From the way Lucrecia had talked about this place, he had expected something entirely different. Grand, beautiful, perhaps a cloud-free sky and borderline Paradise. But instead, Midgar is dreary, dull, dingy place. There is graffiti everywhere, riff-raff running around and doing as they please, and don't even get him started on the degree of pollution.
The air is rife with the scent of decay. Even the people seem to be hollow—even more so than him. Everything they want or need is handed to them on a silver platter, he supposes, with no reason to complain or, well, even think. No wonder this is an empire of sorts.
Instant gratification, keeping the masses at your beck and call since the dawn of time.
Momentarily, Vexen has to wonder how such a bright mind in Lucrecia happened to be nurtured in this dull-gray world where everything is done so as to prevent free thought. Outside of passing laws, it seems.
Oh, wait. That's why.
He's staring at a world map, and he realizes that, while the world is called Midgar, it's only named after the capital city. There are smaller towns beyond it, and he begins to memorize the names. Kalm, Wutai, Costa del Sol, Rocket Town, Nibelheim…
The last one causes something in him to tighten up. He most definitely knows that name. Lucrecia used to go on and on about that town, and how she really loved the hills just outside it. She'd called it beautiful, and there had always been a dreamy look in her eye.
He shakes the thoughts in his head, and instead begins to walk toward the large, imposing building in the distance. The large words across its front tell him that this is his destination if he's to look for Lucrecia.
~*~
"I'm looking for someone."
The receptionist looks up, fake smile plastered across her face. She blinks in question, as if she's confused on his request. He gives an exasperated sigh. Are the desk employees of this 'great empire' really so brainless?
"I am looking for someone. Understand?"
She smiles, and the clak-claking of keyboard keys fills a momentary void. Finally, she looks back up to him, still with that fake smile. He's really starting to hate it, and she hasn't even spoken yet. This does not bode well.
"Name of employee, please?"
Oh, good. She doesn't seem to be entirely daft, or at least it doesn't show in her voice. That's at least a relief. Now, hopefully, she won't mess such a simple thing as an employee search up.
"Lucrecia Crescent."
He states it matter-of-factly, and is greeted once more by the clak-clak-clak of fingers on keys. There's a moment of silence, a brief look of confusion flashing through dark eyes, and then more of the infernal sound. If this place weren't so quiet and oddly sterile in contrast to the outside of the building, he'd not be nearly as aggravated.
"…I'm sorry, but there has never been a ShinRa employee by that name."
…What? Vexen can only blink, absolutely bewildered by this news. She had worked with ShinRa; he knows it, because he can recount the entire inside of this very lobby from what she'd told him in the past. He's not going to stand for this.
"Perhaps you're looking in the wrong area, you blundering moron. She was one of the lead scientists on the Deepground project." Vexen says, resting clenched fists on the desk. The woman suddenly seems aware that the temperature is dropping, and she does another quick search.
"…I'm sorry, but there are no records of such a project. Please, fill out a yellow inquiry form and we will contact you as soon as we can." A rehearsed line and it only proves to annoy him further. In fact, there's ice forming at his fingertips.
"I would like to speak to whoever is in charge, as I do not take well to finding out that my significant other is missing. If you don't connect me with someone higher up than a lowly information desk worker, well… It's your choice, now, isn't it?"
Suddenly, an alarm is blaring. The lobby is being evacuated, the sounds of a quiet panic rushing to his ears. He really needs to learn to watch his temper, because it seems he lost it yet again. And now, he's in trouble—not that he can't handle it.
He turns around, preparing for a simple fight against lowly guards—Vexen hardly looks a risk. However, he's quickly greeted by something entirely different. He can feel a small muscle in his forehead, right near his left brow, twitch ever so slightly.
Robots. Why robots? He has no reason to dismantle robots. No, that's something only Xigbar and Xaldin would enjoy. Not him, though. Robots are something he rather despises fighting. Give him flesh and blood, because then he can use his vast repertoire of scientific knowledge to disable his opponent with minimal damage to both of them.
But, no. He's given Darkness-damned robots.
With an aggravated groan not unlike the one given before, his shield is called up and he's very quickly defending from fiery blasts. He returns fire with Blizzaga spells, quickly reducing said annoyances to nothing more than scrap metal.
With them dispatched, he shoots a rather annoyed grin back at the woman at the desk. She whimpers, then quickly holds her hands up in surrender. Their first line of defense fell, of course, and rather easily. Best to just go along.
"The ShinRa Science Department, please." he asks in a rather menacing tone. She gives a soft sound of fear, then quickly scrambles to type at her keyboard again. That damned noise again… But he'll deal with it for the moment.
"Th-The ShinRa Electric Power Company's Department of Science, led by one Professor H-Hojo, is on Floor Sixty-Seven and is accessible from the normal elevator!" she quickly recounts. With a nod, Vexen banishes his shield and heads off to the elevator.
Professor Hojo is in charge, then? So he'll have to speak to him to find out anything about Doctor Crescent. Hopefully, this won't be another battle of the wills.