Amongst the elite, the Shinra building was a symbol of their success and ever growing wealth. A seventy-floor glass and steel monument to the city's excesses. It was in this monolith that Sephiroth hoped to find some answers to the questions buzzing through his brain. His fury of thought in and of itself wasn't worrisome; in fact it was quite normal. It was the nature of his thoughts that were not. Aeris.....her name slid off his tongue so easily. The name did sound familiar to him, though he could not remember the where and when. Why he was so suddenly obsessed over a common flower seller, he himself didn't even know. Though one thing was certain, something in his mind would not be satisfied until he did.
Women. Ever since the first day his promotion to General had been announced, he'd been surrounded by them. The old saw that women wanted him and men wanted to be him applied to his status in the public eye. For the life of him, Sephiroth couldn't understand why. Any number of complimentary adjectives had been attached to his name by both sexes. Compliments meant nothing to him. It was hollow adulation, and he couldn't stand it. They were sycophants, only greasing him up to try and share in the glow of his hard won success.
And what kind of success had he achieved? He'd killed a lot of people. Expanded Shinra's influence. Made widows and orphans in the thousands. Destroyed the economy and well being of an entire culture. Some success. But he did it. He regretted it, now and then, but he still did it.....no questions asked. Why? He hated it, then why did he do it? .......because you like to kill.....a desiccated voice hissed inwardly. He closed his eyes, Shut up....he snapped at it. The voice only laughed hollowly in its strange and bitter tone.
That voice had plagued him of late, in truth it had always been there at the back of his mind. Any negative emotion elicited a comment from that voice. At one time there had been another, and it had been years since he thought of it. He recalled it had never really been voice, only a hum in the back of his mind when he was happy. Over the years that hum had disappeared taking his joy of life with it, and the only voice that remained was the voice of Legion. The voice of the Devil. Always nagging, urging him on to kill, maim and destroy. He'd held it back, ignored it as long as he could, but recently his resolve hadn't been as strong as it once was. Sephiroth snorted, What would my adoring fans think if they knew? The Great Sephiroth, struggling with demonic inner voices....
What would the world think indeed? That under his carefully cool exterior lay a man in constant torment and barely in control of his own sanity. They could say what they wanted about him; call him great....genius.....handsome.....but it all rung false in his ears. He knew what he was. A freak of nature. Abnormally strong and intelligent beyond his years. Easily casting high-level magic men twice his age had difficulty mastering. If that were the only evidence he had, it'd be enough. The naturally white color of his hair made him stand out even further.
Only old men had hair like his. Though, he didn't know what age he might really be, perhaps he was an old man. If so, it'd make his appearance even odder. It was guessed that he was in his late teens to early twenties. Not like the man who called himself father cared either way. Hojo, his "father", had given him the barest details of his early life. His mother's name was Jenova and she had died in childbirth. That was all he knew.
A week straight of painful injections without complaint, that is what it took to get that information. At the time, Sephiroth had wondered if Hojo would even tell him anything at all. The man liked to inflict pain; especially on him....the bargain Sephiroth had negotiated seemed to amuse him. It would have been easy to break his spirit along with his body, but he didn't. Perhaps Hojo liked it better when he screamed.
Sephiroth pushed open one of the glass entrances to the Shinra building. The eerie glow of fluorescent lights painted the main entrance a sickly green tint. It had the effect of making the entire lobby look like one large hospital room. Or perhaps a laboratory.... He shivered with revulsion. This was why he killed? To keep a place of degradation and sin working smoothly, allowing it to subjugate souls one by one till nothing was left. There had to be something more. Something bigger and better than this. His purpose in life shouldn't be to serve the very reason for the world's sickness. Once he had the resources....the answers.....perhaps he wouldn't serve it any longer.
That girl, Aeris, she hid something from him. A vital fact that he needed in his search for something better than what he called this life. What did this girl know.....what was she? The light she exuded, there was something in it he needed. Perhaps it had been that one blessed moment of silence, when he'd gotten close enough to reach out and touch her light. That one moment when that voice had fled in terror, and the hum he'd missed for so long returned. He thought this as he walked through the lobby, all eyes in the room watching as the enigmatic general strode towards the elevators.
Employees visibly moved away from him as he approached. Whether it was awe or fear, or a combination of both, didn't matter in the least to the young man. He was known for his rather unpredictable fits of temper. Sephiroth stood in front of the bank of elevators, choosing one at random and waiting quietly. The other employees who waited near the same elevator relocated to one of the other lifts. No one wanted to be in a cramped space with General Sephiroth. He couldn't help but smile wryly to himself at the irony. Some of these same people, who would stand next to him without fear while he was in the spotlight, couldn't bear to be near him when it wasn't. Wanting him and loathing him at the same time. Sometimes he wondered if it would be better if he'd just let go and give into the voice. yesssssss, you were made to destroy, why do you deny it? I'm more than you want me to be, more than what they want me to be, BE QUIET!
A pleasant bell sounded as his lift became available, the metal door soundlessly opening. Sephiroth entered, his long black trench coat flapping in rhythm with his long strides. Stepping into the elevator, he gazed out the wide glass window and without looking pushed the button for the 62nd floor. The chime went off as the doors closed, though Sephiroth didn't hear it. He was concentrating on his own strange reflection. He'd never liked looking at himself, the face in the mirror a constant reminder of his lack of normalcy. Silver hair draped over dark fabric. He had gone casual that day. Leaving his straps and armor in his apartment, in favor of a simple black silk shirt and black cotton pants, along with his trademark coat. He wanted to blend, if that was possible for one such as he. The whole general get-up would have made it even harder.
The elevator ding had gone off, startling Sephiroth from his reverie. Moving swiftly through the doors before they even opened fully, he walked down the empty hallway to the Shinra library. He didn't even take note of the guard at the entrance, and the guard didn't dare to stop the General and ask him for identification. His boot heels clicked on the shiny surface of the floor, echoing as he moved swiftly down the hall. He entered the public records section, making a beeline for the computer terminal.
Typing fast, he entered the information he wished to search for. Hopefully there were only a few young girls around 15 to 17 with the name Aeris. The computer chugged and hummed, the little hourglass tipping up and down on the screen. Slowly the information requested came up, curiously there was only one matching record and it was not in the public records section. It was in the restricted access library, coded AS-ae-102-T. Sephiroth's eyes narrowed contemplatively. The code was familiar to him; it was used to indicate a file that had anything to do with the Turks and their activities. Damn it. Being the General of the Shinra army he had nearly unlimited access, nearly. The only files he couldn't touch were the Turks. Didn't make a difference. There were things in that file he needed, and he'd be damned if anyone would stop him. Not that anyone could even if they tried.
A few minutes later he broke into the Turk's library, after having knocked out the guard at the door. Sooner or later someone in Main Security would see the unconscious guard on the closed circuit, and he'd be caught. But he'd have what he wanted by then. Flicking on the light, he found the file cabinet he wanted and tore the drawer open, breaking the lock. Long fingers flipped through the files, rapidly viewing each file's numbers as he went. He stopped; fingering gently touching the file he wanted, his eyes gazing at it sharply. Pulling it free, he leafed through the papers inside it. The one on the top was a formal request to the Turks for their assistance in finding the girl.
Request-102 DALV-01 03-28-09
Status-Active
Subject-Female, approx. 12 to 13 yrs. Name unknown.
DOB- 02-07-3293, approx. from science record-GAS-Ifl/Ae-194
Subject Description- Average in appearance. Hair most likely light brown to black. Eyes, unusually bright blue-green. No other defining physical characteristics.
LIV.CAP/DOA- Alive and in good condition
Notes- Subject is requested for testing upon Prof. Hojo's orders. Subject has affinity for all forms of planet-life. Look for subject to have job in horticulture industry. Check flower shops, greenhouses, and nurseries for subjects matching description. Will have success at growing flora in unacceptable growing conditions. Look for reports of vegetation growth in barren areas of city. Subject most likely lives in lower plate and is not a registered resident.
Assigned to--E172621-TSE w/ass. f/m sub.--E173645-REN
Sephiroth read the short document, pulling it out and setting it to the side. He continued flipping through documents. Most of them were progress reports, noting the different leads that had been investigated. He ignored them, flipping continuously until he came to another document that caught his attention.
05-13-09 Addendum to RE-102
Contact has been made with subject. Flower seller possibly residing in Sector 5. Female, name Aeris, last seen in Sec. 5 abandoned church. Subject is known to frequent church, reports indicate unusual growth of vegetation in area. Further tests needed. Science Dept. recommendation--take test sample from specimen J/N-SEPH-01. Subject Aeris is thought to be an ancient. To determine Subject's status, expose to specimen SEPH-01. Subject Aeris should have strong negative reaction to sample. If status is positively identified, capture and return to Shinra HQ--terminate Subject Aeris if identification is negative or undetermined.
Sephiroth paled--specimen SEPH-01--that was his number, the one used on all the science department documents regarding the various tests performed on him. It explained her fear of him to some extent. But why? becaussssse...she knows what you deny, your destiny.....you must destroy her, she stands in our way.....kill her now....SHUT UP! He had to talk to her, he needed to. Because the voice was starting to sound all too reasonable, and he wasn't sure how much longer he could resist its pull. She was the key to silencing that voice. NO! Stay away from her! She only brings trouble......all the more reason for me to seek her out you bitch, now be quiet....He carefully tucked both reports into his coat, turning his head slightly to the door. His ears heard footsteps in the hall, the company he was expecting had finally come.
"Sephiroth? What are you doing in here?"
He turned to regard the man speaking to him, recognizing the leader of the Turks as he stepped into the library. Behind the raven-haired leader were a host of low-level grunts with weapons drawn.
"I was reading......"
"This area is restricted. How did you....."
Sephiroth silenced the man with a look, his jade eyes glowing brightly with malice. He put a hand to his masamune, which he had always by his side. The General closed the gap between them in the blink of an eye, he was so fast that the Turk barely had time to register the movement. Tseng's eyes widened, his mouth opening and closing like a fish gaping for air. He was suddenly eye-to-eye with Sephiroth, and he was afraid.
"...T-th-th-is library is f-for Turk use o-only.... I'm afraid you'll have to l-l-leave...."
"That's funny....I was just on my way out....."
The man pointed to the file tucked underneath his arm, "The f-file....you have one of our files....it can't leave.....Please give it back..."
Holding up the file, he waggled it at Tseng like it was a carrot and he was the jackass. Tseng reached out his hand to take it carefully, all the while afraid of what the General might do. Sephiroth smiled, his face devoid of anything that would resemble joy. He unfurled his fingers, letting the file drop to the ground and scattering its contents. Tseng scowled at him, forgetting his fear momentarily for indignant annoyance. The Turk bent down and began to pick up the errant papers, stuffing them quickly back into their folder. Sephiroth stepped over him, striding confidently out the door and shoving past the guards. He had what he wanted.