A/N: This is gonna be a long one. Is there a word for how a 1000 word chapter turns into a 3000 word chapter? A Phrase maybe?
Compared to the bustle of the exhibits, the upper floors of Shinra tower were eerily quiet. The tower was so tall that Zidane's ears had popped by the time the elevator had passed the 40th floor and it was still rising further and further up without a single extra stop. "Geez, how tall is this place?" the Genome asked, resting against one of the metal walls "Glad we didn't take the stairs." Zidane commented as the 54th floor flashed past. The ride up had been long and painfully awkward but soon they were at the top floor, the 59th "Well ladies, get ready for anything..." he said, one hand on the blades concealed in his jacket.
"This is the top floor?" Dagger asked as the three stepped out onto the empty marble hallway, looking at the smaller elevators opposite, a green light flickering towards a rarely used set of stairs and a sign with a red H pointing down a narrow corridor "Did we miss the archives on the way up?"
Aerith just looked down at the floor, kicking her heels on the white stone before looking up, trying to recall what memories she had "I... don't remember much, but um... I don't think this is the right one." she admitted, brushing the back of her neck nervously as she spied the smaller pair of doors opposite "Maybe that way?" she suggested with a sigh. Shinra tower was not a co-operative place to get lost in. No floor charts had been pasted to the walls, no signs for important offices in brass plates, not even helpful guards who really just want their shift to be over and won't put too much thought into how the people asking him or her for directions even got there.
"Okay," Zidane called, peeking round the corner "There's an air cab over where the H is pointing to, so if we need to get out fast, maybe we can steal one of those?" He suggested, shrugging his shoulders "So what've we got here?"
"Another lift." Dagger replied with a sigh, pressing the pilfered passport against one of the buttons.
"So they have a lift that leads to a place with nothing but another lift, on our way back can we find the guy who built this place?" Zidane asked.
"No, we can not stop to bash the architect across the head," Dagger grumbled as the whirring machinery kicked in behind the closed metal door "Despite how tempting that would be."
"You said it, not me." The blond whistled as the lift came to a halt, a small bell ringing as the door opened up onto a glowing cityscape beyond the glass cage. Buildings that had towered above them before were barely the size of ants from up in the tower, the Mako reactors lining up on the horizon all emitting the same eerie green glow. The trio took their time, dumbstruck by the scenery laid out before them as Aerith's grip around Dagger's arm became tighter and tighter.
The flower girl's breathing was fast yet heavy, her eyes were squeezed shut as her grip threatened to tear off the queen's limb "I'M SORRY!" Aerith snapped, throwing herself against the metal wall, determined to keep her eyes closed "I'm sorry..." she repeated, softer as tears started to drip down "It's just... it's..." she moaned as Dagger took her by the shoulder pressing herself against the crying Cetra.
"It's coming back," The queen whispered "Hold me, I know what it feels like." To her it had been the destruction of Madain Sari that her adventures had forced her to confront time and again, for Aerith whatever Shinra had done to her was rubbing her just as raw if not worse and she was confronting this in her first week attempting to be an adventurer.
As much as Zidane felt like a heartless git for just thinking it, he knew that now they were at least somewhat on the right track, even if the memories were painful they were all they had for a guide right now. Hesitating by the lit up controls, waiting for at least a nod from Dagger or something from Aerith that signalled that she was good to continue he spoke out "There's a lot less floors on this one. Just nine more, we could probably check them one by one... if that's okay." He suggested, trying to control his voice to imply that they didn't have to press on tonight, now they knew what they were doing.
Dagger turned to him with a despondent look, her sleeve being used a handkerchief but she was pushed aside as Aerith stood up straight, her hands balled into fists and her face a scowl of defiance "T-then what are we waiting for?" She asked trying to steady her own voice "I'll be... I'll be okay, I just won't look out. It's just another lift, like the last one. Only smaller and with glass on every side."
"Just another lift." Zidane confirmed before hitting the button to send the three further up the tower, taking time at every floor to poke his head out to see if there was anything interesting while Aerith took deep breaths. It was slower progress and the first two floors weren't anything useful, a bunch of hallways with a few guards and an indoor garden area respectively but the 62nd floor held the library, or at least, had a library. 4 rooms with four bookcases each paled in comparison to the Royal Library in Alexandria but at least it was a start.
"At least they're in languages we can read." commented Dagger as she traced her fingers over the book spines for what was supposed to be Scientific and Historical documents according to the shelf labelling but had been replaced by a seemingly random assortment.
"Speak for yourself." Zidane groaned as he threw yet another useless tome behind him. If someone hadn't cared enough to put the books in the right place he wasn't going to care enough to put them back. It was so full of industrial design jargon that even if he could read the words they wouldn't mean anything to anyone who hadn't invented the terms, and probably didn't mean anything to who that person was anyway.
Aerith was taking solace in the calmer room even as books bounced around behind her, slowly flicking through the pages of research on the Cetra throughout history, reading what she could about people like her in years gone past. It was weird but comforting, seeing how others before her could hear the planet, see the lifestream flow through even the smallest things, thinking about how many before her had woken up, not being sure what was going on or who was talking in the middle of the night. Humming to herself as she read about the journeys The Ancients would take across the lands, cultivating life wherever they went and thinking about her own flower patch in the slums while a soft smile grew. Although she didn't get what the 'promised land' was, it seemed neat and something to talk about with Zidane and Dagger... who had been reading along over her shoulder with her without her noticing. "Don't sneak up on me like that!" she yelped, fumbling with the book in a desperate attempt to keep it secret.
"Whoa, whoa, relax~" Zidane chuckled, tripping back into one of the bookcases as his Queen chuckled at him "Ow..."
"Serves you right for not tidying up." She said, handing the blond the book he'd tripped on.
"Alright, alright, I'll put 'em back," He groaned, shoulders slumping as he pushed the book back on the shelf above him, only for it to fall out and land back on his head, causing a wave of giggles that Aerith joined in on. "Geez, the-" he paused, checking the book title "-Jenova Project does not want to go back on the shelf." He groaned, actually turning around to put it back properly, only for it to slip back out and land on his tail with a yelp, the giggles turning into full laughter at the Genome's misfortune.
"What even is this?" He asked himself, opening the book in frustration and half-tempted to throw it at a wall or out of a window. Although a book at this height could hurt someone on the way down.
"I thought you'd read it like the rest of them." Aerith said, pointing to the discarded pile of books and using the most liberal definition of "Read."
"Nah, this was from your shelf I think," Zidane explained "With the other stuff on... Ancients..." he trailed off, eyes catching some details "They found one trapped in ice?"
"What? Where?" Aerith jumped, swinging herself around to take a good look at what Zidane was reading.
"Doesn't say. The location's been covered over with black ink," He replied, closing the tome and pushing it back onto the shelf, kicking up a small amount of silver dust as it managed to stay on the shelf for once "Nothing about it in your book?" the blond asked.
"Nope," Aerith answered, shaking her head "It just talks about the really old ones and stops about 100 years ago."
"But if they found an Ancient in ice after that..." Zidane began, plotting out the train of thought in his head "Forget it, we'll find out more when we hit the labs."
Leaving the library after making a token tidying effort, the trio resumed their ascent. While Aerith still preferred to face the wall rather than the skyline but for now her breathing was a lot calmer as they passed a few floors that didn't seem to have anything useful but as they reached the 66th floor and dismissed it as nothing useful, they found a bigger problem. The keycard that had gotten them up so far was no longer causing the lift to respond. "Try putting it in the other way." Aerith suggested as Dagger held the door open to avoid trapping them.
"It's not working," Zidane complained, twisting the plastic rectangle as many ways before conceding defeat and leaving the lift "So... now what?" he asked as they walked the new corridor "There's stairs over there but they were locked on the other floors with the card as well. If we can't use the lift-"
"Then we find a new key," Dagger finished, as the three walked around to the bathrooms "By chance or by force."
"No problem," Zidane nodded while Aerith's mouth gaped open. She clearly did have a problem "But before we go looking for one, can we take a break first? Bathroom's right here and that champagne must have been cheap stuff 'cause it's going right through me."
"All Right." Dagger agreed, as Zidane disappeared into the bathroom, leaving Aerith to stare at the queen with wide eyes.
"By force?" She repeated.
"Only if necessary and nothing too bad. Perhaps someone gets tied up in towels and locked in a small room for a few hours." The Queen assured Aerith who might have been all aboard the adventure train and throwing fire when it was semi-robotic monsters, but was hesitant to give the same treatment to people, especially when she didn't know how much they did or didn't deserve being set on fire.
Surprisingly, Zidane's head popped back out from around the door "Hey, ladies? Could you check this out with me here?" He asked
"Zidane, it's a toilet. What's there to check out?" Dagger asked back.
"I want to know if it's just me or are there voices coming through the vents." Zidane answered honestly before they piled in to one of the stalls underneath the loose vent, low murmurings and a cold breeze flowing down.
"Not just you then." Dagger admitted as Zidane scrambled up on top of the toilet in the tight fit, knife in one hand as he began to loosen the screws and pull the grate aside.
"Already kinda loose..." Zidane pondered before jumping up into the vents with grace and ease "Anyone want a hand up? Looks like this leads back to that big meeting room." he offered, hanging upside down above the toilet stall.
"Um... why would we want to do that?" Aerith asked, awkwardly pressed up against the stall wall while Dagger was hoisted up into the ducts.
"Because some important people are talking and they might have another key we can take," Zidane explained "Besides, who knows what these guys talk about behind closed doors, might be important. Come on."
"Okay then... just what happens if we get found?" Aerith asked reaching her hands up for the genome to pull.
"Then we're repair crew who were at the party downstairs but got called up because someone saw a monster in the vents and we didn't have time to change. Say it fast enough with enough confidence and you'll be out the door before people start calling out 'hey you' and calling an alarm."
The vents were large enough for the three of them to comfortable crawl along, Dagger taking the initiative and crawling through despite the dress while Zidane took in the view and followed behind. As expected the vents passed over another grate in the main meeting room, overlooking a dark haired man in a dark blue suit at a large table with some sort of model structure in front of him among pages and pages of notes, looking as though he was trying to sort them out before he was interrupted by three new arrivals: President Shinra, Dio and their bodyguard Rude "How many times have I told you to keep better track of that keycard when I give it to you?" The president demanded of Dio in a huff "Has that damn thing been disabled yet?"
"Yes sir, the card has been removed from the authorization list." The man in shades answered in a level tone.
"Well at least someone other than me cares about security in this damn place! Can we see if anyone took it? Someone was using one of the executive lifts here and if we've got an infiltration problem because of that exhibit-" The blond man ranted, pacing his way to the head of the table without giving the man there a glimpse of recognition.
"Relax will you," Dio said "It's just one of those things, Rude here says it's not a problem any more so it's not a problem!" He justified.
"It's only one of those things around you it seems," The stout man growled, pulling a cigar from his pocket and lighting it, the smoke trailing up into the vents "Reeve! What do you have for us?" he barked out at the man already at the table.
"Ah, well," Began Reeve, startled by the president's foul mood "Going on from Mr Dio's sketches provided to us and the various planning proposals considered..."
"Get to the point will you? What's with the metal tree?" Dio asked, taking a casual seat next to the president.
"Right," coughed Reeve, pushing aside a thick pile of notes "This is the current prototype for the 'Golden Saucer' recreational and tourism facility. As you can see here and here," he explained, pointing at the various parts with his pencil "The park is divided into several sections and surrounded by a gondola track that grants visitors views of the facility along with any firework and light shows. There is a small theatre section that can be rented out for plays, or musical concerts. A hotel on site although I'm not sure about the haunted house theming..."
"What's wrong with it?" Asked Dio defensively "There's enough to do that people won't even need sleep!"
"...Quite. Moving on we have the Chocobo race track reaching between the main column and this section here, the paddock being located in the centre column as it makes moving the birds into the facility easier." Reeve continued.
"I hope this is all up to your standards, Dio." President Shinra commented, receiving a beaming smile and a thumbs up from the massive man in return.
"However, beyond the materials and the financing required," Reeve interjected "There is the matter of location to decide on. As the projected power requirement is so large, that means a Mako reactor. Fortunately due to the set up of the underwater reactor at Junon, the older model in the plains is unused. Due to it's close proximity to two major cities I suggested renovating the old reactor and building the Gold Saucer there." He concluded with a satisfied smile, only to be met with a small contemplating scowl from Dio. "Something wrong?" Reeve asked in confusion.
"...'s not much of a holiday, is it?" Dio complained.
"Pardon?"
"I mean, it's so close to the big cities you could see Midgar from the top. No-one wants to see where they work when they're on their hols."
"So where do you suggest? Costa Del Sol?" Reeve asked in an exasperated voice.
"Nah, it'll ruin the beach," Dio replied, missing Reeve's tone completely "How about here?" He asked, pointing at a map of the Western Continent "Gone-Gaga's the middle of nowhere and they've got a reactor. Why not use that one?" He suggested, butchering the name of the village.
"The geology of the area isn't suitable for large scale construction and furthermore there are already people-" Reeve argued to no avail.
"Or how about here? Edge of the mountain range, Nibelheim couldn't even guess how great it'll be for them."
"No." Was the reply, this time from President Shinra.
"Okay then, how about Corel? Good distance from the coast, probably a day trip out from Costa Del Sol as well." Dio suggested with a beaming smile in sharp contrast to Reeve's growing grimace.
"There are already people living there!" Reeve growled.
"Gentlemen, this is going nowhere," President Shinra concluded, blowing out a ring of smoke before grinding the cigar stub into an ashtray "An opportunity for a prime location will... reveal itself eventually."
"Oh!" Dio perked up "What about when you find the Promised Land? You could build it there!" He joked to the general shock of the eavesdroppers, Dagger mouthing the words back to Aerith who nodded furiously "Ha, like the place even exists. Spent thirty years trying on and off as well."
"Professor Hojo assures us that it is possible with the right resources." President Shinra sighed, clutching the bridge of his nose between his fingers.
"And it's possible to find where I dropped that keycard with the right resources too," Dio joked "Could be worse, could have lost that Summon materia as well."
"Y-you brought a Summon Materia? Here?!" Reeve yelped.
"Calm down, It's safe. I've got it right here!" Dio declared, patting himself on his side pocket, first with confidence, and then without "It should be here..." the massive man grumbled to the collective groan of everyone in the conference room. Even Rude.
"You brought a destructive magical item into the building on your person and then you lost it!?" Reeve gasped, resisting the urge to smash his face against the table.
"Oh I'm always losing that bloody thing, dropped it in the Chocobo stables last time!" Dio joked nervously as Rude touched his earpiece, mumbling something about increased checks.
"I cannot believe this..." grumbled Reeve as the three eavesdroppers shuffled back to the bathroom, hoping that their spying went unnoticed.
"Well that was more info than the library," Zidane grunted as he slid the vent cover back. "Too bad I didn't know he had special materia on him, would have taken that as well." he mused before being confronted by a glowing red orb in an outstretched palm.
"You mean this?" Aerith asked, with a degree of pride in her voice before turning to Dagger and offering it to her "I picked it up while you were looking at the crown... it fell out of the big guy's pocket and it looked important."
"For me?" Dagger asked, faintly, taking the orb in her own hand and feeling a brief jolt as a spark ran across it.
"Well, you were really good at using magic even if it gave you headaches so I thought this might be different because it was red."
"I..." the queen began, failing to find the words as Zidane put a hand on her shoulder.
"Summon materia. See Dagger? Told you you'd get them back no problem." He said, pulling her in for a side hug. Letting her pocket the orb with a smile.
"Thank you Aerith, I... I'll find a way to repay for this."
"But first we have to finish what we started." the flower girl said, wagging a finger.
"Right, too the labs!" Dagger declared, pointing at the door with determination, just in time for an exhausted looking Reeve to walk in.
"Who are you, and why are you all in the bathroom?" He asked, a plastic rectangle stuffed in his breast pocket "If you're on break use the ones downstairs." the executive continued in the face of growing smiles from the young man and both the ladies "Or are the ones on floor 64 broken again?"
It was a shame, of all the people they could have met, it was one of the ones who arguably didn't deserve to be tied and gagged. "No hard feelings!" Aerith called back as the three strolled out into the corridor, keycard safely in hand.
Soundtrack Selection
Aerith's memories: FFIX OST - Dagger's Recollection
Shinra Tower, Executive floors: Yakuza 0 OST - Money Makes Money
Eavesdropping: Persona 5 OST - The Days When My Mother Was There