Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Who's John ShinRa? ❯ The Pauper ( Chapter 3 )

Note: I do not own Final Fantasy VII

Chapter 3: The Pauper

 

John ShinRa smiled as Midgar came into view along the horizon. He had finished a phone call with some of his generals in Junon to ensure the total seclusion of his brother to keep him from meddling in his plans.

 

He thought Rufus was a fool for agreeing to stay in Junon. Now all of ShinRa was under his control. He could finally fulfill his dreams and become the true son of his father and sole ruler of the ShinRa Empire. There were going to be no more obstacles interfering with him and his ambitions.

 

“Mister President, we've arrived,” one of his guards said as he opened the door to the chopper.

 

“Very good. Have a team monitor the trail of AVALANCHE and another team retrieve the canon on Junon. We're going to build a weapon,” John said calmly.

 

John ShinRa walked through the halls of the great ShinRa building proudly. Soon, all of this would be his. He reached his office and looked out the window to gaze upon his kingdom. He had his agenda: first, destroy AVANLANCE; second, capture and contain Sephiroth; third, find the promised land; and finally, kill Rufus.

 

John pulled out two dog tags that hung from his neck. `Jonathan Adacus ShinRa,' his true name. He wanted to rip the dog tags off to shred his last reminder of who he really was, but he couldn't assume complete control of Rufus' kingdom until his brother was of no further use to him.

 

The buzz of the intercom sounded as his secretary's . . . no Rufus's secretary's voice rang through, “Mister President, sir. Everyone's waiting for you in the conference room.”

 

“I'll be down in a minute,” John said as he pushed the intercom button.

 

He quickly dropped his dog tags underneath the layers of his suit and walked the short distance to the conference room. He opened the double doors to find all of his executives ready to obey his orders. Striding confidently to the head of the table, he brushed his hair back before addressing them.

 

“Gentlemen, we have work to do.”

 

Rufus ShinRa crawled out of bed and made the short distance to the bathroom. Turning the lights on, he was shocked at his appearance. His once golden blond hair was now a light brown, dyed to match his brother's natural hair color as ordered by the ShinRa guards. A bit of stubble was adorning his face as he searched the bathroom for a razor.

 

He had been kept as his brother's flat in Junon for the last few weeks. A guard was posted at his door constantly preventing him from leaving the small room. The guards rarely ever spoke to Rufus, assuming that he was President ShinRa's body-double. Though Rufus was unable to milk any information from the guards, he assumed by the way they were keeping him captive, they suspected him of treason against the corporation, a charge only John could conceive and execute. Rufus was grateful that ShinRa at least had the courtesy to feed him everyday and give him the morning paper.

 

Through the paper, he learned that his brother had commandeered the canon in Junon to make a massive weapon named the Sister Ray. He also learned that they still hadn't captured AVALANCHE and the Weapons were still terrorizing the planet. Rufus didn't appreciate how his brother decided to take his company from under him. He should have been more careful and cautious, but he trusted his brother, trusted that his brother wanted to clean the corruption and dirt his father had left. Rufus was wrong. He had always seen his brother as the silent man who would do what he was told. In all the years that he knew John, that was exactly what he did; however, John's loyalty was all a farce.

 

It was when Rufus was jotting down some notes on the budget problem to ease his boredom. He had dropped his pencil on the floor and watched it roll under the bed. Aggravated, he dropped to his knees to find the writing utensil, but in doing so found a loose floorboard where the pencil had rolled under. Normally, Rufus wouldn't have given this anomaly a second thought, but he was confined to his brother's room and curiosity got the better of him. Underneath the floorboard were documents that sent shivers down his spine.

 

Rufus read notes, maps and various documents all detailing the ShinRa family Wills, trusts and bank accounts. John also kept a journal detailing his ambitions and plans. There were numerous sheets of paper where John had been practicing Rufus's signature and handwriting. Among the documents was an old silk handkerchief that belonged to his late father. Rufus stared in disbelief at the different papers and items laid before him. For the past five years, John had been plotting his downfall.

 

Washing his face of the excess shaving cream, Rufus let his steel-blue eyes gaze upon his features in the mirror. He had always been raised to appear regal and commanding, but now Rufus ShinRa looked ordinary. This was a look he hadn't seen on him since his mother was still alive. Pushing those thoughts aside, Rufus tried to concentrate on his immediate problem. He needed to plan his escape, but so far he hadn't found any options that wouldn't leave him dead or captured. He had to get out of Junon and find Reno and Rude. They were the only Turks who could tell the difference between himself and John. Though it would be difficult to convince all his executives, he would have the loyalty of his Turks and no one crossed the Turks.

 

He had been quietly observing the guard patterns. He knew that his best option was to wait until night when the more careless guard took over. He would make some small talk with the guard before knocking him out and switching clothes with him. After that was done, he would have to wait until morning when the guard shift took place. That still only gave him an hour to leave Junon before the replacement guard would enter the room to give him his usual breakfast and discover that he was gone.

 

Glancing down at his watch, he knew that he still had at least ten more hours before the guard change: ten hours to decide what to do after he regained his freedom. He knew he needed to stop John from bring ShinRa further down the path it was already on, but there was the question of how he was going to get to Midgar and find the Turks. Had he known that the events would turn out like this, he would have never let John board that chopper in his place.

 

Rufus shook his head in frustration. Now was not the time to regret his past actions. He had to focus his thoughts and energies onto the task at hand. He had to remain optimistic, but also be prepared for a world that would only see him as a normal man should he not be successful in convincing the Turks that he is the real Rufus ShinRa.

 

(continued…)