The Fall

Epilogue:
The weapons and Sephiroth have been defeated, thanks in part to Rufus, who had fired the cannon to dissipate the barrier that surrounded the North Crater. But now Shinra's president is in critical condition, and the Turks have nothing to do but hold out hope.

Reno couldn't even bring himself to light a fucking cigarette. He just kept taking them out of the pack, turning them over, putting them back in. He couldn't stand the smell of the air here, some dizzying scent coming off from the lifestream rivers that were now receding. It was all jungle and grass huts out here, advanced medical techniques his ass.

A helicopter was landing in the field outside town, and he could see the grass blades spiral outwards from his perch on one of the elevated huts. He could see Elena and Tseng getting out, just barely, two small figures in the distance. They were somber by the time they got into town, Reno waiting for them at the gates.

"Any luck?" he asked, and Tseng shook his head no.

Shinra's administrative centers were in shambles. It made it near impossible to find executives, workers, Turks, and military members alike. Added to the confusion was the fact that many of those people were dead, and others still had abandoned the company in the looming apocalypse.

"But we found a place we can move Rufus to," Elena said. "When he gets stable."

If, Reno thought, not when.

"Halfway between Midgar and the Chocobo Farm. It's nice, quiet, lots of fresh air. We can build a little place for him, get some of the best doctors to come out."

Reno nodded, but he wasn't holding out hope. He never had been much of an optimist. But they would do what they needed to do, until Rufus either woke up or died.

He shivered at the thought. He had been elated, once. Running into Shinra Tower with Rude and Elena, his heart had dropped to see the building in ruins like that. But Tseng had been there waiting for them. Tseng, who he thought was dead, and hope sprang eternal and all that shit. They had raced up the stairways together, all four of them, pulling aside rubble and fixtures that were barely recognizable. And Rufus had been there, breathing, but just barely, and Reno's heart had caught in his throat as they carried him out and onto the helicopter.

But as the days had dragged on with no changes to Rufus' condition, initial happiness had given away to something else. A quiet kind of desperation, maybe, and then a mute despair, and then nothing really at all.

He walked into the hut that they were keeping Rufus in. Bandages wrapped around his ribs, nursing the lacerations, newly free of infection, found underneath. His arm was bandaged in a large splint, and half his face was still purple and yellow, those ugly colors of a vengeful bruise. The rest of his face was pale, like the rest of his body. Reno came closer, sitting down beside his president. More worrying, veins of black had started stretching out over Rufus' wrist, looking as though they wanted to claim his whole arm.

Reno traced over the patterns they formed. The disease people were calling geostigma. Opinion was divided as to whether it was contagious or not, but Reno didn't particularly care.

His fingers left Rufus' wrist, and he walked back to the room that he shared with Rude.

Later that night, laying in just his boxers in a humidity that reminded him of below plate, Reno was glad to have a momentary distraction in the form of his cell phone beeping. He flipped it open to read a message there, courtesy of Hedge.

"You dead yet?" The message read. "Can I have your stereo system?"

Reno chuckled, for a second taken out of the circumstances. "No chance. You in Midgar?"

"Edge, man. Starting fresh."

Reno tossed the phone beside him and fell asleep.

The next day Reno awoke to a flurry of activity. Or, at least, what constituted a flurry of activity in a backwater town like this. Rude was back, bringing with him a familiar figure. Reno watched as Tseng met him at the front gate.

"Reeve," Tseng said, reaching out to shake his hand. "Thank you for coming."

Reeve stayed with them for three nights. Mostly he talked with Tseng, and Reno wondered how much the two men could possibly have to discuss. He guessed they were talking about the future of the world, maybe. The future of Shinra. if there was a Shinra to speak of.

On Reeve's third night there, Rufus woke up. Elena had come running into the communal dining area, calling Tseng's name like a chant. It happened so fast Reno wasn't sure what was going on, but once he realized he was running after them, only to get shut out of the room while Tseng and Reeve went inside. He waited for what seemed like hours, Rude and Elena with him. Then they were coming out, a sense of hesitant relief on their features.

"Rude, Elena," Tseng said, "we have plans to discuss. Reno, please watch President Shinra."

Reno nodded, not able to get into the room fast enough. But once he was there, he wasn't sure what to say. Rufus was sitting up on the bed, arms limp by his side, eyes closed and head tilted back. Reno saw a mostly empty glass of water beside him, and he moved forward to refill it. Afterwards he sat down in one of the chairs that had been placed by the bed, shifting several times before finding a position that wasn't uncomfortable.

"We thought you were dead," Reno said, finally.

"Yes," Rufus agreed. "So did I."

Reno leaned forward, reaching out to touch his wrist again. He just wanted to feel him. Make sure he was actually there.

"Shinra certainly made a mess of things," Rufus said, eyes opening. They were contemplative, soft. "I never imagined that it would have come to this."

"What are we going to do?"

"Rebuild," Rufus said, simply. He closed his eyes again, and Reno supposed, he must be tired. "But we'll discuss that tomorrow. All five of us. You, me, Tseng. . . Rude and Elena. My father built Shinra from nothing, with his own hands. I don't see any reason we can't do better."

Reno nodded.

"Reno," Rufus started, his voice taking on an uncharacteristic turn. "I'm sorry. For everything. Anything."

Reno's mind spiraled back in time. All the years they had known each other. Together, apart, through the violence and imprisonment and want and need. But he wouldn't be the man he was today if it hadn't been for meeting Rufus, that much Reno knew. "Don't worry about it, Mr. President."

Rufus nodded, and his fingers moved to wrap around Reno's own. But his eyes were still closed, and soon his breathing evened out to sleep.

They left Mideel four days later. Left the grass huts, easy-going doctors, and wild chocobos, to the place that Reeve had christened Healinn Lodge. There were still a million concerns to take care of, a million things that could go wrong, but for now, Reno wasn't worried.

Rebuild. It had such a nice ring to it.