A/N: Well, hello. This is my first fanfic, and I decided to take on the monolithic Final Fantasy VII for my debut. This fic doesn't include (aside from maybe the occasional cameo) the main cast of the game, and is a completely different story and adventure. I am making a fangame of this as well, and when I've got enough done on it I'll be sure to post it or figure out some way to show it off. I'm still a newbie here, but I assume posting links in a story is a no-no. Anyway, without further ado, here's my first fic.

PROLOGUE:

"Materia hunters, you say?" The room was dark, but the director felt that was the only way to induce the proper amount of intimidation to his employees. His subordinate stood near the door, nodding his head, "That's right, sir. Apparently they're the best out there." The director's silhouette stood out amongst the faint, emerald smog outside the window. The mako reactors rumbling and churning below seemed to subtly add to his powerful presence. The sprawling city beyond had yet to be completed; steel girders and scaffolding descended into the black pits of the slums, and helicopters fluttered above to patrol the construction site. "Well," the director began, turning toward the scenery and away from his employee, "it is a lucrative endeavor, I must say. Where are they from, again?" The employee had calmed himself finally, and answered, "Volunheim."

"Never heard of it." The director's response was cold and blunt. "We've got all sorts of people from these backwater towns doing big things, though - just look at Angeal and Genesis. Who the hell would've heard of Banora before them?" The director turned to his subordinate, issuing him an order: "Find them as soon as possible, and get the project rolling." The man nodded, and left the room immediately. The director turned back to his window, both admiring and loathing his view of Midgar. The place was filthy, but it brought lots of opportunities - ones that landed him a spot in Shinra Corporation, as Director of Special Interests. The branch of the company was practically unheard of, but provided critical intelligence for the rest of the company's branches; this even included the Turks and SOLDIER.

CHAPTER 1: MATERIA HUNTERS

Two figures pushed their way through the blizzard. Snow fell in colossal sheets, covering everything in its path. The two reached a break in the white canopy, emerging onto a small outcrop that overlooked the mountain ranges of the Northern Continent. "This looks like the place. Are we on the right track?" The first of the two asked. They were both covered in thick cloaks, and their hoods covered most of their features. The second man remained quiet, but gave an affirming nod and a grunt. The first man chuckled to himself, and his hood fell. He ignored the cold he had gotten so used to, and turned to his friend, "Heh, you always know exactly what to say, Kilo." The man wore a bandana around the length of his head, which did little to hold back his wavy, golden hair. His eyes were a deep and dark green, and a smirk was almost always present on his slender visage. His friend Kilo scoffed to himself, causing his own hood to fall to his shoulders. He sighed, "Let's just get this over with, Ryder." His hair was dark brown and better kept than his friend's, dangling in front of his eyes of the same color. Everything from his nose down was covered by a thin, gray mask, which emerged from his scarf. The rest of the fabric hung at his back, normally flapping against the wind, were it not covered by a heavy cloak.

Ryder smirked again, and clenched his fist, "Right! Hopefully the materia is actually here!" The two continued their journey just a bit further, when Kilo began to slow his pace. "Ah, here you go again." Ryder muttered jokingly, folding his arms and watching his companion begin his work. Kilo was an excellent tracker, as well as one of the best materia channelers in the region - of course, anyone can have the aptitude to wield materia, but Kilo's own mastery of magic has made him rather famous locally. He knelt down, brushing his hands along the snow. He murmured softly to himself, following the subtle vibrations in the ground - the Lifestream far below the surface was drawn toward the materia they were searching for, and in fact all materia in the world. The lack of civilization in the area helped Kilo focus on the pull of the Lifestream, leading him right to his target. Ryder jumped with joy, producing a bright green orb of materia from the snow. "Here it is!" He cheered, "The Tempest Materia! This should fetch us a nice price, eh?"

Kilo remained silent, but nodded in agreement. Ryder rambled on, "Oh, our client's gonna be ecstatic! Judging by the size of this thing, we'll get around 5000gil, I'm sure of it!" He turned to his friend, who continued to remain silent, as if concentrating on something else. "At least one of us is excited about it." Ryder mused, his trademark smirk fading for just a moment. Kilo suddenly turned to him exasperatedly, "Listen."

The forest stayed quiet for a moment, but the silence was disrupted by the distant snapping of a twig. Ryder folded his arms again, shifting his weight onto one leg, and smirking. "I hear it, Kilo. We're being followed." His friend nodded, "I bet it's the Kypwe brothers." Ryder agreed - the Kypwe brothers were their rivals in the hunt for materia, only because the brothers have tried killing them a handful of times. As if on cue, the three brothers emerged from the woods, approaching the two friends. "Well, what do we have here? The famous materia hunters, in the flesh!" The oldest brother, Beri, stated smugly. Ryder responded enthusiastically, "That's right! Kilo and Ryder at your service!"

"Sadly, it looks like you are more interested in trying to steal our materia again." Kilo spoke coolly and calmly, and in a rare full sentence. The Kypwe brothers were taken aback, but Beri remained steadfast. "That's right. We're here to eliminate the competition, heh heh." He said, chuckling with an edge of venom to his voice. Ryder sighed, running his fingers through his hair and keeping it swept to the side, "Oh great, so you're gonna try killing us again? When will you guys ever learn...?" Kilo prepared to leave the scene without incident, making his intentions known by slowly lumbering past the brothers. "Now, if you'll excuse us," he began, nearing the Kypwes, "we'll be leaving... unless there's something else you need?" Beri held out an arm, blocking Kilo's way. Ryder's friend remained calm, but a brief flicker of withheld fury danced through his eyes for a mere moment. "You boys ain't going anywhere." Beri stated bluntly, much to the materia hunters' dismay. He ordered his brothers to take the Tempest Materia by force, and the situation changed immediately.

Ryder nodded to Kilo, playfully tossing the materia straight into the air. Time seemed to slow as the two friends drew their weapons, the materia still suspended mid-flight. The Kypwes sprinted forward, swinging their clubs and knives with abandon, but their advances were quickly blocked by Kilo and Ryder. The blonde hunter flashed his blade at the youngest Kypwe, knocking the man's sword from his grasp and sending him into the ground; with his other hand firmly ahold of his pistol, he fired at the middle brother's foot, similarly toppling him. Kilo and Beri clashed and fought, the former quickly gaining the upper hand from his combat expertise. Beri's dual daggers were sent into the skies with well-placed parries, and the materia hunters held their swords at his throat. Kilo stared into Beri's eyes, muttering, "Run. Now." The Kypwes complied, sprinting as fast as their legs could carry them out of the scene. Ryder sheathed his weapons and caught the Tempest Materia as it fell back to the earth. "Alright! Let's get back home before we get buried in snow!" He cheered, clenching his fist and returning the smirk to his face.

Volunheim was a rather out of the way village, and was only home to a few dozen people. It sat along the upper eastern coast of the Northern Continent, shielded from blizzards by the vast, surrounding mountain range. The townsfolk there made an honest living with their own businesses, but the main attraction to the place was the materia shop, run by Kilo and Ryder themselves. The store brought in customers from all over the continent, even the world, and the two friends had become somewhat legendary for their endeavors. There were rumors that some First Class SOLDIERs even made their way up there on occasion to pick up some devastating materia. On top of sales and filling orders, the shop was also famous for refining and cutting natural materia - one client wanted an engagement ring with restore materia cut in the shape of a small diamond, but of course its small size made the magic effect rather minimal.

Kilo and Ryder entered their hometown, watching as children dashed through the streets and various people sauntered by. Ryder walked into the materia shop with a jovial "We're back!" His friend, naturally, remained silent - yet there was a calmness to him, happy to be back in town and back where he belongs. A young, auburn-haired man stood behind the check-out desk, beaming at the returning owners and approaching them. Kilo asked how the shop was holding up, and this young caretaker replied that it was just fine, a very noticeable stutter breaking apart his sentences. "H-How was the hunt?" He asked innocently. Ryder ran his thumb across his nose and smirked, his usual routine before bragging about something. "Heh, good as always! We found this materia, Ralph. Check this out!" He produced the Tempest Materia from his rucksack, showing it to the stuttering Ralph. The boy had issues with speech, but made up for it with his work ethic and attitude, plus he was becoming a rather accomplished scholar of studying relics and materia. He eyed the stone, studying its designs and shape. "W-Well," he began uneasily, "judging from these s-swirls and ridges, it looks like some k-kind of i-i-ice m-magic, rather than wind magic. Y-You know, most would assume the l-latter, 'cause of its name!" Ryder and Kilo both smiled at their protégé, the former smirking again, "Right you are, Ralph! You're really catching onto this materia business!" Ralph beamed again, "W-Well you guys are the ones who trained me! D-Did you run into any t-trouble?" Kilo nodded, and explained their encounter with the Kypwe brothers using as few words as possible. Ralph's head lowered, his concern for his mentors obvious. The brown locks of hair that hung in front of his eyes seemed to drop as well, but he swept them back off of his face. Ryder took the moment of silence to announce his plans to go to sleep, in his typical, over-exaggerated way, causing a faint giggle to emerge from the corner of the shop.

Ryder turned to the source of the voice, and discovered a young girl with red hair. Rough boots and black leggings hugged at her shapely lower half, and her torso was covered by a simple bikini top, exposing her midriff and neck; the only other thing covering her were long black gloves. Her face was accented by a perpetual blush, and her wavy hair stopped flowing just past her ears, turning into a mass of crimson curls, allowing only a few locks to continue down to her shoulders. She was smiling brightly at the materia hunters. Ryder seemed to change his mind about sleep, and approached her. Kilo scoffed at his friend's naivety and retreated back to the checkout desk with Ralph.

"You guys are back!" The girl stated cheerfully, clasping her hands together in excitement. "Did you find any cool materia?" Ryder did his signature smirk-and-nose-rub, boasting, "You betcha - the Tempest Materia! I bet we'll make a killing off of it!" The girl seemed distressed for a split second, her smile fading for just a moment, "A... killing? Hmm, I don't like the sound of that." Ryder frantically tried to correct his mistake, "Wait a sec! Maybe I worded that wrong! I'm not crazy I swear!" He was waving his hands around all the while, hoping to prove his innocence, which only helped to elicit another giggle from the girl.

"I'm just giving you a hard time, Ryder!" She giggled, instantly cooling the blonde swordsman's nerves. Laughing off the embarrassment of his earlier panic attack, he asked her, "Hey, aren't you a regular at this store? Did you need help finding something?" The girl answered, "Oh, I come in here all the time just to browse! My name is Miriam, pleased to meet you!" The materia hunter put a finger to his chin, thinking.

"I guess I don't need to introduce myself, since everyone here knows us. Let me know if you'd like a tour of the store or anything, alright?" Ryder put his hands to his hips, and Miriam cheered, "Sounds great!" She seemed to finish most of her sentences with a light giggle, which was driving Ryder up the wall. She's so adorable I can hardly focus on talking to her! He thought to himself. "Heh, alright. Sounds like a plan! I'll see you around, Miriam!"

Ryder helped a few more customers, while Ralph and Kilo stood at the checkout desk and watched the shop. The blonde hunter said his goodbyes, and vanished into the employees' quarters. The room behind the shop had a small kitchen, two beds, a table, and a few shelves. It wasn't much, but it was home. Ryder shed his cloak and gear, and climbed into bed, falling asleep almost immediately. When he woke it was early the next morning, and the ever-present cold bit into his body. He walked out into the main shop to find Kilo leaning against the wall. "I see you're finally awake." He said coolly. He's probably been standing there for an hour, just so he could get the first word in! Ryder's personality was only slightly different when he was tired, and instead of his usually gesture of the smirk-and-nose-rub, he settled with a simple scoff. "Heh, no, you're mistaken. I'm still asleep." Ryder stated sarcastically. Kilo folded his arms, and muttered, "Let's get the shop open. Our client should be coming today." Suddenly, a distant sound drew the gaze of the silent brunette to the front door. Seconds later, Ralph entered the shop, briefly ushering in a freezing gale of snow from outside. He unwrapped the wool scarf from his neck, and approached the materia hunters. "Y-You guys need help opening the sh-shop?" Ralph asked, his teeth chattering alongside his usual stutter.

Kilo nodded and tossed a small bag of gold to their shopkeeper. "Sure," he breathed, "and here's your pay for watching the shop. It's 1500gil, you can count it yourself." Ralph declined the offer by pocketing the bag and removing his overcoat. Looking at his two friends enthusiastically, Ralph cheered, "Th-thanks guys! L-Let's get started!" Kilo removed himself from the wall, and went to help prepare the shop for opening with Ralph, when he quickly turned back to Ryder armed with a faint smirk of his own. "Hey, get some clothes on and help us." Kilo stated dryly. Ryder's permanent grin disappeared entirely when he examined himself. Aside from his signature bandana being absent, he discovered he was still only in his bright red boxers. "HRNG!" He choked, trying to cover himself while standing on one foot, "I didn't even realize...! Gah! I'll just go now!" He hopped awkwardly back into his room, and emerged mere seconds later in his shopkeeper tunic, bandana tied firmly around his head and smirk plastered back on his face, hands to his hips.

After opening the shop, the usual crowd of customers shuffled in. It was a normal, quiet day - the room was bathed in golden light from the fixtures around the room, contrasting starkly with the indigo-tinted scenery outside. Most days in Volunheim were cold and snowy, but the weather never got as rough as it did up at Icicle Inn, much less the wilderness beyond it. More than anything, the good business in the materia shop could probably be attributed to the warmth radiating from it. With a magic channeler like Kilo, the fireplace could burn all day with the mere snap of his fingers. Of course, customers from all over the world visited the shop, but many locals stopped in just to stay warm and socialize with their neighbors. Whatever gets them in here, Ryder thought to himself, leaning back against the counter with Kilo.

Something was nagging at the blonde materia hunter, though. That girl he met yesterday... something was strange about her. Not her bubbly personality or her attire; just an aura about her seemed different from most people. Maybe I've met her before? Ryder thought, but he shook the notion from his head, since he had never seen her before yesterday. Kilo noticed his friend's brief change in demeanor, but chose not to comment upon it. After all, he was better at observing than intervening. The shop door creaked open, a very ordinary event, except this time it froze Ryder on the spot. Miriam entered the shop, her eyes meeting his. The blonde swordsman approached her through the light crowd, and greeted her. "Miriam, you came back!" He beamed. She returned his smile, and held her arms behind her back, swaying in place and giggling to herself. I'm going to lose it if she keeps acting like this, Ryder thought, feeling his face warm up already. "Hey Ryder," Miriam said warmly, "do you think you could give me that tour of the store?" The blonde felt his brow furrow momentarily. Maybe that wasn't what I was expecting her to say. Slipping an arm behind his head and tousling his hair, Ryder blinked and smiled at the girl, "Sure thing! I have a client coming today, so I'm just waiting around in the meantime!" He chuckled to himself at the end, which only made his face feel even warmer. Oh this is bad, I probably look like an idiot! Ryder grumbled in his mind.

"Over here is our unrefined materia. You know how it occurs naturally in mako springs, right? Well, a lot of times we have to grind the stones down to fit in peoples' equipment. The mass of a materia has some bearing on the potency of the magic inside it, but we've got ways around that, too!" Ryder casually approached one of the workbenches in the shop, hands stuffed down his pockets. Miriam was fascinated already, inspecting all of the materia-refining machinery while holding an inquisitive finger to her lip. Ryder took her mesmerized silence as a sign to continue the tour, "This table is mostly for display – they're unique stones, like the White Materia here. We can't seem to figure out its use, and it's near impossible to cut down. We've even got some black materia stored away, but we'd never sell it to anyone. If some guy decides to steal it, though, they'll have to go through me and Kilo! Hah hah!" Ryder held up his fist and clenched it, smirking as usual. Kilo glanced over at him and Miriam, then shook his head and continued his blank staring elsewhere. Ralph, however, was taken aback by Ryder's confession about the black materia. "We have that k-k-kind of stuff j-just laying around?" He stammered, more from fear than from his condition. Ryder just laughed it off, "Yeah, but it's not a problem! Like I said, a thief would have to go through us first! It'd take a whole battalion of Shinra troops just to come close to getting it!" Miriam clasped her hands together, holding them at her waist, smiling all the while at the charismatic Ryder. He turned back to her, and finished up his tour. "The last thing to show you is this materia - red means summon, right? Well look at the size of this thing! Kilo and I have never gotten a chance to really use it, but I'm sure the thing summons some massive creature!" Miriam almost burst out laughing when Ryder started rapidly doing squats out of excitement.

Afterwards, Miriam retreated back to her usual spot in the corner of the store. Ryder helped out a few customers, then went to rendezvous with her. "Thank you, Ryder," she said shyly, "that really meant a lot to me..." Ryder's smirk turned into a tender smile, and he brought his hands to his knees to reach the girl's eye level. "It couldn't have been that big of a deal, Miriam." He said gently. She shook her head, nervously avoiding eye contact, "It's just that... you've been so nice to me. People normally ignore me when I'm around, but you're different..." with that, she turned to face him, their eyes locked. Ryder suddenly felt his face start to warm up, so he quickly stood upright. "Hah, that can't be true!" He blurted, running his fingers through the back of his hair. "Hey Ryder...?" Miriam inquired almost inaudibly. He looked to her again.

"Did you only notice me... because I'm a customer?"

The blonde swordsman nearly facefaulted at her question. A lone bead of sweat treaded down his face, but he laughed it off, "Don't be ridiculous! How could I ignore a pretty face like that? I've just been busy with things, that's all!" The hand that was running through his hair froze in place only to make him look more casual, a prospect Ryder figured he was failing miserably at, anyway. His answer seemed to satisfy Miriam, though, as she returned to her usual demeanor, giggling as always.

"Always a master of flirting, I see! Heehee!"

"Heh! You know it!" Ryder drew his thumb across his nose, smirking again.

The blonde made his way over to the shop entrance, but it suddenly burst open in front of him. Standing in the doorway was a man in a navy blue business suit. "Oh, excuse me, sir." Ryder said, stepping out of the way. "Hey, wait a second - aren't you our client?" The man adjusted his tie, nodding solemnly, "That is correct. I'm here to pick up the Tempest Materia." Kilo tossed the stone to Ryder, who presented it to the man, "We've got it right here, so go ahead and name your price!" The man stared at the stone for a moment, then replied, "My company will offer no more than 2000gil for this." Ryder found himself nearly facefaulting again. "WHAT?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! WE ALMOST GOT KILLED FETCHING THIS FOR YOU!" Ryder's arms waved emphatically above his head. The man straightened his tie, "Like I said, my company will accept no more than that, unless you want to take it up with Shinra's Department of Administrative Research." Kilo stood straight, removing himself from the counter and shooting Ryder a look that spoke 'just give him the materia.' Ryder nodded and turned back to the man, "Fine. We'll accept. Just take it and get out of here." The man took the materia, and placed the bag of gil in Ryder's hand. "Much obliged, Ryder. Goodbye."

After the man left, the blonde swordsmen fumingly wandered back to the counter, mumbling incessantly to himself. The door behind him opened once more, revealing a blue-haired man in gray robes. "Hey, is this the Volunheim Materia Shop?" He asked excitedly. Ryder was immediately yanked out of his brooding, spinning around with his signature nose-rub, "Heh, you bet! How can I help you?" The robed man approached him and Kilo with his proposition. "Alright, guys, I've got a specific materia I want you to get for me. It's called the Hellfire Materia. You up for it?" Ryder quickly affirmed, almost blurting out a 'yes' before the man finished speaking. Kilo shifted his legs, inquiring calmly, "Where is it located?" The robed man responded, "It's at the western end of the continent, at the bottom of the Black Dungeon. It'll be quite dangerous..."

"Hah, that won't be a problem!" Ryder announced, smirking and clenching his fist. Kilo accepted the assignment as well, turning back to Ralph, "Alright, I guess you'll be watching the shop again, kid." The shopkeeper smiled enthusiastically, "N-No p-p-problem, boss!" The blonde materia hunter suddenly found his feet carrying him over to Miriam, in her usual corner of the shop. "Hey, I've got to head out again." He said, an edge of tenderness in his voice. Miriam rocked back on her heels, hands behind her back.

"Aw, that's okay!" She said. "But why did you feel like telling me that? Do you like me or something? Heehee!" She leaned forward teasingly.

"Well, I-I mean... I'm just letting... you know..." Ryder stammered, his face descended into a dark scarlet.

"Heehee! You're blushing, Ryder."

"ALRIGHT WELL I'M GOING TO GO NOW, I'LL BE BACK SOON." Ryder forced the words from his mouth, nearly gliding across the shop to his room. Kilo followed behind, quietly chuckling to himself.