Under A Steal Sky; FFVII A Rufus Shinra HEA

Protecting Assets

Rufus;

The scientist, the one I personally picked out, was studying Taya's blood. Because of his studies on DNA and gene mapping. Explaining to me about my wife, which was now completely official in the public's eye as the wedding ceremony itself took place weeks ago. There were people the Cetra called the Sentinels, people born with great powers. When he first began researching her DNA it lead him to a part of the world yet unknown to us. I funded a dig almost three years ago, to see what could be found based on her DNA. What was found was a great temple to them, a temple that showed them falling from the stars and mixing with the indigenous people. There was also information on Jenova, that she was a star scourge that made the people ill. There were murals depicting the Sentinels creating the mako that ran throughout the planet. This temple was everything as it explained the origin of the ancients birthed from a union between a Sentinel and the normal human population. Its murals explained how mako was renewed, because when people returned to the planet a part of them fed the mako reserves. Keeping the mako flowing, and with each new life the mako reserves grew bigger and bigger. As I finally read the reports on the findings, the promise land was Gaia according to the temple to the Sentinels. Their gift was to become apart of the planet joining our ancestors, in protecting our home by becoming apart of the mako. All of this information perfectly preserved in the desert buried in sand, sealed for thousands of years. We were fools to build reactors to burn it. I realized then I wanted to be the man I saw in Taya's eyes and that man would find a different way, instead of continuing with the reactors. I was studying all the documents when Dr Solaris came in. "Ah, Mr. Shinra your looking at our findings on the temple. It's everything a scientist could wish for, the ancients documented them perfectly. If your father had known perhaps he might have been less inclined to burn mako." "No my father was a simple man, he has always gone for the easy way. I'm sorry he probably would have destroyed the temple to keep it's knowledge a secret. It's the reason I kept it from him, to protect it." "Ah! So I also analyzed your wife's DNA and your daughter's it's so genetically perfect to the original Sentinels it unrealistic. It's as if they've never intermixed with the other human beings here. And well that just theoretically impossible! My findings are in my report, as always you are the only one who has a copy." "Thank you Dr Solaris, I will have to ask you, that if a certain Dr ask you about your findings...." ".... Of course, my findings are inconclusive, and I've found nothing substantial in their blood. And as far as anyone else is concerned the temple gave us nothing substantial in new information." I left for home, but not before reading and destroying the paper copy of the DNA report. The computer copy encrypted and locked behind a firewall on my personal computer. I also locked the findings on the temple in a hidden safe in the floor that only I knew existed. I didn't want Heidegger, Scarlet, or Hojo finding anything on her or the temple. He was right it was as if her, and Isa's bloodlines never mixed with the known bloodlines of our planet. I made my way home, that evening after working to putting things right after my father's death. I had spoken with Tuesti about tearing down Midgar. Or perhaps changing our power source, using a more sustainable energy source. He voiced that Heidegger and Scarlet wouldn't like that, with my answer saying I didn't care. "Remember Tuesti it's my company I decide what happens to it." I was also considering shutting down all science labs putting an end to Hojo's and Scarlet's research. Ending the pretense of war with wutai, unless they wanted another war. In that case then I would oblige them.

I entered my home awhile later. To the greeting from Isa. "Daddy your home mommy is making dinner. Will you play with me?" I couldn't believe how this child had me, even without being blood related. I couldn't picture my life without her or her mother in it. It was as if I was always meant to be Taya's husband and Isa's father. "Later Isa I'm going to help mommy, okay?" "Okay you can read me two bedtime stories, instead!" Little extortionist, and she was just getting started. "Hey Taya what can I do?" "Oh Rufus would you like to grill the steaks instead of me putting them in the skillet?" "Sure that actually sounds really good tonight, did you get something else for Isa? She won't eat the steak since she found out where it came from." "Yes, although I'm still mad at Rude for telling a three year old that! I got her some vegetable meatballs, so she should be fine." We cooked in silence me coming back and forth checking the steaks on the grill. "Taya we need to talk because something isn't making sense, I'm hoping you can explain. Your DNA isn't like anyone else on the planet, but that can't be because that would mean you shouldn't exist." She was quiet and began to withdraw from me. "No I won't let you do that again. You did this before, right before you left me. Tell me what's got you so afraid, why do you shut down sometimes?" She fidgeted a bit and finally spoke. "Maybe we should speak after dinner once Isa in bed, it'll be easier to explain then." We ate sometime later Isa chatting away, about playing with the kids in the park near the house." I'm thinking of setting up a school for the children here they need some form of schooling." "That's a wonderful idea Rufus." I put Isa to bed, and found Taya in my office. She began to tell me the story of why she was different. I was incredulous about what I was hearing. It couldn't be possible, her, her uncle Dane, her bio parents, even Isa if she had been born there, the victims of something called genocide! Based on their genetic background! Her kind outlawed and under execution orders. None allowed to live past three years old. Killed on the spot after a genetic scans showed they carried the active genes. How could a government do such a thing. When she got to the part where her bio-parents ran with the others to save her life. "If you're uncle Dane carried the gene too why wasn't he executed?" "Dane was, what's called the dormant gene carrier. Those were sterilized at sexual maturity at 13, but allowed to live. It may have changed to all with the gene dying. But my home planet went dark, a sunflare killing all who lived there." "So Sentinels did originally come from the stars? We found a temple in their honor, your genetic code lead us there. It's the reason I wanted Aerith, and it wasn't to hand her over to Hojo either. I wanted her as far removed from the situation in relevance to you. If he was able to get ahold of your DNA and compare it with hers, he and my father could have been a problem. Because I would've deny them any access to you even if it meant hiding you from them." Hearing I would go against my father for her surprised her. "The temple must be to the lost settlers. They were looking for a home for our kind. Everyone wondered what happened to them, but it was so long ago when space travel was sill very young. Everyone thought they were lost to us." She said that she would take me to where they crashed. She also showed me that she had other little quirks like the Sentinels of old even item placement. "I don't use it so I'm not super strong with it." "I would like you to train this, this could be defensive and you could use it to protect yourself, Isa, and any children we have as a last resort. We keep the rest between those that already know. I also want to see this runner of yours." "I really thought you'd want to turn me over to Hojo for testing. I'm different so I thought you might want to find out why." "After that one time you almost died from your allergy I realized how much I actually cared for you. That got me thinking how could I live without you. I almost killed Hojo because of you. Because he almost took away the one person who meant the world to me! Tseng stopped me telling me that, blocking all access to you would be the better punishment. I destroy all your test results! Only myself, and Dr Solaris know anything about you. Even the temple of the Sentinels we've hidden all the information on it, we're getting ready to publish all the findings. It's late we can talk about this later." I lifted her into my arms carrying her to our room. I undressed her then myself. She was so willing to take me into her, accepting of me even though I wasn't truly worthy of her. She softly whispered, "I hope that you plant your seed so deeply inside me it takes root. I more than anything want to feel our child growing inside me." "I am so undeserving of you." My body burying itself inside her's, and her's meeting every pleasurable stroke. Her body tighting around me, trying to take every bit of me into her. We fell into an exhausted sleep after. I woke up to feeling her hands, teasing me bringing me back to my peak. "You'll be sore!" "That's okay I want you! Let's do it again, please?" She didn't need to ask, as I was once more inside her giving her my love in physical form. Trying to create another human being.

Weeks pass and we realize that Sephiroth is after something called black materia. I had decided to explain to Taya about Jenova. That and, we needed to find him, and stop him. "She's invasive DNA, I remember a story about something similar. She comes to a planet and pretends to be their friends. Then she begins to subvert the DNA of the plants and animals then the people. Making them apart of her so she can devour their life essence, so she can become a God. I think the Cetra saw this and took her out. Your scientists used her DNA not knowing didn't they." "Does the story say anything else about her?" "Only this, that if she comes to your planet take her head and burn the body! That this is only a piece of her. This was a boogie man story to scare little kids. Dane was evil in telling me it." I laughed he sounded more like a brother, than and uncle. I sometimes wished I was closer to my brothers. But in father's eyes they were unworthy bastards. And according to him bastards didn't deserve our time or support! "I do have a question, how long have your people had space travel?" "Thousands of years maybe, I know that the lost settlers left our planet three thousand years ago. I think maybe it's more, mom said that light travel was much more recent. As it would take generations to reach somewhere else before it, now it'll take a few hours to a few days. I don't know for sure everything about it, only what little she covered in my school lessons." It was then I got serious knowing I needed to go. "I have to go, I have to stop him, he's Shinra's responsibility. We created him, so it's our job to keep him from hurting people." "Rufus Shinra you are a good man, and I love you for trying to be better for me. So if you have to go please be careful, and let me take Isa to stay somewhere else. We're your heirs and I believe Heidegger and Scarlet would use us to take control of your company." "Ours!" I corrected she was right about that. If anything was to happen, they would use my wife and child to take control. I could take Tseng, Elena and Cissnei, leaving Reno and Rude as guards for them. I needed to protect my most important assets, my family! "I'm leaving Reno and Rude with you and Isa, listen to me Taya you do exactly what they say and when they say. Tuesti will be in charge of everything, but I will make it where he'll need your vocal recognition to approve any changes from normal business." I called in every Turk on my payroll explaining my plans. Reno and Rude would go ahead of myself, Taya, and Isa to the Shinra mansion in Nibelheim. I explained to them that if for any reason, they feel that they were in danger, to move them swiftly and at random. "I'm trusting both of you to keep my family safe. Taya maybe pregnant, so please do everything you can to protect them." I would let it be known my family was going to the seaside. When they would actually be traveling with myself in secret. I would take them to the mansion in Nibelheim, then continue on to intercept Sephiroth.

Taya;

I packed our things and made a big deal of leaving. Reno taking us in a car. Which wasn't us, but a woman and child that looked a little like us. Something Rufus decided as a way to hide where we were going. So it added another layer of protection. "I have everything we need. Does the house have everything we'll need for our stay there?" "Yes I've called ahead saying I'll be stopping, and staying there on my way north. I'll be sure you have everything you need while we're there." Two days later we sat in the dark limo, keeping me and Isa hidden from view. "Daddy we're going out?" "Yes Isa we're going out." He was always so good with her. I didn't think he would even be accepting of her, but she was his little princess. Six hours later we came into Nibelheim. I saw the Shinra mansion for the first time it was huge. Nothing like our house or the penthouse this place would never feel like our home. "There are rules for staying here. The basement is off limits I've locked it down, so no one can get in there anyway. Try not to be seen to often by outsiders the people of the village are safe. Let Rude or Reno know if you need anything and they will get it. I'll be here for two days then I'll be off. Until then I want to spend as much time with my wife and daughter." We spent the days being a family and the nights as a couple locked in each other's embrace. The day he was to leave I was breaking, because of this feeling I was having. Something was coming and it was going to happen. I held Rufus until he had to go. "I promise to bring him back to you. I will do everything in my power to bring him home." "Thank you Tseng, I know you'll try, but you and Elena should be careful too! Promise me all of you no risks." "We're going to the temple of the ancients it should be fine. Although having the ancient herself would have been helpful." "Rufus she's on her way there too with Cloud and the others." "You know this how?" "Those shadow things, they whisper to me, and Isa. They say to help Cloud, but some said don't help him. Help Aerith she'll stop him. I think she's going to die Rufus, I don't want her to die. It feels like she's has to....." I trailed off when he kissed me. "If I have any say in it I'll try to keep her from dying okay. Now I have to go I'll be back for you so don't get used to sleeping alone."