Breakdown

Though they could have escaped or fought their way out, Andrew and Aerith agreed to accompany Tseng without a fuss, boarding a military-grade, troop-carrying helicopter bound for Shinra Building, a 70-floor, nearly kilometer-tall megastructure that served as the headquarters of the Shinra Electric Power Company.

Landing on a helicopter pad attached to the 70th Floor's Executive Office, Andrew disembarked with his hands and forearms bound in metal, Mako-powered restraints. Aerith was allowed to move freely, but as Shinra and the Turks knew little about his capabilities, he couldn't be allowed to meet with their President 'uncontrolled.' As such, alongside his bindings, he was flanked by four Turks, a lean man with turquoise eyes and unkept red hair, a tall, bald man with an athletic build, tanned skin, and a goatee, a young woman of short stature with brown eyes and neck length blonde hair that was combed predominately to one side, and the leader of the Turks as a whole, the taciturn-looking Tseng.

"I feel like a celebrity," mused Andrew, causing the red-haired Turk, Reno, to whistle and remark, "This guy's blood must run cold."

"Quiet, Reno," said Tseng, directing a narrow-eyed warning look at the young Turk before looking to Andrew and Aerith, gesturing further along the metal walkway connecting to a set of metal doors, stating, "President Shinra is waiting..."

"If you say so," replied Andrew, doubting the President would personally appear before an unknown threat like himself. With cyborgs like Chadley running around and advanced holograms capable of interacting with their surroundings, it was far more likely he would be meeting the President's body double or something similar.

Accompanied by his escort, Andrew made his way along the walkway and into the building's interior, soon after finding himself in a spacious, climate-controlled room comprised of polished black marble and columns of varnished, black, gold-trimmed wood. A predominately red, black, and gold-trimmed carpet ran from one side of the room to another, connecting its entrance to a large black desk, vaguely shaped like a crescent but with hard edges like a bifurcated decagon. Blue holographic displays lined the desk's periphery, and behind it, seated atop a metal 'throne' adorned with red velvet cushions, was a short, stout, stern-looking man with thinning blonde hair, grey-blue eyes, and a mustache, his body garbed in a faded burgundy suit over a muted green vest and a blue, white-speckled tie.

Following Andrew's 'procession' with his eyes, the man waited until he and Aerith were standing in front of his desk before rising, standing with his hands behind his back as he said, "I welcome you, visitor from another world, to Midgar. It also pleases me to see you in good health, Aerith..."

"I don't 'feel' welcome," responded Andrew, raising his hands to show the metal apparatus binding them.

"Indeed..." muttered the President. However, instead of ordering Andrew's bindings removed, he remarked, "But one can never be too cautious. Until we can verify your claims of being a Prince and Envoy from another world, a certain degree of 'prudence' is unavoidable. You are, after all, conspiring to kill my chief researcher..."

"Fair point," conceded Andrew, smiling as he added, "But, as you can see, I'm not someone that can be bound so easily."

Punctuating his words, Andrew placed the bindings into his Item Box and raised his hands, wiggling his fingers as the surrounding Turks drew their weapons.

Raising his left hand, President Shinra stated, "At ease. If he intended to attack me, he wouldn't have revealed his hand so easily..."

With the Turks standing down, President Shinra returned his hands to the small of his back and asked, "Tell me, Prince Andrew...why have you come to this world? Why conspire to kill my men...?"

Crossing his arms, Andrew asserted, "You know full well how wicked and perverse that man is. But, because of your willingness to do anything to obtain greater wealth and power, you permit him to do as he pleases. To make matters worse, you're so blinded by your ambitions that you can't see how his wanton behavior and research will undermine everything you have built, leaving you, your family, and your legacy as little more than a tragic footnote in history..."

As 'legacy' was everything to a man like President Shinra, so much so that he had commissioned a solid gold statue and had a museum dedicated to himself while he was still alive, hearing Andrew say Hojo would undermine everything he worked for caused the 67-year-old inventor to frown. Shinra had existed for centuries, but it was his efforts that turned the weapons-manufacturing company into the monopolistic powerhouse it had become, pioneering the city of Midgar and dominating the rest of the world in just a few short decades. If someone threatened the legacy he planned to pass to his son, a swift death would be a luxury...

"How, exactly, will Hojo undermine my legacy...?" asked President Shinra, not fully buying into Andrew's words but not dismissing them outright.

"I refuse to believe you're unaware of Hojo's ego and depravity," replied Andrew, adding, "Hojo is a narcissistic megalomaniac who can't stand to be in the shadow of others. His obsession with his legacy is even greater than yours, so do you really think he'll allow his research to remain hidden from the public eye? He should have already implanted his body with the cells of your pet parasite, Jenova. When Shinra invariably collapses under the weight of the sins you try so desperately to keep hidden, he'll siphon what he can of your remaining money and resources before cutting ties or turning against you outright..."

Though it was subtle, Andrew could see President Shinra's jaw clench as his hands, hidden behind his back, tightened into fists. He was well aware of the type of man Hojo was, so he couldn't readily dismiss or refute what Andrew was saying. Hojo was a genuine madman, and the only reason he was 'loyal' was because he needed the company's funding and resources to further his research, not because he cared about their bottom line...

Taking advantage of the President's silence, Andrew, having discussed the matter with Aeirth in secret, added, "If you doubt my words, just turn over Aerith here to him. She is the last remaining Cetra, and you're right in your belief that she can guide you to the 'Promised Land.' However, due to his hatred and lingering feelings of inferiority toward Professor Gast, Hojo will not hesitate to try and subject Aerith to all manner of cruel, inhumane, and intentionally obscene experiments, not caring about her well-being in the slightest. In his mind, Shinra and the planet are fated to be destroyed, so he only cares about serving his personal interests and accumulating as much knowledge as he can before the end."

Furrowing his brows, President Shinra grimly remarked, "You're starting to sound like one of those eco-terrorist nutjobs..."

"And you're an obstinate old man obsessed with his legacy but is actively destroying the world he wants his children to inherit. The saddest part is that you're 'aware' of your actions," contended Andrew, snorting in disdain as he asserted, "That's why you're obsessed with the Promised Land. You have deluded yourself into believing it's a place with an infinite supply of Mako, but the 'source' of said Mako is the planet. There might be areas where it's more concentrated, but you're ultimately drawing from a limited reserve. That's fine with things like oil and coal, but the Lifestream is what gives every living creature on this planet form. You need only look at the vast wasteland surrounding Midgar to see the effects of consuming it as a fuel source..."

As the area around Midgar has been lush and full of greenery a mere 30 years prior, no sensible person could refute Mako's detrimental effects on the environment. The area had been specifically chosen due to its fertile soil, verdant forests, and abundant flora and fauna. Now, if you were to venture outside the city limits, you would need to travel nearly a hundred kilometers to find sparse weeds or grass.

"And what of your world?" asked President Shinra, doing his best to suppress his fury as he said, "To hear you speak, the place you come from must be idyllic, devoid of strife and struggle..."

Shaking his head, President Shinra asserted, "My company has brought prosperity and comfort to millions. Because of my efforts, we have made more advancements in the past forty years than the rest of human history combined. You claim we are killing the planet, but meaningful progress is rarely achieved without sacrifice. If it's true that a planet can be killed so easily, we should do everything we can to spread to other worlds before a single cataclysm makes our entire race extinct..."

Staring into Andrew's eyes, President Shinra's appeared to glow slightly as he stated, "Previously, I believed the only way humanity could endure the ceaseless flow of time is by expanding to space and colonizing other planets. Now that I know independent travel between worlds is possible, I must 'insist' that you divulge your means. Refuse, and once we discover the method ourselves, well—"

Before President Shinra could finish his threat, Andrew, unable to hold himself back, burst out laughing. While it was true that the technology of Final Fantasy VII was miles ahead of the other worlds he had linked, the 'power scaling' of Final Fantasy IX and XIV were 'lightyears' ahead of the technology-dependent superpower. If Garnet showed up and summoned Odin, then the Shinra Building, everyone inside, and most of Midgar would be destroyed before the aging man in front of him could shit himself.

Wiping a tear from his eye, Andrew met President Shinra's glowering gaze and mused, "You have accomplished great things in this world. That much is certain. But, beyond this world, there are dragons with wingspans large enough to envelop the entirety of Midgar, monsters capable of swallowing worlds, and destructive entities capable of annihilating realities. You want to fuck around with inter-dimensional travel? Be my guest. Just try not to piss your pants when you encounter dragons who could comfortably use this little tower of yours as a marital aid."

Fed up with Andrew, President Shinra waved his hand and said, "Capture this buffoon and toss him in a prison cell. I'm sure Hojo would appreciate a new experimental test subject..."

"That's fine by me~!" exclaimed the red-haired Reno, attempting to bash Andrew over the head with his custom stun baton. In response, Andrew grabbed it with his left hand, unphased by the electricity flowing through his body as he said, "Bad move."

Placing Reno's baton into his Item Box, leaving the red-haired Turk wide-eyed, Andrew rematerialized it in his right hand and swung it fast enough to leave a visible trail. Reno managed to evade using, of all things, Haste, but he wasn't the only one with such an ability.

"What the-!?"

Seeing Andrew keep up with his retreat speed, Reno clapped his hands together like a samurai trying to stop a sword but was too slow, the metal of his baton bending and conforming to the shape of his skull as it struck him full force. Lucky for him, Andrew didn't channel any of his Mana into it as, from what he could recall, Reno wasn't truly evil.

As Reno dropped to the floor like a marionette with its strings snipped, a gloved hand attempted to grab him by his collar. Turning around instantly, knocking the hand aside, Andrew found himself face to face with the bald, sunglasses-wearing member of the Turks, Rude.

"Go easy on him...!" shouted Aerith, standing with her arms held by Tseng and the daintiest member of the Turks present, the blonde-haired, brown-eyed Elena.

Though Aerith's shout could be misconstrued as her asking Rude and the other Turks not to hurt Andrew, it was the opposite. Rude was one of the Turks assigned to surveil her, and he had always treated her and the kids in the Slums warmly. She knew they 'had' to beat him, but she didn't think he was deserving of death.

Fortunately for Aerith, Andrew had no intention of killing any of the Turks present. Instead, he dodged Rude's attempts to grab, punch, and kick him with a relaxed smile, toying with the man even worse than when he fought against Tifa. Not because he wanted to humiliate the man, but to buy time for Cloud, Tifa, and Barret to infiltrate the building...

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