Final Fantasy VII Web Novels

"Don't make me laugh any more, dad."

 

After absorbing the painkillers, he waited for the haziness to go away. He was right in choosing to use a Shelter while using the medicines from the pharmacy. But at the same time, he felt extremely irritated. Soon, Rufus went to the control panel on the door and supporting himself against the wall, he tried entering a number of passkeys. It all ended up in nothing. It was the medicine's fault that he couldn't concentrate on cracking the passkey but, it was also he himself who decided to take the medicine in the first place.

 

Rude and Reno were in the wrecked President's Office.

"No one's here."

"Yeah."

"You've checked carefully three times?"

"Everywhere."

"So he's alive."

"But where could he be?"

There were a few girders that seemed to have fallen from the ceiling onto the floor. They focused on searching under them carefully, making sure Rufus wasn't under them.

"So— where else?"

 

With the Meteo closing in, a powerful storm was blowing. The Turks ignored the Meteo and continued their search for Rufus. The rescue party had made their rounds but they never received any reports of Rufus being found.

Rude and Reno went through an inconspicious door located further in from the entrance on the first floor of the Shinra building and checked the Executives Only Emergency Room that lead half way into the ground. The previous President Shinra's habits meant it was built very simple. It was sturdy but had no decorations at all - not even a single painting. Exposed steel girders can be seen on the ceiling, walls, floor - everywhere.

"Nothing here. Lets go, Rude."

"Wait."

Rude stopped Reno and pointed to part of a wall.

"The colour's different."

 

Rufus stood next to the control panel and stared at the keys numbered zero to nine. He knew all he had to do was try every combination possible but it was an impractical thought. He will probably lose track half way through his trial and error. He had to think of an more efficient way of cracking it. The passkey may have a certain meaning linked to it. But then he thought that his father would never do something like that because to him, it was meaningless. He had already tried the meaningful numbers that both he and his father knew—his mother's birthday and the day she died—none of them unlocked the door.

He didn't know how long he's been in the room. All that mattered to him was that he was still alive and Meteor was still in the skies. In other words, their operation to use the Sister Ray had failed and Sephiroth was still in the Northern Crater. In that case, sooner or later Meteor will impact with the Planet and he will die.

Rufus thought about death. So my spirit will become one with the Lifestream that courses through this Planet. I wonder if father will be there too. Does consciousness have a shape? No, such a powerful flow of energy would shatter the consciousness of any single human being easily.

"Ah, I see now."

He smiled as he came to realise what it would mean if the Planet was going to disappear. A moment later he took the small bottle of painkillers from his white suit's pocket. He put three pills in his mouth, grinded them with his teeth and stared at the control panel.