Tifa looked in all directions as Nanaki sniffed the ground yet again.� �Nothing?�
Nanaki shook his head.� �Wherever they are, they are well hidden.�
Tifa sighed.� She had hoed beyond all hope that she would find Cloud here in the ruins of Midgar. �Even though it seemed like a long shot, it was worth looking into, Nanaki had advised her.� Yet the closer they had come to the old Shinra capital, the greater her hope had grown, until she was almost certain that Cloud would be here.� She wouldn�t give up hope�she couldn�t give up hope�but it was growing late.� The PHS didn�t work in the recesses of the old Midgar slums, and Tifa was eager to hear any report from the others.
�Well, we should be heading back,� she pointed out.� �It�s getting dark.�
Nanaki nodded.� �Indeed.� Let�s return to Kalm.�
Tifa was about to reply when a rustling sound caught her attention somewhere off to her left.� She peered into the darkness and spotted a figure in the dim light of a fire, turning a spit.� She signaled to Nanaki, who nodded.� The two of them split up to encircle the figure.� Tifa crept closer, and was halfway to her quarry when a shrill sound distracted her.� She spun around, looking for the source, but saw nothing.� When she turned back to the fire, the figure was gone.
She looked around for Nanaki, and then a sharp blow struck her from behind.� She felt claws tear into her back, pinning her down.� She screamed in pain and struggled to regain her footing.� Nanaki�s howl ripped through the air as he attacked the creature, pouncing on it and ripping into its flesh with his teeth.� It was the creature�s turn to cry out as it flailed madly and knocked Nanaki loose, tossing him into a pile of rubble nearby.
Tifa managed to roll over and get onto her knees before the creature turned back on her.� She pushed herself backwards, slamming against a fallen support, as she avoided the next attack.� The creature recovered, and then came forward for the next attack.
A squishing sound was heard as metal pierced flesh.� The creature jerked forward with a death cry the rattled in its throat, and then fell to the ground, a long, javelin-shaped pole protruding from its back.
A hand reached out of the shadows and offered itself to Tifa.� She took it cautiously and got to her feet as her mysterious benefactor revealed himself.� Tifa�s breath caught in her throat.� His face was covered with a thick beard, and his red hair had grown long and disheveled, but there was no mistaking the cold, calculating eyes that peered out from beneath that crimson mask of hair.
�Rufus?� she whispered.
Rufus nodded.� �Come.� We must see to your friend.�� With that, he turned and walked over to Nanaki�s side.� Nanaki stared at Rufus openly as he helped him to his feet.
�Wha�wha�?� Tifa stammered.
Rufus looked around as the howl of another creature rose over the ruins of the old tenements.� �It�s not safe here,� he cut her off, some of his old air of authority creeping into his voice.� �We must take shelter.�� Before waiting for them to respond, he waved a hand that beckoned them back to his makeshift cabin amid the ruins of his former city.� �This way,� he ordered.
Tifa and Nanaki followed, more out of curiosity than any real obedience, and within moments they were seated within a small hovel lit by the glow of several candles.
In the dim light, Rufus watched his two guests with amusement as they took in both their surroundings and the situation.� Finally, he spoke.
�I suppose you�re wondering what I�m still doing alive,� he ventured.
Tifa nodded slowly.� �That would have been one of my first questions.�
Rufus chuckled.� �My father insisted on only the best of everything�the best clothing, the best office equipment�and the best office furniture.� When Diamond Weapon hit the Shinra Building, I dove under my father�s desk.� It hurt like hell, dropping through all those floors, but somehow, I came out of it in one piece.
�It occurred to me, being the savvy business type that I am, that my reappearance in the world of the living would not meet with a warm reception.� As a result, I decided to remain here in the ruins of my former capital.� I learned how to survive on my wits alone�something that my former position of power had not required.� Room service was no longer an option.� I had to forage for my own food.� That was an experience in and of itself.� You�d be surprised how good roasted sewer rat tastes when you haven�t eaten in five days.�
Tifa made a face and looked over at Nanaki, who merely shrugged.� �I don�t believe, given the nature of my diet, that I have any right to comment on Rufus�s dining habits,� he demurred.
�At any rate,� Rufus chuckled, �I had time to think about things�the nature of the universe, the fickleness of fate, and the consequences of my vanity and short-sightedness.� I thought, and I learned�and I watched.�
�What have you been watching?� Nanaki inquired.� Tifa looked over at him.� She hadn�t made the jump from Rufus�s recollections to possible knowledge that would be pertinent to their search.� She looked back over to Rufus, who sat smirking.
�I have watched members of my former army scavenge for weapons and fight among themselves.� I have seen petty gang fights as would-be warlords tried to take control of blocks of refuse.� I think most importantly, however, I have seen two people rise from the ashes and take control of a large number of soldiers to form a small and rather powerful army of their own.� They have been plotting, and now I suspect they are on the verge of some sort of perverse victory.�
�And you�ve just sat here, then?� Tifa asked.
Rufus shook his head sadly.� �My dear Miss Lockheart, if I could have done something to regain control of my army, I would have most certainly done so by now.� The simple fact of the matter is that they would have slaughtered me on sight.�
�Slaughtered you?� Nanaki echoed.� �Who in the world has the power over these men to order their former leader killed?�
Rufus sighed.� �Scarlet and Hojo.�
Aratak checked the chronometer above his console and made a mental note of the time.� They would be arriving at the M-class planet in sixty-two hours.� It was time for another communication attempt.� So far, the only response they had received had been the standard distress call of the scout�s emergency unit.� Kaladar had ordered a periodic communication check until their arrival at the planet.� Aratak considered the exercise useless, but Kaladar had insisted.� Therefore, he would continue with his orders as planned.
He flipped a switch with one tentacle while tapping a signal into his console with a touch pad.� After a few repetitions of the message, he sat back and waited for a reply that he knew would not be forthcoming.
Cid growled in frustration as he peered into the dim pre-dawn sky.� �I haven�t seen anything over any of these sites for hours.� We�ve flown over each one of them what, three, four times now?� Nothing!�
�It might be a good time to check in with the others,� Reeve suggested.
�Yeah,� Cid agreed, taking the dead butt of his cigarette out of his mouth and casting it over the side of the Highwind.� �That was my last one.�
�You should quit anyway,� Reeve pointed out.
Cid jabbed a finger in his direction.� �Not you, too.� Shera�s after me enough about that shit.�
Reeve was about to respond when he noticed something off the starboard bow.� �Look!� he cried, thrusting a finger out to point at the sight that had prized his attention away from Cid�s tobacco intake.
Cid turned and stared.� Had he been in possession of a cigarette, it would have fallen from his mouth and hit the deck right beside his jaw.
A beam of light was lancing down from the sky above, skewering the crater with its concentrated shaft of energy.� Cid watched for a moment before snapping out of his dazed reverie.� �Reeve!� The recorder over there!� See if you can�t record this.�
Reeve nodded, working the controls of the recording device located at the helm of the Highwind.� After about thirty seconds, the light disappeared.
Cid turned to Reeve.� �Did you get all of that?�
Reeve nodded.� �What was left of it after I turned the recorder on.�
Cid nodded in affirmation, pulling out his PHS and dialing.� �I�ll contact Nanaki and the others in Kalm.� I think they should see this.�
Yuffie stepped off the elevator and looked around.� It wasn�t as though she honestly expected to see Vincent and this mysterious farm boy strolling down the street�as a matter of fact, her entire search had been depressing thus far�but one never knew.
As she walked, she thought back on her investigation up to this point.� The Chocobo tracks had led her to an area just north of Fort Condor.� Thinking that perhaps the two had gone to the fort to heal their wounds, she checked with the soldiers within.� Aside for a few requests for dates from some of the more lonely (and desperate, she thought ruefully) soldiers, she found nothing.� She had checked out her old haunts in the forest outside Junon, to no avail.� Apparently, the chocobos had been dropped as a ruse to prevent anyone else from following them.
Yuffie had then decided to check out Junon.� Vincent and the farm boy may have booked passage on a freighter and left Junon for the Western Continent, but someone would have heard something�and for the right price, any amount of information could be had.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the familiar feeling of hands reaching into pockets.� Of course, for Yuffie, the role was usually reversed, so it took a split second to realize what was going on.� This was still time enough, however, to apprehend the pickpocket before he absconded with her valuables.
She grabbed the would-be thief by the wrist and hauled him around to face her.� �Hold it, mister!� she ordered.� �No one goes in there without dinner and a movie first!� Now who the hell are you?�
The thief looked her up and down, oblivious to the hold she had on his wrist.� �Who the hell am I?� Who the hell are you, sweetie?�
�Sweetie?� Yuffie flushed red with anger.� �Who are you calling�?�� Her rant was cut short as the thug kicked her in the shin, causing her to lose her grip on his wrist.� He turned and bolted for the nearest alleyway.
�Hey!� she hollered, limping after him.� She reached the front of the alley just in time to see the thief vault over a fence near the back of the alley and turn left.� She headed part way down the alley in chase, and then looked around, spotting the thing she�d hoped to find.� �Screw this,� she muttered, yanking the fire escape ladder down and climbing up to the roof of the building.� She ran to the edge, where she saw the little punk run down another alleyway and down a second street.� She vaulted over to the next building, landing awkwardly and twisting her ankle.
�Fuck!� she cried out, gritting her teeth as she limped over to the side of the building.� �When I catch this little bastard, I�m gonna�there you are, you little��
She watched as the pickpocket rapped on a door and looked around.� A moment later, the door opened, and the man went inside.
�So that�s how it is, huh?� she smirked, and then limped over to the fire escape.� She climbed down to street and went around to the front of the building.� She looked around once, and then knocked on the door.
She heard footsteps make their way to the door to peer through the eyehole.� She counted to three, and then launched a vicious side kick.� The door flew inward, catching the spy in the head and knocking him to the floor.
She took in the scene as she leaned against the doorframe, favoring her wounded ankle.� The small, one-room apartment was a mess.� Papers and clothes littered the sofa, floor, and counter. �On the table sat an open toolbox with all kinds of switchblades and lock picking devices.� A bloody shirt hung from one of the blades of the ceiling fan.� Her eyes shifted to the corner of the room, where a shirtless and bandaged Vincent lay on a cot.� The pickpocket she had attempted to apprehend was sitting on the edge of the cot, frozen in the middle of an attempt to spoon-feed a potion to Vincent.� His eyes were fixed on Yuffie, and hers on him.
For a moment, neither spoke, and then a voice broke the silence.
�The spoon won�t be necessary.�
Both Yuffie and the pickpocket jumped and turned to face Vincent, who was lifting himself to a seated position, resting his back against the stained wall.� He winced slightly as he settled into a position that kept his injury free of pressure.� Having made himself somewhat comfortable, he moved his gaze back and forth between Yuffie and the pickpocket.
�Perhaps an introduction is in order,� he observed.
Cloud struggled for what seemed to be the fiftieth time that hour.� It was no use.� Whatever it was that Hojo had used to tie him up, he wasn�t getting out of it.
Hojo watched his struggles for a moment with amusement, and then went back to his calculations.� �How goes the human factor, Cloud?�
Cloud said nothing.� He merely glared at Hojo.
Hojo looked up again and smiled.� �Don�t worry.� If it�s my company that bothers you, take comfort in the knowledge that a few friends will be joining us shortly�and with them they bring the final piece to my puzzle.�
The now-familiar click of heels on tile alerted Cloud to the presence of his second captor.� Scarlet walked past Cloud, ruffling the hair on the back of his head as she did so.� She stepped up beside Hojo and watched as he typed in a few more numbers.
�The reconstruction process is almost complete, Professor,� she informed him after a moment.
�Excellent, my dear,� Hojo replied, not looking up from his work.� �Go and see if our guests have arrived, would you?�
Scarlet nodded, then turned on her heel and walked out of the chamber.
Cloud glared at Hojo, trying to peer into his mind and determine what his game plan was.
Hojo, he thought viciously, whatever you�re planning, we will stop you.