And then the meteor, screeching and burning, tore through the fragile atmosphere and descended onto 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, 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

Down at the crust of ash

I. Recurrent

Sephiroth woke up this morning with an incredible migraine and the dying vestiges of a fleeting, forgotten dream. Rubbing sleep from his eyes with one hand as he tugged on his sweat soaked undershirt with the other, he paddled barefoot into the master bath. He had been dreaming more often of late, and the frequency for 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 even his internal clock, which made any alarm clocks obsolete. The man peeled off his shirt then squeezed company branded toothpaste ("Shinra White: The bright 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 and stepping under a rapidly warming spray of water. 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 self depreciatingly that his morning routines would probably only make him seem almost human.

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.

At oh-six-hundred hours, the General could be seen on the level 49 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 angle of the security camera. Fair started doing strange squats five minutes later, and the glass of the VR room was frosted as another simulation started.

Sephiroth's newest secretary could be seen yawning as she walked into work at oh-seven-hundred hours. Her shirt was undone by three buttons today, in contrast to the previous two the last two weeks, and the one her first three weeks on the job. If previous women who filled the role where an indication, she is one button away from being transferred to Legal. She straightened a little when the General walked passed. When he stopped to ask for messages, she bent forward. The General retrieved his paperwork with no comment and his office door slammed shut until twelve-hundred hours.

At twelve-hundred hours, the door to the office banged opened to Commanders Genesis and Hewley with the "Puppy" in tow, carrying a few plastic bags marked Moogle Express, a popular Wutaiian take-out dive near the headquarters. Despite war with Wutai, 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 49 VR.

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. 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.

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 number of Angeal and Moogle Express. Genesis and Zack were optional.

"General, I will need a list of all the people who may have accessed this terminal," Veld spoke from where he stood watching his mean work, while scanning the results from the IT department, "And a written report of an suspicious activity you may have seen. We fear this may be an internal job."

Sephiroth straightened, disguising the pressure building behind his eyes as he replied, "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 along with all past ones for questioning. The janitor has also been questioned. Detailed back ground checks show distant Wutai ancestry but too many generations back to be conclusive. We do not believe there are any ties to the insurgency, but he has been terminated."

Sephiroth glanced up at Veld.

"I assure you. The man was given a generous severance package and relocation expenses are paid in full." Veld smirked grimly, twisting and stretching the scar on his cheek. "One of your secretaries was discovered also 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."

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. Instead, he focused his full attention on the Head of the Department of Administrative Affairs.

"I do believe, Veld, that that may point toward the guilty party." He toyed with Masamune on his lap as he spoke, 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.

"Perhaps." Veld conceded, "However, we cannot currently act. We are in the midst of investigating some more … troubling ties between the terrorist group and Shinra. Unfortunately, we must sacrifice some small fish for the big catch, so to speak."

Sephiroth dipped his head in agreement.

"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 may find me in my quarters." He paused at the door.

"I also expect a new phone on my desk tomorrow morning."

"Of course."

The clock on Sephiroth's desk reset to zero.

Revision 1.1

5/29/13