The Strength of Rufus Shinra
By Clone of Sephiroth
Rufus Shinra absently brushed a stray strand of strawberry blonde hair out of his eyes and smiled... The view from his impressive, wall-sized office window holding his attention.
His gigantic office, with his bulky business desk at the front, and the desks of countless subordinates cluttering every inch, was an absolute mess. But he couldn't possibly have cared less, he was savering his latest victory.
He had just received word from his generals, the Weapon monster that had been lurching toward his beloved Midgar, with certain destruction on its mind, had been completely oblitered by a prescise blast from the devastating Mako cannon, Sister Ray.
With a confident grin, he calmly admired the far off sunset, a brilliant mixture of pastel yellows and drastic oranges, and sighed... He still had heaps and heaps of work to do, paper work to be specific... He hated paper work, with a passion and would have preferred to leave all of the damned stuff to his yes-men. But he knew he couldn't, they would just foul it up.
He stole one last eyeful of the relaxing scene and prepared to return to his work... But then something suddenly caught his eye, something far in the distance... A small pulsating spec of white was interrupting the beauty.
He squinted in an effort to make out what it was... It didn't help much, he still couldn't see it clearly, but it quickly dawned on him that whatever it was, it was coming closer. A slight sense of dread began tugging at the back of his mind, but he ignored it and tried to keep his calm.
As the object moved steadily closer and closer, Rufus slowly realized what it was... It was an energy beam of some sort... Probably a left over shard of the blast that they'd killed the Weapon with, he guessed... But why was it coming this way? Had the beast deflected some of the energy before it had fallen?
He could see it totally now, it was at his exact level, it would strike his office directly... The situation was grave...
But maybe the two-inch thick protective plexi-glass that coated his window would absorb it? No, that was foolish... Maybe he could get to the exit in time? He shook his head, the object was coming in even faster now... He would never make it...
Rufus inhaled a deep breath, opened his intense sapphire eyes wide, and stared unblinkingly at his fate... If this was the end, he would fall with his own personal honor intact...
The spear of glowing hot energy blazed forth, gaining speed with every second... Just a mile from Midgar, just a half mile, just a quarter mile...
Rufus' office window exploded inward with a deafening roar. Millions of super heated plexi-glass shards filled the air and a cloud of burning energy engulfed the room. Rufus was flung like a rag doll, clear across the room and into the far wall. He hit it with a bone-shattering impact and fell to the floor, limp.
When the destruction had ceased and the firey power had disapated, Rufus' office was left an utter wreck. Tiny pieces of sharp glass lay everywhere, desks had been overturned, flung into walls, or pushed out the open window. Small smoldering fires crackled quietly in every corner, filling the place with a sickening brimstone auroma...
Rufus' ravaged body lay propped up against the tall steel wall, completely motionless. His normally neat and tidy white coat blackened and singed. His handsome, clean-cut face littered with small scraps and cuts, bleeding freshly with crimson blood...
As the small fires dotting the room slowly burned themselves out, the ever so faint sound of the distant ocean could be heard... The gentle, serene noise of deep blue ocean waves rolling into shore broke the silence and set the atmosphere to an all most eerie calm...
And Rufus' eyes, as deep blue as the crashing oceans waves in the distance, eased open... He was alive, by some miracle of his determined heart, he was alive...
But the joy of survival soon faded, as the reality of his injuries swept over his body... His face filled with pure desperation and immense fear... He was alive, but he was ultimately doomed... Unless he could get some help, any help! He slipped open his lips, mustered up some strength and screamed as loud as he could! But nothing came out, nothing at all...
Now what could he do?! Those thoughtless weaklings downstairs would never get to him on their own! He had to do something, and he had to do it alone... But that was nothing new, he had done things alone his entire life...
He could save himself... He knew he could...
Summoning the strength that had aided him against his father's coldness all of his life, Rufus shifted his weight and turned around to face the wall... He valiantly lifted his hands up, even though they felt as if they were two one hundred pound weights, and clawed at the wall, trying to get a grip.
He carefully heaved himself to his feet, leaning against the wall and letting it support the harsh burden that was his body weight. From this viewpoint, he could see the electronic intercomm system mounted on the wall, about five feet away... A five feet that looked endless...
Adrenaline surged through his body as he took a strained step... Then another... And another... He was all most there!
He could barely manage to catch his breath, every single centimeter of his tattered body ached, and he could hardly keep his eyes open... But he was Rufus Shinra dammit! He was the leader of a global empire! He had hundreds of thousands of people under his command... And he was going to do this!
He couldn't bare to lift his feet anymore, and dragged them weakly on the floor as she shuffled forward...
With a long, labored gasp of breath and a striding final step, he arrived at the intercomm, mashing his foreheard against the tiny button... And praying with all of his being that the blasted thing still worked...
It did, "Hello? Sir?" a low-pitched voice chimed.
Rufus opened his mouth wide and put every last ounce of his soul into his voice, "Help me!" he gasped, his voice coming out in an incredibly desperate, yet all most whispered tone. Any human, just by hearing the fearful call, could have known that the man was in a grim state.
"Oh geez! The President's in trouble, get someone up there now!" the voice on the other end screamed.
Rufus was spent... He collapsed onto the floor, falling onto his back, glassy eyes staring toward the ceiling. Even as the excruciating pain raked over him in wave after wave, he knew that if he could just hold on for a few more moments, they would come... And help him...
He took a few deep gulps of air and shifted his head slightly, turning his gaze toward his shattered window... The sun was in the final stages of setting, and it was as touching as he had ever seen a sunset... A breathtaking picture of gentle swirling amethyst, soft scarlet, and enchanting yellow... A small, content smile moved over his lips, as he gazed weakly at the natural masterpiece...
That was the last thing he saw, as his eyes slowly slid closed, and... Rufus Shinra... died.