Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Who's John ShinRa? ❯ To bleed and to cry ( Chapter 4 )

Note: I do not own Final Fantasy VII.

Chapter 4: To bleed and to cry

 

John ShinRa looked out from his father's old office and marveled at the sight before him. The Sister Ray stood ready to fire at his command. Lines of mako were already being pumped into the canon to charge it. Everything was going according to his plans.

 

He was no longer going to be his brother's shadow living in the team of obscurity. It was now John's turn to shine. He was finally going to become the true son of the late President ShinRa, known forever in the history books as the son of a wealthy politician not some spawn of a no-name whore.

 

Now that dream was finally coming true. The only things that were standing in his way of fully completing it were Sephiroth and Rufus. Rufus ShinRa, his spoiled half-brother who got all of his father's attention and power. How much he hated him. He was the reason he was employed as a mere body-double rather than some high ranking official. John deserved the lap of luxury, not Rufus. Rufus was handed everything to him whereas John had to fight and struggle to earn his keep.

 

The first thirteen years of John's life were hellish. His mother would constantly be working at the HoneyBee Inn, leaving John to fend for himself most days. John wished for any hope that would lead him to a better life. Eventually, his mother would give him that hope: the only thing he appreciated from the woman who bore him into the world.

 

He remembered the first time his mother mentioned his father and how he was actually an heir to a great kingdom, it was a godsend to him. He recounted the endless nights when he would stare at the ShinRa Tower and tell himself that he was going to go up there, even before he learned of his lineage. John had never forgotten that last conversation with his mother. She was dying from some disease she caught working the streets and breathing her final breaths. It was then that he learned he was the son of the great President ShinRa.

 

“John, come here my son,” the dying woman said as she slowly gasped for air. “I know I haven't been a great mother to you, and I'm sorry. But I don't want you to worry after I die.”

 

The woman began coughing again and John rushed to her side ready to aide her in her last moments. After containing her coughs, she pulled out a handkerchief that John had never seen before.

 

“This handkerchief belongs to your father who is a very powerful man. Take this and go to him.”

 

John obeyed his mother and took the silk handkerchief. The initials of A.R.S. were seen embroidered on one of the edges. “Who . . . who's my father?”

 

“The great President ShinRa,” she said stifling some tears. “I haven't spoken or seen him since I told him I was pregnant with you, but I know he'll remember me. He told me long ago that he loved me. Just show him the handkerchief.”

 

John simply nodded in response still trying to digest the information his mother was telling him. He heard his mother cough some more, but these coughs were much harsher and more violent. The erratic beeping of the monitors almost couldn't be heard over her coughs. John held onto his mother's hand as she flailed in her last death throes.

 

One last breath escaped her lips as she uttered her last words, “Augustus.”

 

The nurses and doctors came too late to do anything for the woman as they rushed into the room. The monitors all buzzed in unison as they fruitlessly applied CPR in the vain hope that they could save her. But she was gone and John watched helplessly as the doctors finally gave up.

 

John never cried that day. He only held his mother's last gift to him tightly in his right hand and thought deeply about what he should do next. The only thing the doctors and nurses could offer were their condolences and help with the burial arrangements. After making sure that all the paperwork had been done to arrange his mother's burial, he stuffed the silk handkerchief in his trousers and walked off towards the ShinRa Tower leaving his life as he knew it behind.

 

It took him an hour to finally make it to the building from the hospital. The building's towering mass of concrete and steel appeared to mock him as he slowly made his way towards the building. John brushed off the bits of dust riddling his tattered clothes, embarrassed at his appearance. Taking a deep breath, he put his hands on the glass double doors and pulled to open the doors to his future.

 

The inside of the building was as intimidating as the outside, only painted white. He marched up to the receptionist's desk and boldly stood. “I want to see President ShinRa.”

 

The older woman stared at the young boy and cocked her eyebrow in a mocking manner. “Do you have an appointment?”

 

“No, but I need to see him,” John replied defiantly. He pulled the handkerchief out of his pocket and held it in front of the woman. “I am his son.”

 

“Young man, President ShinRa is a very busy man and can't be bothered by such trivial matters,” she said while rolling her eyes, ignoring the silk handkerchief in her face.

 

He argued back and forth with the stubborn woman until the elevator doors opened and a large man walked out flanked by well-dressed men in blue-suits. The man was wearing a very expensive white suit and being briefed by an equally large man who was balding. Looking at the man in the white suit, he saw an image of himself forty years from now and he knew that he had found his father.

 

John quickly ran over to President ShinRa, but was stopped by one of his bodyguards.

 

“President ShinRa, I need to speak to you,” John shouted at the man.

 

But the man seems too engrossed in what one of his executives was saying to even notice the boy.

 

John struggled against the bodyguard, but was only able to pry one of his hands free, the one holding the handkerchief.

 

“President ShinRa, I'm your son and this is my proof!” John shouted while waving the silk fabric around.

 

The President finally took notice of the boy as he turned his head towards the struggle. Cold blue eyes met innocent blue as President ShinRa walked up to the boy and took the handkerchief to inspect it carefully.

 

“Where did you get this boy?” the man said sternly while scrutinizing John with his eyes.

 

“It was my mother's . . . sir. She said it belonged to my father . . . you,” John said carefully.

 

“That's preposterous! President ShinRa could never have fathered such a dirty child like you!” the balding executive spoke-up, pointing an accusatory finger at John. “You probably stole this handkerchief from someone in the upper plates and . . .”

 

“Palmer! That's enough!” President ShinRa raised his voice to silence the man.

 

President ShinRa again examined the handkerchief before handing it back to John and motioned for his guard to release him. Reaching into his vest pocket, the President pulled out another handkerchief that looked exactly the same as the one John held in his hands.

 

“I've given out many of these to women who have thoroughly pleased me in bed. I never expected to get one of them back,” he said while blowing his nose on his handkerchief.

 

John stood there stunned at what he was hearing. His mother had been convinced that President ShinRa would remember her, but she was nothing to him but a good orgasm.

 

“So boy, what's your name?” President ShinRa asked.

 

“John, sir. Jonathan Adacus,” he replied trying to hold back the anger rising in his voice.

 

“John? What a plain name. Where's your mother, John?” the man asked without any hint of compassion.

 

“She's dead, sir,” John said solemnly. “She died today.”

 

“I guess you expect me to take you in since you say you're my son,” President ShinRa glared at the boy with eyes that seemed to pierce through his soul.

 

John was speechless. He never planned on being interrogated. Though it was true that he expected to be taken in, he wasn't sure how to answer the man staring him down. He ran his right hand nervously through his brown hair.

 

“I have nowhere else to go, sir,” John said defeated as he rested his eyes on his torn and tattered shoes.

 

President ShinRa bit his lip in displeasure over the boy's reply. Turning to Palmer, he motioned for his PHS and dialed a series of numbers.

 

“Heidegger, this is the President speaking. I'm sending you a boy who I want you to train as Rufus's body-double. He's to be taught all the skills and lessons that Rufus learns, understood? His name's John. His last name? That's of no consequence, just train him,” President ShinRa finished the call as he returned the phone to Palmer. He then bent in to whisper something to Palmer before continuing his original trek outside the ShinRa Tower flanked by his bodyguards.

 

John stood there perplexed as to what had transpired. He watched the fading figure of his father as he left the ShinRa Tower. The man never turned around once to say good-bye to the boy. If it weren't for the brash hand shaking his shoulder, John would have remained glued to the floor with his eyes fixed on the double-doors of the ShinRa building.

 

“Boy, come with me,” the executive named Palmer said brusquely.

 

“Where are we going?” John said confused.

 

“To Junon, but first we're getting you cleaned and dying your hair. Now hurry-up before the President changes his mind,” snapping at John.

 

The next few days were surreal to John as the balding executive toted him around from place to place getting him clothes, feeding him and most perplexing of all, forcing him to dye his hair blond.

 

John studied his image in a mirror on the helicopter that was taking them to Junon. His newly cut and dyed hair made him resemble the President even more. John warmed up to the idea that he was actually being accepted, though he hadn't seen his father since he saw him exiting the ShinRa Tower at their first meeting.

 

The copter landed and Palmer escorted him out, leading him to a spacious office in the heart of Junon. A large bearded man in military attire greeted him at the door.

 

“You must be John, I'm General Heideggar,” the man extended his hand and shook John's hand roughly. “I've been ordered to train you as Rufus's body-double, now come along.”

 

Heidegger walked stiffly towards another room, expecting John to follow. When the pair entered the room, he received quite a shock as the mirror image of him with his newly dyed hair and clothes seemed to be staring back at him. The other boy was around the same age and had the same cool blue eyes as President ShinRa. He wore a neatly pressed white suit distinguishably, contrasting greatly with John's sloppily worn gray suit.

 

“Rufus, I'd like you to meet John. He's going to be studying and training with you from now on,” Heideggar said while patting his swelling belly. “Your father wants him to be your body-double. John, this is Rufus ShinRa, the President's son.”

 

John's eyes widened after hearing that the boy in front of him was his half-brother. He saw Rufus stand-up and extended his hand in a friendly handshake. John took it firmly and looked into the other boy's eyes noticing how bored they looked.

 

“Pleased to make your acquaintance. I'm sure we'll be able to work well together,” Rufus spoke eloquently.

 

“Yeah, nice to meet you too,” John smiled awkwardly. His smile soon turned into a frown as a sharp sting was felt across the back of his legs.

 

John turned his head to find Heideggar with a switch in his hand looking quite cross.

 

“If you intend on becoming Rufus's body-double, you first need to learn how to address people properly,” Heideggar yelled.

 

John wanted to lash out at the large man and pummel him like he did other kids or adults on the streets of the Midgar slums, but he knew it was not the time nor the place for that.

 

“Yes, sir,” he replied with little emotion.

 

Heideggar was pleased with John's quick obedience and wasted no time in starting his training. John had never been able to keep up with his studies when his mother was alive: it simply wasn't necessary. But now that he was under the care of General Heidegger, he had to learn all the advanced subjects that Rufus has been studying in order to become the proper body-double for the President's son.

 

It had been a few weeks since he began his training with Rufus and he found himself slowly catching up with Heideggar's rigorous training. John was having difficulty keeping up with his studies, but education was only one of the many things that he had to learn. He was also taught how to shoot by one of the President's bodyguard's, the Turks. The one who taught Rufus and John everything about sharp shooting was the Turk named Tseng.

 

Tseng was a quiet man who knew how to do his job correctly and effectively. John had never seen anyone as skilled at a gun as he was. During one of their training sessions, John had openly expressed his admiration for the Turks phenomenal skills.

 

“Tseng, you truly are the best marksman I have ever seen,” John said with praise.

 

“I appreciate your compliment Jonathan, but I'm not the best that ShinRa has ever seen,” Tseng said in a calm voice.

 

“I certainly haven't seen anyone better at a gun than you and I have been here longer than John has,” Rufus interjected, agreeing with his half-brother.

 

“I assure you Master Rufus, there was another.”

 

“Was?” John questioned.

 

“Yes, was. He was a Turk long before I started as one. I looked up to him as my mentor even though we never met,” Tseng said with a hint of admiration.

 

“What was his name?” Rufus asked intrigued by the Turk's compassion.

 

“Vincent Valentine,” Tseng said sadly. “He was the best marksman ShinRa ever saw, but not the best Turk.”

 

“Killed in battle?” John asked.

 

“No, worse. He fell in love,” Tseng said flatly.

 

Rufus and John looked at each other slightly confused as to what Tseng was implying about Mr. Valentine's fate. They wanted to ask more questions but Tseng informed them both that they had strayed too far off their training talking about a petty subject. Though Tseng thought otherwise, John considered him to be the best marksman in all of ShinRa.

 

Tseng was also the one who had ordered him to wear the dog tags at President ShinRa's request. The name `Jonathan Adacus ShinRa' was engraved on the tag and he thought it was a symbol of his father's acceptance. John wore the tags proudly and swore to never take it off, obliging to his father's orders. He wondered if his half-brother also wore dog tags around his neck bearing his name.

 

John had gotten along with Rufus, but they rarely had time to talk amongst themselves as they trained constantly day in and day out. Rufus didn't appear to hold any resentment towards him after learning that he was his half-brother. In fact, John thought his half-brother took the news almost too calmly, as if he expected it. Rufus was also very quiet and didn't appear to enjoy living in Junon. John had never heard his half-brother speak about their father and whenever President ShinRa was mentioned, John noticed how Rufus's face seemed to darken.

 

Rufus rarely fought with John or even instigated any tension. It slightly irritated John that his half-brother acted more like a business associate to him rather than family. He concluded that it was the lack of interaction with other kids his own age that made his half-brother appear so stiff and proper. John tried his best to get along with Rufus during their training together, but that never meant that he had to like his half-brother.

 

He felt like he was finally grasping most of Rufus's studies and gradually becoming more proficient with a shotgun. John hadn't seen their father during his training and hoped that one day he would visit so he could impress him with his progress. One day while the two boys were at the shooting range, the President paid the boys a visit. John remembered that he and Rufus were both wearing identical training gear and it was almost impossible to tell the two apart. But when the President came to inspect the boys, he leaned over to Tseng who then pointed to Rufus. John watched as President ShinRa walked past him and headed for Rufus.

 

“How are your studies going son?” President ShinRa asked Rufus as he looked at him sternly.

 

“Very well father, thank you for asking,” Rufus replied almost bitterly.

 

John stood there in shock as President ShinRa continued to talk to Rufus and ignored him. He felt completely invisible while his father talked to his half-brother and didn't so much as bother to acknowledge his presence. What was it about Rufus that made their father favor him so much? John knew that his mother was nothing more than a prostitute, but he was also President ShinRa's son and he expected to be honored as a ShinRa like his brother Rufus.

 

Jealousy and anger boiled in the body of the young boy as he looked at his half-brother with contempt. Rufus didn't even appear to enjoy their father's company or even show an interest in taking over the company. John could still see that boredom in Rufus's eyes as he watched the pair talking. Why wasn't their father talking to him?

 

President ShinRa finished talking to Rufus and started walking towards John. John straightened his demeanor and stood tall anticipating President ShinRa to ask him the same questions he had asked Rufus. But the President walked past John without even giving the boy so much as a glance or nod of approval. John exhaled and let his shoulders slump as he heard his father walk back inside.

 

John was tempted to call to his father, but Tseng ordered John and Rufus to resume their sharp-shooting lessons. John stole a glance at Rufus who was too engrossed on aiming at his targets. Rufus ShinRa, the privileged boy who was born legitimately into the life of comfort and fame. The only known son of the great President ShinRa unlike himself who was a bastard. He wanted to make his father proud, he wanted to show the world that Jonathan ShinRa was not a ratty kid off the streets of Midgar. He wanted the world to know who he was so that his father would one day acknowledge him as one of his sons.

 

That day had been the catalyst for John's desires to excel above his half-brother and take ShinRa for himself. He had never forgotten it, as how he had never lost sight of his dreams. He worked hard to become Rufus's exact double so no one could tell the difference between them. He had done such a good job over the years that none of the ShinRa executives that knew of their blood relation could tell them apart. There were only four people who tell them apart and they were President ShinRa, Tseng, Rude and Reno. Both his father and Tseng were dead, leaving Rude and Reno left to identify him.

 

John knew that if the Turks were in Midgar, they would immediately figure out he wasn't the real President. He was fortunate that Rufus had hired the newest edition to the Turks, Elena. Her loquacity and loyalty helped send the two Turks on a side quest to the sunken Gelnika leaving no one in the ShinRa corporation left capable of identifying him. Elena had been too overenthusiastic to receive a mission order directly from the President allowing John to keep his distance from Rude and Reno. John knew that he couldn't evade the Turks forever and hoped that the pair wouldn't survive their expedition to the Gelnika; however, should they make it out alive, John was ready to send them on a suicide mission into the heart of the Northern Crater against Sephiroth.

 

Once all of his enemies have been destroyed, John will have finally shed his skin of a Midgar street kid to become a son of an aristocratic bloodline. He had never been able to escape his past as the son of a whore and a mere body-double, but now he finally had his opportunity as he looked out upon Midgar from the President's office. The Sister Ray was about to fire and he was ready to give the command.

 

The static on the intercom interrupted his thoughts as he heard the cackling of Scarlet's voice on the intercom.

 

“President Rufus, a Weapon and AVALANCHE have been spotted outside Midgar along the coastline.”

 

“They are not my immediate concern at this moment in time Scarlet, I need to know whether or not the Sister Ray is ready,” John barked through the intercom.

 

“But, President Rufus, sir!”

 

John visibly flinched when he heard her call him Rufus. He wanted to correct her, but now was not the time. “No buts Scarlet! We'll deal with the Weapon and AVALANCHE after we break that barrier around the Northern Crater. Do you understand?”

 

“Yes, sir. The Sister Ray is ready to fire on your command,” Scarlet resigned.

 

“Very well then, FIRE!”

 

John refocused his attentions to the window and frowned as he saw a Weapon blocking his view. He was about to punch the intercom to speak with Scarlet but stopped when he saw a beam of energy surge through the Sister Ray and blast a hole in the Weapon.

 

John ShinRa smirked as he saw the Weapon slowly fall it its knees, still smoldering with smoke rising from its chest. He almost laughed before his eye caught various bolts of energy racing toward the ShinRa Tower.

 

Before he could fully comprehend what was going on he heard Scarlet's cackle over the intercom, “President ShinRa, get out of the office!”

 

He soured at the thought that this was going to be his end. He had his goal within his reach that his fingers were almost touching it. He was so close to finally becoming the true President ShinRa. In a last act of desperation he tried to hide under the desk, hoping that would save him. Despite his futile act, the bolts of energy met their target and destroyed the great ShinRa Presidential Office. No one could have survived the blast, not even a man who had never bled or cried.

(continued…)