And then the meteor, screeching and burning, tore through the Planet's fragile atmosphere and descended upon Midgar. Within seconds, any living thing on the plate was scorched by fire. Then, the metal that made up the city began to twist and give way weakened by intense heat, even as the meteor was halted by a bright white light.
When they finally arrived on the Highwind, Midgar was already either evacuated or incinerated. The top of a Loveless sign was torn off and the rest was slanted precariously, leaving only the accusing stare of a woman down at a crust of ash.
I. Recurrent Dreams
Sephiroth woke before the reveille alarm with a migraine and the dying vestiges of a fleeting, forgotten dream. He pulled up the hems of his sweat-soaked undershirt as he paddled barefoot into the ensuite bathroom.
He had been dreaming more often of late, and the frequency of waking up with a headache had increased. He sleepily contemplated checking in with the Science department but dismissed the thought almost as soon as it formed. The shock of cold marble underneath his feet was a better wake-up call than his internal clock, making any alarm clocks obsolete. The man peeled off his shirt then squeezed company-branded toothpaste ("Shinra White: The brightest start to your day. TM") onto his company toothbrush (Shinra Oral Care: With deep clean bristles! TM") and stuck the entire assembly between his lips before shedding the rest of his clothing. He trudged to the glass waterfall shower and twisted the knob to the exact setting by muscle memory as he bruised his teeth.
Shuffling beneath the high-velocity jets streaming from a stainless steel industrial shower head, Sephiroth untied his hair, held back in a sleep-loosened tail, and thought with an air of self-depreciation, that his morning routines would probably only make him seem almost human.
"Stop. Zoom in and go back three hours." Tseng leaned over the shoulder of the video technician, brow wrinkling as he scanned the screen.
A building staff in the drab clothing of a janitor pushes a cart full of cleaning supplies down a plushly carpeted and brightly lit hallway decked in Soldier blue.
Ten minutes later, at precisely oh-five-hundred hours, security cameras could record General Sephiroth locking his company-regulated apartment door behind him as he strides to the elevator, immaculate as always in his customary black leather uniform.
"Fast forward. Stop."
At oh-six-hundred hours, the General could be seen in the level forty-nine VR room with Commanders Rhapsodos and Hewley as well as Third Class Soldier Zachary Fair. As always, Commander Rhapsodos's face was buried behind a paperback. Hewley looked as alert as always, back straight and arms crossed over the broad expense of his chest. His head was bent forward, chastising his protégé, who was still yawning and rubbing sleep out of his eyes. Commander Rhapsodos chimed in once in a while, but his expression could not be deciphered as it was blocked by the word "LOVELESS" from the security camera's angle. Fair started doing enthusiastic squats five minutes later, and the glass of the VR room was frosted as another simulation started. Tseng could pull the simulation records but knew it was a standard training exercise.
Sephiroth's newest secretary could be seen yawning as she walked into work at oh-seven-hundred hours. Her shirt was undone by two buttons today, in contrast to the one her first three weeks on the job. She straightened a little when the General walked past. When he stopped to ask for messages, she bent forward. The General retrieved his paperwork with no comment and his office door slammed shut and stayed that way until twelve-hundred hours. Based on prior patterns, she will soon be replaced.
Again, Tseng could and already pulled up the General's schedule for the day and found nothing out of the ordinary. All copies of requisition forms submitted that day were also inspected and cross-referenced with the quartermaster. While Tseng wished they had cameras in the office, some illusion of operational independence must be maintained between departments.
The tech flipped through a few other feeds. Reeve, Hojo, Heidegger, and Scarlet. All where they were supposed to be - with the President, in a formal board meeting. Not much else would be getting done there.
At twelve-hundred hours, the door to the office opened to Commanders Genesis and Hewley with the "Puppy" in tow, carrying a few plastic bags marked Moogle Express, a popular Wutaian take-out dive near the headquarters. Despite the war, the bastardized version of its cuisine remains popular in Midgar.
Fourteen-hundred hours. The General leaves his office for a meeting with Director Lazard and returns an hour later. He leaves his office soon after with Masamune, headed for the Level Forty-nine VR room again.
Sixteen-hundred hours. The secretary stuffs her compact into a hot pink leather purse and gathers together the rest of her belongings, locks her drawers, and leaves. They had already run a background check on her. Lived on the plate, friends were mostly office workers as well, and applied for the Silver Elite four times.
The General could be seen in his office with the last of the paperwork. He would leave almost an hour later, turning off his computer terminal and then office lights before locking the office door behind him. As the light atop the sliding door turns red, he disappears from the camera's screen.
Seventeen-hundred hours. White noise.
Oh-twenty-hundred hours, the leader of the Department of Administrative Affairs, colloquially known as the Turks, is seen knocking on the door of General Sephiroth by the hallway security camera. The door slides open to reveal an off-duty general, still in his leather ensemble.
Forgoing pleasantries or pardon for interrupting the General, Veld holds out a report to Sephiroth. "There has been a cyber-security breach originating from your office, Sephiroth."
Two hours later, Sephiroth stared incredulously down at the report as he sat in his high-backed black leather chair, cradling a hand to his forehead, where the headache which had gradually subsided during the day came back in full force. Only a few feet away, two Turks were in the process of taking his computer apart. His company-issued PHS was also confiscated and he reminded himself to retrieve the contact numbers of Angeal and the Moogle Express. Genesis and Zack were optional.
"General, I will need a list of all the people who may have accessed," Veld spoke from where he stood by the door watching his men work. "This looks like an internal job."
Sephiroth straightened, "Besides myself, the only ones who are ever unattended in my office are the secretary and the janitor."
"Yes," Veld sighed, "We have detained your secretary for questioning. The janitor too. We do not believe there are any ties to the insurgency, but they have both been terminated."
Sephiroth glanced up at Veld, a protest on his tongue.
"I assure you. With generous severance packages and relocation expenses are paid in full." Veld smirked grimly, twisting and stretching the scar on his cheek. "One of your former secretaries was discovered to have ties with the eco-terrorist group Avalanche. However, she died from a hidden cyanide capsule before we could extract any information from her."
"And?"
Veld conceded, "Avalanche is a potential lead. However, we don't have strong enough evidence to act."
With a sigh, Sephiroth set the report on his ebony office desk, giving up on even pretending to read it. He could hardly understand the technological jargon that dotted the page and would leave it in the capable hands of the forensic department. Instead, he focused his full attention on the Head of the Department of Administrative Affairs.
"I am at a loss how else I can be of aid, Veld, unless I am also a suspect in your eyes."
"You are not," Veld assured but didn't offer much else in the way of explanation.
Sephiroth laid a hand on the handle of Masamune at his side, thinking dark thoughts of the ones responsible for his current migraine and the flood of paperwork he anticipated seeing on his desk in the morning.
"If that is everything, Veld," He gracefully stood up from his chair, "I will not keep you from your investigation. If you require anything else, you know where to find me."
Veld smiled coldly. "Of course."
Sephiroth paused at the door. "I also expect a new phone on my desk tomorrow morning."
"I'll see what I can do."
The clock on Sephiroth's desk reset to zero.
Some AN:
1. If you are re-reading this, thank you for sticking with it! I really appreciate it! If you are reading this for the first time, thank you and I hope you enjoy
2. A few major changes from before include: a more mature rating for language and violence, and some light implied Seph/Cloud. There is nothing underage nor is it the focus of the story but I will put the warning here.
3. This will be X-posted to AO3. That is also where I will put some extras for Reboot.