Grimoire must have dozed off – of which his grandfather would have heavily disapproved – because he awoke the unfamiliar sounds of the urban landscape as he fell off the bench and onto the floor of the vehicle. The teen rubbed his cheek where he had landed and climbed back up to his seat. He could not guess what wonders created such… Loud and quite frankly, obnoxious noises, but he would not admit that he missed the sounds of chirping crickets or night owls. The teenager would not taint the taste of freedom with the bittersweet flavor of homesickness, so he decided that the racket was good and peeled back the curtain on the carriage to unveil the city of Midgar.

He was immediately blinded by the spectrum of lights that erupted from windows, glowing signs, and strange vehicles. Metal beasts growled and hissed as the carriage passed, drivers cursed as they were caught behind his low-tech transportation, and people stared at this city-struck youth as he stuck his entire torso out the window to gawk at the sights. After several blocks, Grimoire realized that he must look like a fool and withdrew himself back into the inner sanctum of the carriage. With his slender fingers, he snatched up a mirror from his luggage and scanned himself for imperfections. His hair had gone completed awry when he lied on the bench to rest, so he ran his hands over this forehead and raked back his raven hair into an expertly quaffed style. He loathed the feel of hair grease in his hands, but his grandfather insisted it look dapper and worthy of a man with Valentine breeding. His cloak had gone eschew and quite wrinkled from the trip. He would have to be sure to change into proper business attire before calling upon the new boss at Shin-Ra.

The driver brought the carriage to a halt and the Chocobos warked to announce the arrival to passers-by. The driver hopped off the front of the vehicle and tottered over to the door to open it. With a slight bob, he swung it open and lowered his head slightly. "This is where I leave you, sir. I'll be sure to stay until you enter the building, but the Head of the House ordered me to report back immediately once you arrived."

Grimoire threw back his shoulders and held his head high as he descended from the carriage with his leather bag in hand. "Of course, do give him my best," the seventeen year old did in his deepest voice. That was one good thing about his aging, he discovered. If nothing else, his voice dropped enough so that he could impersonate an impressive tone. The manservant smiled and wished him luck and he whistled for the Chocobos to move. One of them stomped and turned its head around to look at Grimoire with its huge eyes and warked its disapproval at leaving one of their own behind. The young Valentine urged the Chocobo on, "It's okay," he whispered. "Go on!" Gerard tugged at the reins and prodded the giant bird to starting walking, and in its confusion blinked at Grimoire, but started down the street all them same.

Grimoire watched them leave and then turned to face the man-made monstrosity that towered over him. "Well," he sighed, as he began to climb the stairs to the entrance. "Here goes nothing."

The interior was just as impressive as the outside. Grey marble floors, a grand staircase with violet runners on either side him, and an impressive banner on the wall of the balcony above. He approached the right side stairs, as it appears those were the ones meant to be used to go to the loft above, while its counterpart was for those leaving the building. Grimoire wanted to avoid any mistakes possible, so he glided up to the next floor with the most regal posture he could muster. When he got up to the top, he noticed what appeared to be an information desk in the center and approached it with intention. A young woman about his age and bright honey-colored eyes smiled as he came close. She wore a well-pressed uniform and wore her hair away from her face, Grimoire noticed. "Hello, sir. Welcome to Shin-Ra Electric Power Company. How may I help you?"

Grimoire blinked, caught off-guard by the sound of a high-pitched female voice. He hadn't heard one of those… Ever. Even the women in the Valentine family had deeper voices, or spoke gently and quietly; never had words attacked his eardrums so violently. The young woman stared at him expectantly, and then realized perhaps something was wrong. "Sir?" she began. However, Grimoire regained himself and shook his head slightly. "My apologies, madam. Do you know where I should go to speak to someone from the research department?"

The ginger beamed, "That would be on the 50th floor. If you turn away from this desk and head straight for those doors right there…" She pointed to a pair of chrome doors with a man standing by them. "Yes, the doors where Mr. Crescent is standing. If you follow him into that elevator, just press the button with the number '50' and take a left once you get off, it should be the first door to your right."

Grimoire gave her his thanks and headed for the elevator. The doors opened and allowed the two men inside. His crimson eyes glanced around the small room and realized that the Mr. Crescent to which the receptionist had referred was facing toward the doors that had just closed on them. Grimoire circled back around to do the same and found a large panel with numbers painted on a large group of disks. He went to press the "50," when he realized it was already glowing. "It looks like we're headed to the same place, kid," the man said with a smirk. "Aramis Crescent," he said introducing himself and offering Grimoire his hand to shake. "I work for the Research Division. What brings you here?"

The young Valentine took Aramis' hand and gave it a squeeze, "Grimoire Valentine," he offered back and a cordial nod. "I want to work here to help bring this world into the future." Aramis laughed heartily. "I'm afraid the future will continue on with or without us, kid. The real question is: What are you going to do to change it?" Grimoire paused and considered that for a moment. Damn, how was he going to change it? He hadn't the slightest clue. Aramis' dark eyes twinkled, "Ah, no worries, kid. Most people don't know yet, that's why we're here!" He ran his spidery fingers through his curly mop of auburn hair, "But I'm not the one you have to worry about, it's Dr. Solace you've got to convince you've got something to offer."

Grimoire exhaled with slight relief that he had not completely blown it without having reaching the 50th floor yet. "Dr. Solace?" the teen repeated. "What's he like?" Grimoire hoped this stranger would offer some sort of wisdom, even if he was probably only a few years older and he did not like how this Crescent guy called him "kid." Then again, most people mistook him for someone younger due to his height.

Aramis grinned knowingly, "Ah, Dr. Solace is the brains of the operation. Not a talker, mind you, but you'll be expected to catch on pretty quickly around here if you want to stay longer than most of the hopefuls that pass through here." He rocked back and forth on his heels, making his curls bounce up and down. He glanced down at Grimoire, "But hey, if you last more than a week, you'll be a shoe in!"

Grimoire blinked, "A week?" There was a long silence, "That's how long people last around here?" He could feel the dread seeping into his skin. How shameful it would be to return to the manor after only seven days? His grandfather would disown him, he just knew it. Aramis saw the look of despair etched on the teen's face. "Hey, no worries… 'Grim-war,' was it?" Grimoire nodded and Aramis chuckled, "With an interesting name like that, maybe you've what it takes to survive around here."

The doors finally opened to deposit the two men on the 50th floor. Aramis leaned his head toward the right, "I've got to go that way, but good luck with Dr. Solace, Grim-war Valentine," and with a wave, he was gone down the hallway.

Grimoire faced the opposite direction toward the department door and donned his best business face. He was not about to let some man bully him out of this place. Gripping his bag tightly, Grimoire pushed open the entrance to the Research Department. A bespectacled woman noticed him and glanced in his general direction, "Yes?" she muttered, as she scratched some notes furiously onto a pad of paper.

The heir to the Valentine house straightened, to make himself appear taller than his 5'6" inches. In his best impression of his grandfather, he said, "I'm here to discuss employment here with Dr. Solace." Nothing happened. The silence stretched uncomfortably for Grimoire, but he made sure not to let it show. However, after what seemed like a lifetime, he opened his mouth again to speak. "I would like to - "

"I'm busy, kid," the woman snapped. "Can you not see that? Come back tomorrow." Grimoire bristled, "I'm not leaving until I've spoken to Dr. Solace," he proclaimed.

The blonde woman glared green daggers at him, threw back her chair, and stood right in front of him. Grimoire did his best to conceal his glee that he was taller than this tiny woman and stood his ground, despite the fact that her eyes were casting curses at him. "You've spoken to her," the woman growled. "And she told you she's busy. Come back tomorrow or you'll wish you hadn't come here at all."

Grimoire's crimson eyes widened, "… You?" he breathed. "You're Dr. Solace?"

Her green eyes rolled in their sockets, "You obviously don't know a damn thing about this department. Yes, I'm Dr. Trisha Solace, Head of Research for the Shin-Ra Electric Power Company. Now get out of my office!"

Grimoire swung his leg around and turned a full one-hundred and eighty degrees. "My apologies, madam, I'll be back tomorrow around 14:00." Dr. Solace sat herself down at her desk, "Make that 16:00, unless you want to wait two hours. And bring me a coffee to apologize for being such a sexist piglet." The youth nodded, "Of course, Dr. Solace," but dared not look back at her as he closed the door behind him.

Trisha readjusted her glasses on the bridge of her nose and chortled quietly to herself. "Oh, I doubt I'll be seeing you again."