He sat on the table, his legs not reaching the floor and instead dangling helplessly into the air, his arms crossed defiantly across his chest. Rufus Shinra tossed his hair back with one flick of the wrist and glanced balefully around the room he found himself in with apparant disdain. "Where the hell is this?"

"Cosmo Canyon." Red's voice was proud, his tail flicking back and forth with its scarlet flame bright. "Home of the most knowledgeable men of the universe, and the Study of Planet Life."

"You sound like a travel brochure," Rufus muttered. "Why am I here?"

"The elders here may be able to give us a hint to what... happened to you," Reeve explained from his spot, leaning on the wall at the far side of the room. "They of all people should know."

"Hmm. Wonderful. First vampires, now witch doctors. What a crew."

"Vincent is not a vampire," Cloud Strife said warningly, his eyes burning Mako at Rufus. "And these elders aren't witch doctors. If you had half of-"

"Cloud!" Tifa shook her head at him and frowned. "C'mon. He's just trying to make you angry. Just ignore him."

Rufus scowled down at the floor, then set his face to a stony blank and sat, regarding the others with a countenance as hard as rock. They had treated them as their prisoner all right, never letting him out of their sight for the past weeks. He couldn't eat, he couldn't sleep, he couldn't even breathe, without one of them staring over his shoulder and watching his every move like a hawk. They didn't trust him, he knew, almost like they expected him to disappear one day and immediately take control of the world again. Or perhaps it was just the malice they bore for him, that wanted to make sure he wouldn't get his blessed relief. The constant nagging of these people, along with the passing waves of sickness and weakness that overcame him once every long while, almost made his previous visit to Hell seem utopian.

"Where's Elder Bugah?" Cloud muttered, glowering at Rufus. "He's late."

"Where's the rest of your little 'club'?" Rufus sneered in rebuttal. "Eaten by the vampire or shot by the terrorist? Or maybe annoyed to death by the Ninj-"

"Rufus!" Red barked a warning, his yellow eye gleaming menacingly. "Be quiet!"

"Secondhand smoke gave them cance-"

"*Enough!!!*"

"Cid flew Barret, Yuffie, and Vincent home," Tifa supplied quickly, frowning. "We've put off going back long enough, and they all had things to take care of. They'll be back as soon as we find out anything."

"What gives you the right to know?" he asked haughtily.

She fisted her hands on her hips and furrowed her brow. "Look, you've got a real attitude problem, Rufus. I'm sorry you have to be here, sorrier than you, but if I was in your place, I would *want* to know what happened to me!"

Rufus stared at her in hardened dignity. "I want to know what happened, but what makes you think I need your help?"

"So you'd rather I leave, then?" a voice rang out from behind Rufus. The boy started and swung around, leaping to his feet to behold a smiling, amiable-looking old man in about his mid-80s, propping himself up with a rather large walking stick and nodding slowly. An aura of peace surrounded him, and utter relaxation, as though the ground could give way under his feet and he would continue to stand stronger than an oak. "They are the ones who brought you here, boy, which means you owe them a favor."

"I give no favors," Rufus replied curtly, shoving his hands in his coat pockets.

"I see." The Elder never took the warm smile from his face. "So I hear you were once President of Shinra."

"I was once and I will be again," came the reply through clenched teeth.

"Sir..." Reeve began, but Cloud cut him off with a sharp glance over his shoulder. He instead brushed imaginary dirt off his blue suit and leaned against the wall once more, staring at the floor. Rufus shot a warning look at him, but the glare was lost when Reeve didn't look up.

"I think what Mr. Reeve wants to say, is that there may not be a return of Shinra, Incorporated," the elder said softly, taking Rufus's chin and turning his head until they were staring straight at each other. "I'm sorry."

"Reeve doesn't know anything," Rufus interrupted, tearing his eyes away. "He has no idea."

"Neither do you."

"Nor you."

"No." He laughed. "Nor I."

Rufus paused, unsure of how to answer, so simply remained still, regarding the elder intently. They stared at each other, wordless, looking one another up and down for a sign of weakness, assessing and composing within their minds the analysis of the other. But neither appeared to be wary or even tense, perfectly at ease in lying in wait.

Red coughed lightly in the background, venturing to break the silence. "Elder Bugah, something happened to him after Weapon attacked Midgar. His office was destroyed, and it was thought that he died in the blast. Next thing we know, he showed up in Kalm half-dead after Meteor destroyed Midgar, so Reeve took care of him from there. No one knows how he would stay alive through all that."

"I, too, thought that he died." Bugah pushed gently on Rufus's shoulders until the boy was sitting on the table again, and then began to gently touch his face, turning his head side to side to peer closely at his wounds. "He is in remarkable shape for having been through an explosion."

"I cast about five Cure3 spells," Reeve supplied, not looking up. When Cloud, Tifa, and Red all turned to peer at him, he shrugged. "With Cait."

"And?" Bugah looked over his shoulder at him, waiting for Reeve to continue.

Reeve glanced up and found all eyes on him, a bit flustered under the cold gazes from all sides. "And... And that cleared up most of the burns. The bad ones, though, are the ones you see. Cait ran out of Magic before I could heal him completely, and potions didn't seem to be working."

"By remarkable shape," Bugah continued, shrugging and turning back to Rufus, "I also meant that it was very surprising that you are even alive."

Rufus grimaced as the old man gently touched a burn on his forehead. "Would you mind unhanding me?"

Bugah ignored him. "People don't survive those things, Rufus."

"He says he thought he had died," Reeve noted. "And he was asking me a lot of questions, like 'Am I alive'. I thought he had fallen into the Lifestream or something, but that's impossible in the Shinra building. It doesn't come to the surface anywhere in Midgar but the reactors."

"Check out his eyes," Tifa added. "He must have absorbed some Mako from somewhere, too. What would this mean, Bugah?"

"Well, normally, this would be an impossible occurance." Bugah pushed Rufus's hair back with both hands and stared straight into his eyes, locking his vision completely with the youth. "Once a person returns to the Planet, he cannot come back."

"Then *how* did it *happen*." Rufus's voice was calm, but it startled the four members of AVALANCHE in the room in its anger. Bugah was unfazed, continuing to stare deeply into him, as though reading the boy's mind through his Mako-burning eyes.

"As you might have noticed, the Planet has had many great traumas within the past few weeks. The Lifestream has felt a great deal of disturbances."

"I know."

Bugah nodded slowly, taking his hands off of Rufus's head and turning to the members of AVALANCHE. "This is all very exceptional."

"Bugah, can you help him?" Red asked, padding elegantly towards the elder. "Can you find out what's happened?"

"If he will let me." Bugah smiled down at the lion-beast and nodded slowly once more. "Look at you, Nanaki. Bugen would be so proud of you."

"He is, Elder Bugah," Red replied slowly. "I know it."

"Yes. Don't forget that." Bugah turned to the other AVALANCHE with a strange smile on his face. "I don't know as much about the Lifestream as our former Head Elder did, but I know that to end Meteor in the manner it did, it caused a lot of disturbance and unrest. For a soul who only recently returned to the Planet, it might have-"

"Lifestream? What do you mean Lifestream finished Meteor?" Rufus scratched the back of his head and slid off the table to his feet. "How would it do that?"

"It came out of the earth," Cloud replied, crossing his arms over his chest and staring up at the ceiling. "From all corners of the planet, it surrounded Meteor and... just destroyed it."

"Surroun-..." Rufus shook his head and closed his eyes, putting a hand to his face. "I'm not feeling well all of a sudden."

"We have rooms for you." Bugah patted him on the back of the head, but Rufus ducked it and backed away, rubbing a temple warily. The old man continued unwaveringly. "Nanaki, if you wish you may also stay in Bugen's home."

"Perhaps," Red murmered, scratching the back of his ear with one paw. "We'll see."

"Wait, wait... I don't want to stay here," Rufus protested, looking helplessly at Reeve. "I was never willing to come, and I have no intention whatsoever of remaining."

"And you can let Mr. Shinra go off on his own, he probably will wish to," Bugah finished, completely ignoring the boy's words. "Our people have been instructed not to let him leave the Canyon."

"I'm being *held* here!?!" Rufus's violent explosion startled Reeve, and he swung around to see the former President clenching his fists and seething with rage. "Of all the nerve! I've been treated like a prisoner ever since I woke up, and you feel my being here gives you the right to guard me as though I were... were a *convict*?"

"Rufus, calm down," Reeve started, taking hold of his arm, but the enraged youth would have none of it. Pushing him aside, he tore open the door and slammed it behind him, the loud clomp of his boots on the stairs gradually fading as he hurried away. The five stood in shocked silence, shooting confused looks at each other, no one quite sure of what to do.

Reeve was the first to speak. "This is probably very hard for him."

Bugah nodded. "Yes. He was once a very powerful man."

"And he's weaker now," Tifa added, glancing down at her hands. "Something happened to him, and he's... he's more fragile."

"Elder, how are you going to find out what happened if he won't talk to you?" Red wondered aloud, his tail swishing. "He doesn't seem to want to share anything."

"He will." Bugah nodded slowly again, a smile playing across his face. "He will want to share, Nanaki. He's very unsure right now, and very insecure about what's happened."

"What is it?" Tifa asked.

"I can't be sure yet. I don't know if I will ever be able to know. But my first concern is that he recieves help. The scars he has recieved are not all on his face, my friends."

* * *

He couldn't understand his own anger, his own bitterness, but he was unable to control it somehow, as though as soon as one drop seeped out the cracks, a whole waterfall would come crashing down on him. He knew how he must have seemed, especially to these people, who must have hated him in the first place. There was no excuse for conducting himself in such a manner.

But he couldn't help it.

He stood outside in the dry Cosmo Canyon air, breathing deeply, hands stuffed in the pockets of his overcoat. The sun was setting to the west, the already crimson skyline exploding into a breathtaking array of magnificent color, the yellows, blues, and oranges streaking across the sky. Rufus regarded it stonily, absorbing it all in, but not really paying attention. He had too many things on his mind, too many problems that he couldn't explain. What he needed was the chance to forge