"...Did it get away? Jenova...?"
Scene 33
- Sephiroth Alive!? - Rufus' Ascent -
(Cloud wakes up in the middle of the night in his and Tifa's prison cell. He sees that the door is open.)
Cloud
"The door's open...
When did it open?"
(He goes through the door and walks down the hall. There is a guard, dead, lying on the floor. He kneels by him)
Cloud
"What's happened?"
(He goes back to Tifa's cell.)
Cloud
"Tifa... Wake up!"
(Tifa sits up.)
Tifa
"What's wrong?"
Cloud
"Something's wrong.
Look outside."
(She goes out to the guard. Cloud follows.)
Tifa
"I wonder what happened..."
Cloud
"He should have the
key on him..."
(He gets the prison keys.)
Cloud
"Come on, Tifa, get
Aerith, I'll go help Barret and the others."
(Tifa goes to Aerith's cell. Cloud runs to Barret and Red XIII's.)
Cloud
"Barret, Red XIII...
come with me. Something's wrong."
(Barret gets up.)
Barret
"How'd you get in?
Why's the door open!?"
(They run out to the dead guard.)
Barret
"The hell's goin'
on!?"
Red XIII
"No human could've
done this."
"I'll go on ahead."
(Red XIII goes.)
Barret
"I'll clean up back
here, so you guys go ahead. And don't get caught by Shinra!"
(Cloud collects Tifa and Aerith.)
Tifa
"Come on, let's follow
Red XIII!"
(They follow Red XIII to the lab where he was previously imprisoned. The path there is stained with blood and littered with bodies. Where there was a door in the metal dome, there is now a gaping hole.)
Cloud
"...Did it get away?
Jenova...?"
Red XIII
"Jenova Specimen...
Looks like it went to the upper floor using that elevator for the specimens."
(They take the elevator up to the 68th floor. Red XIII is waiting.)
Red XIII
"It looks like it
leads up..."
(They take the elevator up to the 69th floor., then the stairs up to the 70th. Barret and Red XIII catch up with the rest. They arrive at President Shinra's office. He is seated at his desk. A large sword is protruding from his back.)
Barret
"He's dead... The
leader of Shinra, Inc. is dead."
(Tifa runs around to him.)
Tifa
"Then this sword must
be...!?"
Cloud
"Sephiroth's!!"
Tifa
"...Sephiroth is alive?"
Cloud
"...Looks like it.
Only Sephiroth can use that sword."
Barret
"Who cares who did
it!? This is the end of the Shinra now!"
"Uh!"
(Palmer jumps out from behind the desk and makes a break for it. Cloud and Barret catch him by the arms.)
Palmer
"P, p, p, please,
don't kill me!"
Cloud
"What happened?"
Palmer
"Se... Sephiroth.
Sephiroth came."
Cloud
"Did you see him?
Did you see Sephiroth?"
Palmer
"Yeah, I saw him!!
I saw him with my own eyes!"
Cloud
"You really saw him?"
Palmer
"Uh! Would I lie to
you at a time like this!? And I heard his voice too!"
"Um, he was saying
something about not letting us have the Promised Land."
Tifa
"Then what?"
"Does that mean that
the Promised Land really exists and that Sephiroth's here to save it from
Shinra?"
Barret
"So he's a good guy
then?"
Cloud
"Save the Promised
Land? A good guy? No way!!"
"It's not that simple!!
I know him! Sephiroth's mission is different!"
(A helicopter hovers into view in the big bay windows. Palmer breaks free and flees.)
Barret
"Rufus! &*%$!!
I forgot about him!"
Tifa
"Who's that?"
Barret
"Vice President Rufus.
The President's son."
Tifa
"I wonder what kind
of person he is..."
Aerith
"I've heard that no
one's ever seen him bleed or cry."
Barret
"I heard that he's
been assigned somewhere else for a long time..."
Red XIII
"I only know his name."
(Cloud runs out onto the balcony at the top of the Shinra Building. The rest follow. They find Rufus and Palmer there.)
Rufus
"So... So Sephiroth
was actually here. ...By the way."
(Palmer runs away.)
Rufus
"Who are you guys?"
(The camera focuses on each person in turn.)
Cloud
"I'm Cloud, former
SOLDIER First Class!"
Barret
"I'm from AVALANCHE!"
Tifa
"Same here!"
Aerith
"...a flower girl
from the slums."
Red XIII
"A research specimen."
(Rufus shrugs.)
Rufus
"What a crew."
(He smooths his hair with nonchalance.)
Rufus
"Well, I'm Rufus.
The President of Shinra, Inc."
Barret
"You only President,
'cause your old man died!"
Rufus
"That's right. I'll
let you hear my new appointment speech."
(He walks to Tifa.)
Rufus
"...Old man tried
to control the world with money. It seems to have been working."
(He walks to Aerith.)
Rufus
"The population thought
that Shinra would protect them."
(He walks to Barret.)
Rufus
"Work at Shinra, get
your pay. If a terrorist attacks, the Shinra army will help you."
"It looks perfect
on the outside."
"But, I do things
differently."
"I'll control the
world with fear. It takes too much to do it like my old man."
(He walks to the railing.)
Rufus
"A little fear will
control the minds of the common people. There's no reason to waste money
on them."
(A pause.)
Tifa
"He likes to make
speeches just like his father."
(Cloud turns.)
Cloud
"Get outta this building
with Aerith!"
Barret
"What?"
Cloud
"I'll explain later!
Barret! This is the real crisis for the Planet!"
Barret
"The hell's that supposed
to mean?"
Cloud
"I'll tell you later!
Just take my word for it! I'll go after I take care of him!"
Barret
"Awright, Cloud!"
(They all head back down to the 69th floor, but Cloud. Aerith pauses on the way out.)
Aerith
"Cloud... I just thought
of something."
(Tifa goes back to Aerith.)
Tifa
"...I'll wait for
Cloud! Everyone, get to the elevator!"
(They all head back toward the stairs. Tifa stays in the doorway.)
Aerith
"Hmm, it's going to
get pretty ugly from here on. We should check on our equipment."
(Aerith, Barret, and Red XIII re-equip themselves and get on the elevator. As soon as they press the button to go down, they are attacked...)
(Boss battle with Hundred Gunner)
phoenixgenesis@game-developer.com
Continue to Part 3 Scene 34