely in the past week, gaining his strength in leaps and bounds, but something had changed about him. He was afraid of something, breakable, more fragile than the past. Before, Aeris had told her that he had never bled nor wept, but the Rufus that stood before her now had deep scars on his face, and was mourning for the ravaged city he had once ruled with fear. He had changed, something had happened to him after Weapon hit, but... She shook her head, returning her vision to her cards. He was still untrustworthy, and he was still evil. She felt that, deep inside, that fact still remained the same.

The sound of work boots clumping up the stairs made her look up and turn around in her chair, smiling at the beard-flecked face of Cid Highwind as he came into the room, Venus Gospel in hand. "Hey, Teef," he greeted her amiably, throwing himself into the opposite chair and dropping one foot on the table. "How's it going?"

Cloud sat on the edge of the bed, glancing at the former president. "Fine. He, uh... He just saw Midgar."

"Ohhh, that hurts. Sorry, man." Cid took out a lighter and lit up his newest cigarette, taking a thoughtful puff. "It sucks, don't it. 'Specially for a guy like you."

"Cid..." Tifa trailed off, seeing the way Rufus pulled his newly mended white trenchcoat around him. He stood silouetted in the window, head still bowed, coat accenting his lean figure, a bit thinner than in the past. He still hadn't been able to eat fully after being starved for so long. "He's not taking it well."

"Please refrain from discussing me while I'm in the room," Rufus muttered coldly, turning away. He squared his shoulders towards Midgar, forcing himself to look on with steely eyes. "It's rude."

"Shit! He's takin' it great, seems to me," Cid told Tifa, shooting Rufus a dirty look. "Those ain't *tears* in his eyes."

"Captain Highwind, have a little respect," he replied softly, anger tinging his voice. "There is much about me you don't understand."

"I understand we're leavin' soon, and you'd better not @$@(* up anything on my ship, or I'm runnin' ya through," Cid barked, getting to his feet and knocking the butt of his spear on the wood floor. "S'matter of fact, I got the right to knock ya out if you don't behave yourself."

"Where are we going?" Rufus turned to him and ran a hand through his hair, shoulders back and posture erect. The color had drained from his face, but he was acting as arrogant and cocky as ever. "You never said you would be taking me anywhere."

"Cosmo Canyon. You're havin' a chat with the elders." Cid grinned and jerked his thumb in the direction of the door. "Red talked to them, and they said they might be able to help."

Rufus stared at him quietly. "Help with what?"

"Figurin' out what the hell happened to you."

He stood unmoving, a light breeze from the open window ruffling his hair, his eyes regarding Cid quietly. He made no move towards the door, and in fact seemed to pay no attention to the fact that the old pilot was getting impatient, antsy to get back up in the air, and to get rid of this arrogant kid. No, Rufus just stared at him in his silent defiance and put a hand on his hip, his face a complete blank, his eyes sparkling with anger and Mako.

The silence was broken by Cid, who finally raised a gloved hand and pointed to the door. "We're movin' now. Want me to carry you on my back, Your Highness?"

Rufus scowled and turned on his heel, glaring angrily out the window. His white coat fluttered around him, and he stuffed one hand angrily into his pocket. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Suit yerself." Cid shrugged and glanced at his Venus Gospel, slinging it over his shoulder. "Sleepel."

A green light flared, and all of a sudden stars were dancing through his vision, lulling him to sleep. Rufus went black before he even hit the floor.

The sun was shining brightly down on him, warmer than he remembered it, the sea wind salty and cool to his skin. He adjusted the sleeves of his white trenchcoat and flicked back his hair, staring out at the vast blue ocean, the shadow of the huge Sister Ray rising and falling with the waves. Junon.

"Sir? Sir!" Colonel Heidegger jogged up to him, red-faced and panting, offering him a crisp salute. "The parade's about to begin."

"Parade?" Junon. That's right. There was a parade to happen today in Junon. To celebrate his new reign as President of Shinra. "Alright. I'll be right there."

Heidegger bowed low and turned to jog over to the troops, glaring at them pitilessly. He was in charge of marching at the head of the parade, in charge of all the soldiers, and any mistakes would be punished, any false steps would be regretted. These worthless bastards would rue the day they ruined President Rufus's parade. He was in place for a whole new era.

Rufus turned and regarded the Colonel with his steely blue eyes. "When will we be leaving for Costa Del Sol?"

"Immediately after the parade, sir. You have a very busy schedule."

"Indeed." He brushed back his bangs once more and looked around him, squinting in the midday sun. "Are the other Department Heads ready?"

"Yes, sir."

"Alright. Where's Hojo?"

"He... uh, if you'll remember, sir, he resigned." Heidegger's eyes nearly jumped out of their sockets, he was avoiding Rufus's gaze so feverishly. "The, er, investigation is ongoing."

"Oh, yes. No matter. Let's begin."

The sun was hot on the back of his neck, the smile on his face starting to hurt his cheeks, and his arms tired from waving. The car he rode in was going too slow to give him any sense of a breeze on his face, and he was practically stifling though his suit was light. And the monotony of the parade, of smiling and waving, thanking the public, over and over, was starting to make him weary.

He turned his head and glanced leisurely at the ocean, the deep blue waves reflected and rivaled by the bright blue of his own eyes. The salt wind picked up, blowing his hair back, feeling pleasant to his face, and he closed his eyes and enjoyed it, though his hand never stopped moving, greeting the public.

Television cameras and adoring fans swarmed about his car, and he tried to catch the eyes of the people, smiling amiably, like his father had told him. Pretend you're their buddy. Pretend you're such a wonderful guy. They'll trust you.

But that's not how it happened. I ruled with fear. I didn't do things the way my father did. I didn't like to waste time.

Scarlet sat in the car ahead of him, the sunlight reflecting off her bare shoulders and dancing in her styled blonde hair. She had forsaken her overly revealing red dress for a more comfortable light blue number, but the effect remained the same - the slit was very high up her leg, and the front dipped to an almost obscene low. She turned and smiled for the parade-goers, giving Rufus a faint wink with one of her hazel eyes. He deemed it prudent to ignore her.

Reeve sat next to her, sitting on the back of the shiny new convertible, staring around him with squinted eyes. He wasn't smiling or waving, but that didn't matter; he was friendly and amiable even when he was frowning. That's why Rufus had kept him around as his medium to the public. He quelled the citizen's need to revolt, and he made sure the image was still favorable. But the heat was probably killing him, or he was tired or something, because he wasn't even trying to fake a smile. Or perhaps it was just that Scarlet kept jabbing him and whispering sharply at him to lighten up.

Palmer sat in the car ahead of them, portly and round as usual, standing and waving energetically, as though the parade were for him. Hojo had been scheduled to sit next to him, and hopefully temper the fat man's overeagerness, but he had resigned earlier that week. No reasons or anything. Heidegger was supposed to figure it out.

Rufus kept smiling and waving to the television cameras, as the confetti rained down from the windows above, and the public eye watched him, the future of Shinra, dreaming of the prosperity and happiness to come.

That wasn't how it happened, though, was it? My era lasted only months, and it was the final chapter of Shinra. I failed in everything. Midgar was destroyed, Junon ravaged by Weapon, the world practically ended...

But how was I to know that. How were any of them going to tell me. I had no control over what happened, as much as I pretended. I was only guessing. How am I to blame?

It's not my fault. None of it is. I had no way of telling what would happen, and no way of stopping Sephiroth or Jenova. Everything was out of my hands. I only ran the world, putting it through the motions. I couldn't control its direction.

I was cheated. Cheated of my era, of the prosperity they all envisioned for me. Cheated of Midgar, Junon, the whole damned company. They sang songs telling me how they adored me, about how Shin-Ra, Inc. was going to fly higher than ever before. And then fate took it all away, and now I recieve the blame.

But it's not my fault.

Reeve sat with his hand on his forehead, head bowed, regarding the steel floor of the Highwind like it held his answers. Elsewhere, the rest of AVALANCHE was watching him, not conciously, but out of the corner of their eye, wary of him deep in the back of their minds. They didn't know whether or not to trust him. For good reason.

He could still see Rufus's battered body when the fleeing couple had brought it to him. Deep gashes ran down his face, and he was weak from loss of blood, barely breathing. His trademark bright white suit was marred and stained, ripped and singed to a dull grey, and his face and hands were covered with boils. It was horrifying. Reeve had frantically chased down Yuffie, borrowed a Cure materia without explanation, and used Cait Sith to cast several Cure3 spells on the former President. On AVALANCHE's worst enemy. He couldn't explain himself to them, he knew, but he couldn't stand to watch anyone die, no matter how stained their hands were. He didn't want to take that responsiblity, so he did what he thought was right and gave him all the Cure that Cait could handle.

But it didn't work as well as Reeve had hoped. He thought maybe he could heal Rufus enough to get him walking, and then take him over to Junon, make sure he could take care of himself, then leave him behind. Instead, Rufus fell into delerium, muttering on and on about being dead, about Jenova, his father... And Reeve didn't have the heart to leave him like that. So, while the rest of AVALANCHE were given room and board by residents of Kalm, Reeve took a room at the Inn and kept an eye on Rufus. And it had gotten him nowhere.

Cid snapped him out of his reverie with a gruff "Hey", marching past him and nudging him with the toe of his work boot. "You alright?"

"Yeah," Reeve sighed. "I'm just a little airsick is all."

"*You're* airsick!!!" Yuffie wailed. "I'm so sick, I could-"

"Can it!" Cid barked, before turning his attention back to Reeve. "We'll be there in about ten minutes. Is Sleeping Beauty still out cold?"

"Yeah." Reeve glanced at the inert form of Rufus, wrapped in a blanket so only his strawberry blonde hair could be seen. "How strong was that Sleepel?"

"Mm-mm. Dunno. I think I had an MP Turbo right next ta it, tho. Oops." The pilot shrugged and took the cigarette from his mouth, dropping it on the floor and grinding it with his boot. "Ya wanna wake him up soon?"

"He won't be happy," Reeve warned, smirking faintly. "He'll be downright pissed."

Cid grinned and waved a hand dismissively. "Well, if he has such a problem I'll just throw him overboard. No big deal."

Reeve shook his head, sighing. "I can imagine."

Cid didn't reply, but turned and sauntered off towards the flunkie who was controlling the ship, barking out orders. Reeve looked over to find Barret looking bemusedly at Rufus and Reeve, smiling broadly.

"What's so funny?" he asked, getting to his feet and stretching his aching back. "Haven't you ever seen an airsick guy and a walking dead man before?"

"Naw, I was just thinkin'," Barret chuckled. "He makes a real nice corpse."

Reeve shook his head with a grin, but didn't reply.