Chapter 24

That afternoon, AVALANCHE was once again gathered in the waiting room of Midgar General. Tifa'd since been operated on, and was doing considerably better. Everyone except for Tseng took turns visiting her. She was conscious and slowly healing. Her baby was still developing in the the artifical womb. The doctors had promised that once Tifa was back to full health, she could resume carrying her own child.

But, no one had been able to bring themselves to tell Tifa Zack wasn't the father - and to ask her who was.

Barret sighed and looked up at the television that hung from the wall in front of them.

"The news comin' on," he said.

Not seeing what else there was to do, everyone looked up at the screen. A reporter came.

"This is Phillip Booker, live in Midgar at Rufus Shin-Ra's press conference," he said. "I beileve the President is ready to begin."

The camera panned around to a stage that was set up with a podium. A solemn, tired looking Rufus stepped up, his eyes downcast. Scarlet was standing behind him, looking at the floor.

Cid's eyes went wide. "Why's he having another goddamned press conference?" he asked.

Barret hit the table with his gun arm. "What's this fool up to now?!"

Striker waved his hand in front of Barret's face to shush him. On the screen, Rufus took a deep breath and gripped the edges of the podium tightly.

"Citizens of the Planet..." he began. "Today... I have an announcement to make."

"My old man died several months ago. I've tried to keep myself together, I've tried to be a good leader... but I have failed."

There was whispering and shocked gasps amoungst the crowd that attended Rufus' outdoor press conference.

"What's he talking about?" Zack asked.

Rufus sighed. "I have decided to resign."

The crowd was in an uproar.

Rufus held his hand up. "Wait. I will not leave you without a capable leader."

Rufus turned to the curtain that was draped behind him. He held his hand out as the curtain moved.

"Meet your new leader, folks," he said in an unhappy voice. "Cloud Strife."

Cloud stepped out from the curtain, a smile on his face as he waved to the crowd. Hojo stood behind him.

The waiting room of Midgar General Hospital was silent.

Rufus stepped to the side as Cloud took the podium, observing the shocked faces of the crowd he faced.

"As the new leader of Shin-Ra Inc," he began, "I vow to protect the citizens and put their best interests forth. Professor Hojo is my second in command."

Hojo nodded.

Reporters throughout the crowd lept up and shouted questions. Cloud merely held his hand up.

"It will be explained in due time," was all he said.

Sephiroth stood up.

"We've got to go there," he said. "Cloud's been influenced! This is Jenova's work!"

"I'm dreaming," Striker said, blinking. "Rufus gave up his company?"

"How did they get him to do that?" Yuffie asked. "I can't imagine any threat in the world Hojo or Jenova could come up with to get Rufus to do *that*."

Zack lept up. "Sephiroth's right. That conference was held right in front of the new Shin-Ra Building. We've got to get there right now. We've got to do something to stop Cloud."

Aeris covered her mouth. "What have they done to him?"

"Jenova's up to something serious if she gives Cloud a job like that," Sephiroth said, checking his materia. "We've got to get going right away.

Tseng stared up at the screen, completely dumbfounded. Rufus was shaking hands with Cloud and Hojo as the press conference was officially ended. The reporter came back on.

"Well folks, it seems like Rufus Shin-Ra has actually resigned from his position and handed the company over to Cloud Strife, leader of AVALANCHE, and Professor Hojo! How this pair met, I have no idea, but it seems from the looks of things they are getting along well. Why has Rufus done something so outrageous. Find out later, when we talk with our Shin-Ra Inc. correspondent Mike Windfield, after this break. I'm Phillip Booker in Midgar."

"Why have you done this?" Tseng asked the screen. "Rufus... what have you done?"

Zack tapped Tseng's shoulder. "Come on, we gotta go!"

Tseng nodded, confused by the entire event. Shaking his head, he followed AVALANCHE outside.

Jenova spotted her prey in the crowd.

AVALANCHE was approaching, looking throughout the crowd, probably for Cloud. She glanced back at Hojo, who was standing a few feet away. He nodded and pulled a syringe out of his pocket. Smiling, Jenova turned back to the group of fighters approaching.

Sephiroth stopped.

"What's wrong?" Tayeko asked.

Sephiroth looked around. "Something... something's not right," he said.

Zack stopped and looked at him. "What do you mean? What's wrong?"

"I think... Jenova... is here."

A pale skinned woman with wavy brown hair and a stunning, revealing black dress stood in front of AVALANCHE, clearing her throat to get their attention. They all stopped and looked at her.

"Ah, Sephiroth," she said, placing a hand on her hip. "How right you are."

Sephiroth blinked, feeling her slowly enter his mind. He tried to push her out.

"Leave me alone, you monster!" he screamed.

Jenova frowned and walked towards Sephiroth, AVALANCHE pulling out their weapons and assuming fighting stances. She ignored them.

She wrapped her hand around Sephiroth's neck. "You know, sweetheart," she said. "That whole mother son thing was a lie. I've got a much better relationship for us anyway.

Sephiroth grabbed her wrist and tried to push her away from her. "Back off! I'll kill you!"

Jenova laughed as two shrill screams sounded through the air. Everyone turned around, stunned to see both Aeris and Tayeko laying unconscious on the floor. To their suprised, Hojo was standing above them, a cruel smile on his face and a dripping needle in his hand.

Zack stomped forward. "Aeris!"

Sephiroth tried to toss Jenova to the side and run to Tayeko, but the alien was much too quick. Smiling, she turned to AVALANCHE.

"Goodbye," she said, snapping her fingers. In an instant, she, Sephiroth, Hojo, Aeris and Tayeko were gone.

In a panic, AVALANCHE began looking around frantically.

"Where the fuck did they go?" Cid screamed.

"I don't know!" Zack yelled. "What do we do?"

"Perhaps they went to the Shin-Ra building," Vincent said, pointing up at the skyscraper. "Our best bet is to start there."

"What about Cloud?" Barret asked.

Zack started towards the building. "We can't worry about him! We've got to go!"

The grouped nodded and raced towards the building, weapons drawn.

Sephiroth screamed.

"Let me go, you demon!" he yelled. "Let me out of this...!"

Hojo turned to Cloud, who was leaning against the wall. "Slap him."

"My pleasure," Cloud said. He walked over to the the gurney Sephiroth was strapped into, reaching his hand back and slapping him hard across the face.

Sephiroth spat at him. "Damn you, Strife!"

Cloud smiled to himself and walked towards the cell Tayeko and Aeris were confined in. They were both still unconscious.

Jenova had been standing with her arms folded above Sephiroth the entire time. She placed her hands on his chest. "Its time to mate, Sephiroth," she said.

Sephiroth's eyes went wide. "M,mate?"

"Of course," she said, touching his face. "Think about the child we would produce, Sephiroth! And then Hojo has his own agenda for you and that Cetra. Let's get started!"

Sephiroth looked at her murderously. "Get off of me!"

Cloud snickered to himself and walked to the door. "I'm going up to my office to begin work as the leader of Shin-Ra," he said. He nodded to Hojo and left.

"What have you done to him?" Sephiroth demanded. "You've turned him into a monster!"

Jenova laughed and climbed atop Sephiroth, straddling him. "That's not important right now, Sephiroth. What's important is you and I mating."

Sephiroth screamed, again trying to gather his strength to break through the straps on the gurney.

Hojo's laughing at the situation was cut short when the door to the lab flew open, Zack and Cid in its path, behind them the rest of AVALANCHE.

Jenova's head snapped to the side, and she glared at them. "What! How did they....?!"

Zack stomped into the room, his focus almost again deterred as he stared at the beautiful woman. Shaking his head, he unsheathed his sword.

"Help me!" Sephiroth hollared.

"What are you doing to him?" he demanded. "Where's Aeris and Tayeko?"

"Right there!" Striker yelled, pointing out the cell where the two Cetra lay on floor. "They're in there!"

"Hojo, you monster," Vincent said.

Hojo laughed. "Well, if it isn't the Turk. Seen Lucrecia lately?"

Vincent stepped foward and raised the Death Penalty.

"Enough!" Jenova cried. "Hojo, we've got to go."

Hojo blinked. "Go where?"

Jenova climbed off of Sephiroth and leaned against the gurney, folding her arms.

"Get away from me, monster!" he screamed.

Jenova ignored his outbursts. "Hojo, remember you asked me about my family and my Planet?"

Hojo nodded skeptically.

Jenova tossed a playful smile in AVALANCHE's direction.

"Well," she began. "I come from a planet far from this one, with a race of people you humans could never pronouce the name of. But, for the purposes of this story, I'll translate it to the Tzumarians.

"We were far more technologically advanced than this planet. There, I wasn't accepted well. Females are domninate on my planet, but it seemed as though I was a bit too powerful. My parents were rich,and I never wanted for anything, but I was always after males. I had the sex drive of a wild animal."

Zack turned to his comrades, not surprised to see the same disgusted faces he wore.

"What the fuck?" Barret shouted.

Jenova hiked up her skirt a bit. "I guess I was notorious for what you humans call rape," she said, laughing. "But I suppose I took it too far when I tried to mate with the leader of our planet, King Txourn. For what its worth, I was exiled from the planet. That's how I ended up here! Haha!"

Hojo put a hand to his chin and AVALANCHE meerly talked quietly amoungst themselves.

"What does this have to do with anything?" Hojo asked.

Jenova's eyes glowed red as she began casting a new spell. "We're going to my planet," she said.

Hojo looked around nervously. "Y..your planet!?"

Jenova closed her eyes and concentrated on the spell. "Mmhmmm... don't worry, traveling through space isn't as scary as you think."

Sephiroth lifted his head. "Stop! You can't, demon! You can't!"

"Shh, Sephiroth," Jenova whispered. "On Tzumron, we can mate in peace."

Hojo loosened his collar. "What about my experiments?"

A dark hole was beginning to form in the center of the room. "You'll be able to work on them on Tzumron."

Hojo wasn't convinced. "And Cloud?"

The hole was starting a vaccum effect. "Cloud knows what to do," Jenova answered.

"Stop!" Cloud screamed.

"Shit! We've got to do something!"

Zack moved forward, but found himself at a loss. "What can we do?" he said helplessly, watching as the vortex sucked Jenova, Hojo, Sephiroth, Aeris and Tayeko away.

AVALANCHE poured into the room, shaking their heads.

"What are we gonna do now?" Zack asked. "How are we gonna go after them in space?"

"And what about Cloud?" Barret shouted. "He's out there, insane, running Shin-Ra!"

"And Tifa's still in the hospital," Kat added.

"Let's just get out of here first," Tseng said. "This place is still infested with monsters.

AVALANCHE gathered at Reeve's building, the safest haven they could find to get together. Meeting together in the conference room, they tried to figure out what to do.

Yuffie pulled on Cid's sleeve. "Cid, can't you fly a rocket into space?"

Cid glared at her, blowing smoke from his cigarette into her face. "How the hell am I gonna do that, with no rocket?!" he snapped. "We don't even know where to go!"

Reeve looked at Tseng. "Actually, that's not a bad idea..."

Tseng made a face. "What are you looking at me for?"

"You know..."

Tseng stared at Reeve.

"The rocket.. Shin-Ra..."

Tseng scratched his head and looked down for a moment. "Right..." he said slowly.

"What's going on?" Barret demanded.

Reeve folded his hands in his lap. "We know where you can get a rocket," he said.

Cid looked up. "Where?"

Reeve loosened his collar. "Well, President Shin-Ra had given the go ahead to Palmer to start a new space program without you," he said. "It's much more advanced than the old rocket, but it wasn't finished before he died, and Rufus cut the program when he came into office."

Cid lept up. "That fucking bastard! A space program without me?"

Reeve nodded slowly.

Cid kicked his chair. "Goddamnit. You say the rocket's not complete? How far along is it?"

Reeve shrugged. "I wouldn't know, I don't know anything about that sort of thing."

Cid rubbed the stubble on his chin. "I can get my techs in Rocket Town to finish it," he said, "But where the hell are we going?"

"Tzumron," Striker answered.

"Well where the fuck is that?!" Cid shouted. "We can't just go floating off to any planet we want, not knowing a goddamned thing about it? The atmosphere may be different, and all that garbage! We could kill ourselves!

Red XIII pawed forward. "We could research the planet. I'm sure the archives at Cosmo Canyon would have enough information to help us decide our course of action."

Cid scratched his head.

"Well," Cait said, bouncing atop his moogle. "Cloudy's not here, so I guess that means you're in charge again, Smokey."

Cid stomped his foot. "Goddamnit! Don't call me Smokey, you fucking peice of shit toy-"

Cait jumped into Reeve's lap, feigning fright.

"Be nice to Cait," Reeve said. Tseng rolled his eyes.

Cid shook his head. "Fine! Goddamnit.. alright, I'll call Shera and tell her to bring those mechanics here. Tseng, Reeve, and Barret will stay with him while we try to fix this damn rocket. The rest of you follow Red to Cosmo Canyon and research this Tzunon or whatever the damn planet is called. Call us once you've got some info. Those of us staying here in Midgar will check on Tifa in the hospital each day and see how she's doing. Now where is this goddamned rocket?"

Tseng looked at Cid. "We don't know. But we can get you the man who does."

The next morning, Rufus stood in front of a house in Kalm, holding the address Hojo gave him in his hand. He had nothing but the few possession he was allowed to take in his pack, slung across his shoulder, and a couple thousand gil in his pocket. His flashy white suit was now abandoned, instead, he wore a pair of black jeans and a white sweater, his favorite black boots adorning his feet.

Rufus flipped his strawberry blonde hair out of his face out of habit. He looked down at Dark Nation, patting the dog on the head.

"Here goes the first day of my life," he said, reaching out to knock the door.

After a few moments, an elderly woman answered. aged blue eyes staring back into his. She wore a long dress and housecoat over it, her hair covered with a scarf. Her eyes went wide.

"Rufus...?"

Rufus nodded. "Hi. I'm here to see - "

The woman gave him a venomous look. "I should have know. You leave your company and come straight here looking for charity. Well, you won't find it!"

Rufus was confused. "What are you talking about? I came to see my mother. Samantha Shin-"

The woman gasped, her eyes filling with angry tears. "The nerve! You know your mother's been dead for twelve years! She died when you were eight!"

"But..."

"Get out of here! She's dead! What kind of game are you trying to play?

"She can't be dead!" Rufus pleaded. "He told me she was alive, that she lived here. I saw her! I saw the image!"

"What are you rambling about, child," the woman snapped. "My daughter's been dead for twelve years. Your father killed her. Go to the Kalm Cemetary and look for yourself!"

Rufus blinked. "Grandmother?"

The woman was red with rage. "Get out of here," she yelled. "I don't have any grandchildren." She slammed the door in his face.

Rufus was about to knock again, but thought better of it. His mother couldn't be dead. He saw her, sitting in the chair, looking at his picture. Had Hojo lied to him?

Signalling Dark Nation to follow, Rufus headed towards the Kalm Cemetary. He would find out for himself.

Kalm's graveyard was small. Rufus walked quietly through the stone paths, observing the eerie way the sunlight reflected off of the tombstones. He looked at each name carefully, until suddenly, in the center of the cemetary, he saw something that made his heart stop.

Rufus stood in front of the grave, solemnly reading the inscription on it.

Rufus fell to his knees in front of the grave, reading the horrifying words over and over again. His mother was dead. Hojo had lied.

For second time in twelve years, Rufus Shin-Ra's eyes spilled tears. They fell down his cheeks, splashing onto the front of his sweater and onto the ground. Dark Nation layed down next to him and whimpered.

Rufus cried out to the sky, knowing he had lost it all, and gained nothing. It was all over.

His PHS chirped.

He reached into his pack, pulling out the phone, debating whether he should answer it. Who wanted to talk to him now? He was nothing. A nobody.

Forcing the tears to stop and regaining his composure, Rufus answered the phone.

"Rufus here."

"Sir, it's Tseng."

Rufus slowly stood up. "Tseng?"

"Yes," Tseng answered. "Sir, where are you?"

Rufus wiped his face. "I'm in Kalm," he said slowly.

"Kalm? Why?"

Rufus didn't particulalry care to answer that question. "What do you want, Tseng?"

"First, I want to know what that's all about, giving the company over to Cloud," he said. "Care to explain?"

Rufus sat on the soft grass beside his mother's grave and held his head in his hands. "Hojo..."

Tseng looked at the group and shook his head before turning back to the phone. "I knew it. What did he do."

Rufus bit his lip. "He said, If I didn't give him the company, he'd kill my mother."

Tseng coughed. "What? Rufus, you fell for that? Your mother has been dead for twelve years. I killed her myself, under your father's order."

Rufus shivered. "I...know..."

Tseng shook his head. "Rufus, we need to ask a favor of you."

"What is it?"

"You know that old rocket your father was starting to build?"

"Yeah?"

"Please come to Midgar. AVALANCHE needs it."

"For what?" Rufus asked.

"Jenova and Hojo ran off to another planet with Sephiroth, Aeris, and Tayeko," he said. "We've got to get them back."

"Do you have any idea of what you're getting yourself into?"

"We have to try!" Tseng shouted.

Rufus looked down. "Fine. I never thought this would happen, but I'm going to help AVALANCHE."

"Thank you, Rufus," Tseng said, hanging up the phone.

Rufus slapped his PHS shut and sighed, looking down at Dark Nation.

"Come on. We're going back to Midgar."

Sephiroth blinked, opening his eyes slowly. A sweet fragrence filled his nose instantly.

He glanced around his surroundings, a bit startled at first. He was lying in a large, soft bed made of dark maroon satin sheets. The light in the room was dim, and candles were burning around the room.

Sephiroth was alone. Sitting up, he was surprised to find himself wearing only his pants. He didn't mind, as the room was warm, but he felt vunerable to Jenova.

Wondering where he was, he got up and walked over to a window. He pulled open the cutains, looking out unto a world very different from his own.

Sephiroth wasn't sure how high off the ground he was, as it was impossible to see the ground. Creatures zoomed past him, flying so fast he couldn't make out what they looked like. Other tall buildings were all around him, stretching as far as the eye could see.

Sephiroth ran a hand down his face, walking back to the bed. Was he resigned to his fate? How would he escape this planet?

He had failed his mother. He had failed Tayeko.

Again.

Hojo peered into the two tubes he'd lay Tayeko in Aeris too. Neither of them had awakened yet, unaware of their surroundings.

"Excellent," he said, turning to Jenova. "This equipment is better than my own."

"I knew you'd like it," Jenova said, running her fingers over the glass of the tube Aeris layed in. "I can't wait to see the looks on everyone's faces when they find out I'm back," she said.

"Jenova, hasn't it been 2000 years since you were exiled?" Hojo said. "Who's going to remember you?"

Jenova looked at him as if he were a fool. "Time here passes differently than it does on your planet," she explained. "It's probably only been a few years to them. After all, we did have to cross a wormhole to get here."

Hojo shrugged.

"So," Jenova began. "Who do you plan to start with?"

Hojo smiled, pointing to Aeris. "When she awakens, I'm going to get Aeris to tell me where the Promised Land is."

Jenova laughed. "Please, hurry with it then. I can't wait to kill her."

A blue skinned creature, tall with purple wings and black hair entered the throne room of his king. Dressed in strange clothing, he bowed in front of the throne of his master, a creature of the same liking.

The two began to converse, speaking in their native tounge.

"King Hsien, sir," the messanger began. "There have been reports that Jenova is back... and that she's brought with her a group of humans."

"Jenova?" the King repeated. "Are you serious?"

The messanger nodded. "They are also saying she's brought Cetra with her."

King Hsien jumped to his feet, wrapping his regal robe against him. "Cetra! This can't be! What is she trying to do?"

The messanger merely looked at him.

The King relaxed, sitting back in his seat. "After all this time... she has returned."

The messanger shook his head.

"Dismissed," the King said.

Two days later, Shera stood next to Cid, surveying the rocket.

"I'm surprised no one knew about this," she said, placing her hands on her hips.

"Shin-Ra did a good job of keeping it under wraps," Reeve said.

Cid took a drag on his cigarette and turned to the team of techs that had arrived from Rocket Town that morning. "Alright," he began. "Go get to work. The godamned rocket's almost finished, so it shouldn't take you more than a week, if you work hard. Now listen to everything Shera's got to say and don't give her no trouble!"

The men scurried off to work.

Barret turned to Cid. "Over a week? Do we got that much time?"

Cid scratched his head. "We don't have much of a fucking choice," he said. He turned to Rufus. "As much as I hated ya, I have to thank you for doing this."

Rufus shrugged.

"How did Cloud manage to get involved with Hojo anyway," he asked, looking up at the rocket.

Cid shrugged. "We think Jenova's controlling him," he said. "The way she did with Sephiroth."

Rufus sighed and walked away. "I can't beileve this...." he mumbled.

Barret shook his good fist in Rufus' direction. "Damn Shin-Ra!" he called.

Red pranced up the stairs, Zack, Striker, Vincent, Kat, Yuffie, and Cait behind him. The group entered Cosmo Canyon's impressive library and Red immediately headed towards the astronomy area.

"Look around and see if you find anything of use," he said.

Zack shrugged and Vincent went towards the back of the huge library. Yuffie folded her arms.

"I hate libraries! How am I gonna find anything?"

Cait bounced towards a shelf and pulled out a random book. "This is about Spell materia," he said.

"That's not going to do us a whole lot of good," Zack said, taking the book from Cait and replacing it on the shelf. "We've got to find books about the planet Tzumron."

Cait shrugged and bounced further down the isle.

"Don't they have any computers here?" Yuffie complained.

Striker laughed. "Come on, Yuffie. This is Cosmo Canyon. They don't fool around with technology like that."

Yuffie frowned. "We're never going to find anything like this!" she yelled.

"Calm down, Yuffie," Kat said. "Come on, let's follow Red and see if he's found anything."

Yuffie sighed and let Kat drag her off. "Fine!"

Cid and Barret made their way inside Midgar General, leaving Reeve, Tseng, and Shera to oversee the work being done on the Rocket. They stopped at the receptionist.

"Yes?" she said.

"We're here to visit Tifa Lockheart," Barret answered. "We want to know how she's doing."

The nurse nodded. "Right. Take that elevator to the third floor, she's in room 319."

Barret thanked her and he and Cid took the elevator upstairs, making their way to Tifa's room. They carefully pushed open the door and crept inside, stunned to see Tifa sitting halfway, her eyes open.

"Tifa!" they screamed simitaneously.

Tifa looked at them and smiled weakly. "Hey, guys."

"Tifa!" Barret roared, rushing over to her. "How are you feeling?"

"Weak, I guess," she struggled to say. "Where's everybody?"

Barret swallowed and Cid looked down. "I guess you heard about Cloud..."

Tifa closed her eyes. "Yeah. I saw it on the news this morning."

Cid scratched his head. "I'm really sorry, Tifa... we don't know what to do."

Tifa shrugged.

"Alotta bad stuff happened," Barret explained. "Jenova came and her and Hojo whisked Aeris, Sephiroth, and Tayeko to some far off planet."

Tifa blinked. "Excuse me?"

"You heard right," Cid said. "They're gone."

Tifa struggled to sit up. "What are we gonna do?"

"Calm down, Tifa," Barret said, trying to get her to relax. "You're in no position to fight."

"Yeah," Cid added. "Speaking of which, how's your baby?"

"It's in an artificial womb, feeding off my blood. They said once I regain full strength, which should be another week or so, they can insert the fetus into my womb and I can carry it myself."

Cid shook his head. "The wonders of modern technology."

"Yeah, but what about Jenova and Hojo? What are we gonna do?"

"*You* aren't going to do a goddamned thing," Cid said. "We are gonna fly Shin-Ra's secret rocket into space and find them... after Red gets back to us on where the damn place is."

"Secret rocket?" Tifa repeated.

"Yep," Barret said. "Shin-Ra was working on another rocket without telling old Cid. Its' located at an airstrip by the old Shin-Ra building."

Tifa's eyebrow went up. "Does it work?"

"That's what my techs are working on right now," Cid answered.

Tifa relaxed. "When are you leaving?"

Cid shrugged. "I'm hoping my men can have the work done in a week or two," he said. "But I still gotta wait on Red."

"Isn't that too long to wait?"

"It's the only choice we've got," Cid said.