Arrival (Complete)
Character(s): Rufus Shinra
Content: Rufus arrives and isn’t happy.
Setting: Muspelheim gate
Time: Afternoon
Warnings: None
"And Tseng, send Reno to meet with Reeve. Those two seem to have no difficulties with each other. I want the public assured that we are no longer using Mako and Reeve is the one that can convince the World Regenesis Organization of just that. I'll require yourself and Elena for a PR event in the morning at nine o'clock sharp."
"Yes, Mr President. Will there be anything else?" Tseng asked, the cellular phone making his voice sound tinny and far away.
The computer screen before him wavered, his tired eyes refusing to focus. Raising a hand, he rubbed at them, needing to put in at least one more hour before going to bed. The celebration had lasted longer than he’d thought, and although he’d only had a drink or two, he was willing to swear right now that Reno must have spiked them. Scribbling out a note to himself to dock the man’s pay, he leaned back in his chair with eyes closed.
“Nothing else for tonight, Tseng.”
Closing his cellphone, he let himself doze for a few minutes. Just enough to get back his energy. Then he could see to the rest of the paperwork piled on his desk. A few snatched moments of rest wouldn't hurt anything.
When he opened his eyes, he found himself standing in the middle of a rustic road that was little more than wagon wheel ruts. Instead of his cellphone being in his left hand, his fingers closed around empty air. Stumbling back a step, his right hand snaked under his jacket to grasp his gun. The reassuring weight of his shotgun tapped against his other side, held in place within the folds of his longcoat by its hook.
"You look lost."
Rufus snapped around, jerking the gun from its holster and pointing it at the speaker. Before him stood a washed out looking young man, pale blonde hair curling about the man's face with the same faded seeming blue eyes watching him with a fair amount of curiosity. The gun in Rufus' hand never wavered as he snatched another glimpse of the area around him. "Where am I?" he demanded.
The stranger tilted his head thoughtfully. To Rufus, it looked as if he were consulting some limited inner script to see what his next line was. "You're just outside the gates of Muspelheim. You look lost, like the others."
Rufus' cold blue eyes narrowed in suspicion. What was this? A mass kidnapping? Had someone managed to gas his apartment and knock him out, leaving him here? "What others?"
"Oh, the others. They're around. Come on! You need to get inside. There are sometimes things out here."
Rufus slowly put the gun back into his holster. This stranger didn't seem the least bit bothered by the weapon, and Rufus wanted to learn more of these 'others'. If his people were here, he had to find them. They were his after all. "Where is this Muspelheim?"
"Come on. There aren't too many people there yet," his guide replied, either not hearing or choosing to disregard Rufus' question.
Finding himself in the line before the booth, Rufus studied those around him. His guide had fallen strangely silent, standing beside him but looking down the road still as if waiting for others to show up. It reminded him eerily of the holographic greeters at Shin-Ra, unable to do much or answer questions outside their programming. Those the holograms couldn't help were directed towards the information desk. Unfortunately, the scent of body odour wafting from his guide destroyed any illusion that the man was such. At least he had his weapons, and for that Rufus was grateful. Being in a strange place was odd, but unarmed against the 'others' or 'things' that he still had no further information on would be worse. Those around him all looked like his new acquaintance, blonde haired with blue eyes and thin pale skin. If he had some of their odd clothing, he might be able to pass for one of them if necessary.
"Who are these others that you've seen?" Rufus asked, determined to get some kind of answer as his mind clicked along on a plan of action. "What 'things' did you mean were out there?"
"Oh look! You're next! Make sure you get a journal," was the too cheerful answer. With a wave, the strange man turned away, headed back down the road and away from the city.
Gritting his teeth and reminding himself that shooting someone in the back would probably require many hated charity events to make up for, Rufus turned to face the smiling woman at the desk.
"Welcome to Muspelheim!" she began, handing him what looked like a small computer and various leaflets. Seconds later, he found himself pushed through the gate with the golden flames on it and standing in the middle of what appeared to be a place that time forgot. Cars were absent, the usual metal surroundings and high rises of Midgar absent from this pastoral scene. There didn’t seem to be a single antenna in sight.
If this was a drugged/drunken fantasy, Rufus was promptly shooting whoever was responsible (probably Reno). If it wasn't... if it wasn't then he was going to need to adapt quickly. The first order of business was finding out if any of the others were in this place or not.
Content: Rufus arrives and isn’t happy.
Setting: Muspelheim gate
Time: Afternoon
Warnings: None
"And Tseng, send Reno to meet with Reeve. Those two seem to have no difficulties with each other. I want the public assured that we are no longer using Mako and Reeve is the one that can convince the World Regenesis Organization of just that. I'll require yourself and Elena for a PR event in the morning at nine o'clock sharp."
"Yes, Mr President. Will there be anything else?" Tseng asked, the cellular phone making his voice sound tinny and far away.
The computer screen before him wavered, his tired eyes refusing to focus. Raising a hand, he rubbed at them, needing to put in at least one more hour before going to bed. The celebration had lasted longer than he’d thought, and although he’d only had a drink or two, he was willing to swear right now that Reno must have spiked them. Scribbling out a note to himself to dock the man’s pay, he leaned back in his chair with eyes closed.
“Nothing else for tonight, Tseng.”
Closing his cellphone, he let himself doze for a few minutes. Just enough to get back his energy. Then he could see to the rest of the paperwork piled on his desk. A few snatched moments of rest wouldn't hurt anything.
When he opened his eyes, he found himself standing in the middle of a rustic road that was little more than wagon wheel ruts. Instead of his cellphone being in his left hand, his fingers closed around empty air. Stumbling back a step, his right hand snaked under his jacket to grasp his gun. The reassuring weight of his shotgun tapped against his other side, held in place within the folds of his longcoat by its hook.
"You look lost."
Rufus snapped around, jerking the gun from its holster and pointing it at the speaker. Before him stood a washed out looking young man, pale blonde hair curling about the man's face with the same faded seeming blue eyes watching him with a fair amount of curiosity. The gun in Rufus' hand never wavered as he snatched another glimpse of the area around him. "Where am I?" he demanded.
The stranger tilted his head thoughtfully. To Rufus, it looked as if he were consulting some limited inner script to see what his next line was. "You're just outside the gates of Muspelheim. You look lost, like the others."
Rufus' cold blue eyes narrowed in suspicion. What was this? A mass kidnapping? Had someone managed to gas his apartment and knock him out, leaving him here? "What others?"
"Oh, the others. They're around. Come on! You need to get inside. There are sometimes things out here."
Rufus slowly put the gun back into his holster. This stranger didn't seem the least bit bothered by the weapon, and Rufus wanted to learn more of these 'others'. If his people were here, he had to find them. They were his after all. "Where is this Muspelheim?"
"Come on. There aren't too many people there yet," his guide replied, either not hearing or choosing to disregard Rufus' question.
Finding himself in the line before the booth, Rufus studied those around him. His guide had fallen strangely silent, standing beside him but looking down the road still as if waiting for others to show up. It reminded him eerily of the holographic greeters at Shin-Ra, unable to do much or answer questions outside their programming. Those the holograms couldn't help were directed towards the information desk. Unfortunately, the scent of body odour wafting from his guide destroyed any illusion that the man was such. At least he had his weapons, and for that Rufus was grateful. Being in a strange place was odd, but unarmed against the 'others' or 'things' that he still had no further information on would be worse. Those around him all looked like his new acquaintance, blonde haired with blue eyes and thin pale skin. If he had some of their odd clothing, he might be able to pass for one of them if necessary.
"Who are these others that you've seen?" Rufus asked, determined to get some kind of answer as his mind clicked along on a plan of action. "What 'things' did you mean were out there?"
"Oh look! You're next! Make sure you get a journal," was the too cheerful answer. With a wave, the strange man turned away, headed back down the road and away from the city.
Gritting his teeth and reminding himself that shooting someone in the back would probably require many hated charity events to make up for, Rufus turned to face the smiling woman at the desk.
"Welcome to Muspelheim!" she began, handing him what looked like a small computer and various leaflets. Seconds later, he found himself pushed through the gate with the golden flames on it and standing in the middle of what appeared to be a place that time forgot. Cars were absent, the usual metal surroundings and high rises of Midgar absent from this pastoral scene. There didn’t seem to be a single antenna in sight.
If this was a drugged/drunken fantasy, Rufus was promptly shooting whoever was responsible (probably Reno). If it wasn't... if it wasn't then he was going to need to adapt quickly. The first order of business was finding out if any of the others were in this place or not.