Chapter 1

A large steel train charges on its tracks around the newly completed Midgar. The city is bright against the empty, black ink darkness. The train whistles and rumbles, turning another curve.

"I'm on the train now," she said, speaking loudly over the noise of the train into her cell phone, "I won't be late!"

"I can tell," came the other voice, sounding rather annoyed, "Just don't get caught."

"I won't--"

At that moment, there was a pounding on the door.

"Tickets!!" came the yell.

"Crap!" she swore, glancing around. There were hardly any other passengers in this car, and the next was empty…

"Look, Venne, I gotta go!" she yelled.

"Wait, Tenshi--" she heard as she slammed the phone shut. The two train guards entered the car as the young woman finished picking the lock to the next car.

"Hey, you!" the taller, more muscular one yelled. Tenshi flung the door open, and stepped out onto the connecting plate to the next car. She ran over it, and into the next car. She could hear their footsteps right behind her.

There was a crash as the door to the last car opened, but Tenshi was already part way across to the next. As she ran, she tripped over a crate, and, as she fell, she noticed a girl of about 16 in the corner.

"The guards are coming!" Tenshi hissed, picking herself up. The girl whipped around at the noise of them coming through the next door.

"Come on!" she called to the girl, and they broke into the next car. This one had a few passengers. The two girls ran to the end of the car as the guards entered, yelling for them to stop. Into the next car.

This car was utterly empty. A dead-end.

"We'll have to fight them!" panted the girl. Tenshi nodded, as the guards entered the final car.

"Do you have any materia?" yelled Tenshi. The girl shook her head, her long braids flying out.

"Take this," Tenshi tossed a white crystal to the younger girl, And put it in one of the slots on a weapon. It'll give you an ice spell."

"Thanks," said the girl. She was wearing a long, pale pink kimono with dark red sakura designs and an ultramarine obi. She untied the obi and let it fall away, making a clinking sound. She unfolded it, revealing what was probably more than twenty assorted knives and maces.

"Holy crap!" one of the guards exclaimed. The girl drew a slight smirk, and chose a long curved knife, and inserted the crystal into the circular pocket in the handle's base.

Tenshi pulled out a red crystal. She squeezed it in her palm, and with a flash of pale red light the materia was replaced with a five foot long gold-capped black staff, very thick.

"Ready?" asked Tenshi. The girl nodded.

The older leapt forward with her staff, attempting to bring it down on the taller guard, who blocked it with his rifle. Upon contact, the rifle cracked.

"Ninety-three pound adamantine staff," said Tenshi, "Good luck."

The taller guard fired two shots, but Tenshi leapt backward to dodge. The girl decided to attack the shorter guard, running forward, knife spinning in her fingers. She struck, and the blade sliced open his chest guard. He retaliated by shooting three shots, all of which tore through her kimono. Due to the absence of the obi, her kimono billowed out around her, revealing a tank-top and a short skirt.

Tenshi jumped up again, using her staff as a battering ram this time. The guard dodged by a hair. She suddenly felt a tug, and realized that the guard had grabbed her long brown hair. He pulled her downwards, and she saw the handle of the rifle come down toward her head. She blocked it with a blow from the staff. It connected this time, going through the gun, shattering it into small pieces, and hitting the side of his head. He fell over in a heap.

"My turn," said the girl. She jumped forward with her knife. As she swiped, the guard blocked with the barrel of his rifle. She cut it, but not by much.

"Crap," she cried, when every swipe only met the clink of metal on metal, knife on gun.

"Remember that materia!" Tenshi called.

"Right!" The girl put her hands into a gesture, the knife in between them. Suddenly, a white bolt shot out of the knife, which erupted into a floral shape on contact. By the time it had dissipated, the guard was collapsed on the ground.

"Good job… oh, I didn't get your name!" said Tenshi.

"Terrea," said the younger girl.

"I'm Tenshi," the other replied.

As Terrea was fixing her long silver braids, there was a screeching noise, as the train hit a hard stop. Terrea and Tenshi flew to the wall.

"Alert!" came a voice on the intercom, "Suspicious persons on board. Capture them in the final car. Repeat…"

"Shaiza shaiza shaiza!" Terrea whispered frantically. She tore open the blinds on one window. She could see the streets of Sector 8.

Tenshi took her staff. "Stand back," she said, and smashed the gold cap through the window. Terrea shielded her eyes from the glass. They then climbed carefully but quickly through, and ran into the maze of Midgar.

*~*~*~*

"Got it," said the woman, of about 23 years, clicking her cell phone shut. She sighed, and smoothed down her long, wavy, silver-blond hair. She then turned and walked toward the station, her heels making a distinct 'tak-tak-tak' on the cobblestone square that lay at the heart of Sector 8.

The Turks' territory.

The woman's status was apparent: the crisp navy business suit, the cold arrogance in her icy blue eyes, the way she held her gun as if it was a pen. She was a Turk, and a well-known one at that.

Within Sector 8, the name Korri Olanice was a feared one. The fist mission that any Turk receives is to patrol the Sector, sometimes for months at a time, until the superiors Tseng and Heidegger were convinced of your worth. Korri had been promoted within three days. She carried out her missions swiftly and indifferently: whether it was surveillance or murder, she didn't care.

They say Korri Olanice has a heart of ice.

As she walked the short distance to the station, no one looked her in the eye. When someone did, she shot them with the glare of her eyes, a bullet that can freeze the heart. Her cell phone rang again when she was almost there.

"Korri, the targets left the train and are in the Sector now!" the man on the other end said, "I'm putting a target map on your phone."

The transmission ended, and on the phone was a map of Sector 8. Many dots were displayed, most white. Korri's was blue, and the targets were in red. A simple tracking game, no sweat.

She took off at a run, glancing at her phone periodically, but able to predict the targets' path for the most part. She raced through the dark alleyways easily. The people knew that when a Turk is on a mission, you do NOT mess with them. They parted to let Korri pass.

Finally, she caught up with the dots. They had stopped, and Korri was leaning against the wall of an alley. They were only a few feet away, but out of sight. She could make out faint whispering, though. After she caught her breath, she made her move.

She slowly, calmly walked out of the alley into view. Tak, tak, tak, tak. The targets, two young women, both younger than Korri, faced her. The younger, black-haired one, wouldn't look her in the eye, but the older brunette had a gaze of confidence, near arrogance.

"So they had to bring in the Turks, eh?" the brunette said calmly.

"You should know," said Korri, her voice only an icy whisper but completely audible, "Not to mess with Shin-Ra."

"I do know," came the reply, "I work for them. Acting vice-president Venne Shinra wouldn't be too pleased if you killed me here."

"We'll have to ask him ourselves, won't we…?" Korri laughed. Right, like a Shinra would hire a mercenary.

"Run." said the brunette, quickly and sharply. The two turned and began to run, splitting up. Good for them, Korri thought, It's always more fun when the prey runs.

She took off after them, loading her pistol with a small needle. Korri knew the ins and outs of acupuncture, including the exact spots to target to drop a person unconscious.

She ran after the black-haired first. She was shorter, and a little slower. Korri cocked her pistol as she ran, and came up in front of the target's path. When the girl noticed, she tried to turn, but Korri was faster.

"Good night," she said, and shot. The girl fell down, a needle in the side of her neck.

Korri Olanice could not miss. Her accuracy was perfect, Heidegger and Tseng had said so themselves.

She checked her phone again. One red dot had stopped, that was the blonde, but the other continued to move, and quickly. Korri loaded her pistol with another needle, and ran for the brunette.

Korri had to manoeuvre through the crowds to get to the brunette, but she was easy to spot. Many of the Midgarians' clothes were rather drab, but the brunette wore a deep purple vest that entirely revealed her belly and lower back, and dark denim shorts. She stood out.

"I see you," Korri called with a hint of laughter. The brunette spun around, then ducked, lost in the crowd. Korri swore. She got on her knees, aimed, fingered the trigger…

The second red dot stopped moving.

*~*~*~*

Tak… tak… tak…

Korri's heels echoed loudly through the halls of the seventy-third floor of the Shin-Ra Building. Behind her, two low-class SOLDIERs wheeled stretchers attached to waist-high carts. One held Tenshi Helway, 21 years 6 months 22 days old mercenary, with brown hair, blue eyes, and from Santannis. The second person, however, had no records. Her ID was stolen. She had raven-black hair and emerald green eyes, and seemed to be in her mid teens. Otherwise, Korri had no idea who she was.

"I brought them, sir," she said, approaching the desk of Head Turk Tseng. He let out a forced laugh.

"Only 33 minutes since I assigned the mission. Good job, Korri." Korri let out a thin smile, the closest thing she ever showed of emotion. Only praise and the thrill of the chase could earn it.

Another tapping noise sounded. Softer than Korri's heels, but distinctly the sound of shoes.

"Sir," said Tseng, standing up. Korri turned, and bowed slightly to acknowledge the newcomer's presence. As the man stepped off the stairs and onto the hardwood floor, Tenshi moaned and stirred in her stretcher.

Venne Shinra slowly walked into the room. He was tall and imposing, one of the only people who could actually scare Korri. She didn't know what scared her, but definitely wasn't the hair. His hair was long and blond, tied off right near the bottom, at his shoulder blades. Maybe it was his ice-gray eyes, or his pale, gaunt features.

Venne dusted off the shoulder of his white business suit. "I hear you've caught the stowaways," he said. No one replied. Oh well, he didn't expect them to. He walked over to the two stretchers, and stood beside Terrea's. He held her jaw in his thin hand, and turned her head slowly, examining her. He then walked over to Tenshi's.

"I'm going to need this one back," he said, referring to Tenshi.

"Of course, sir," said Tseng. He then motioned to Korri. She walked up to Tenshi, and ran her finger over the wound she had caused. She then felt the other side of her neck. With two fingers she pressed three spots on Tenshi's neck and shoulder.

"Ah!" she gasped, waking up with a start. Then, "You!" she yelled at Korri, "What happened to Terrea!? Oh, Venne!" she pulled herself together upon seeing him.

"Glad you could join us," he said with a smirk, but Tenshi knew it wasn't real, "Terrea's beside you."

Korri quickly revived Terrea, who woke but stayed silent. Tenshi rubbed the spot on her neck where the needle hit, and stepped out of the stretcher.

"What?" she said to one of the SOLDIERs. Venne, with a gesture, dismissed them. Tenshi then clutched her chest, groping for her necklace. She was relieved when she found it was still there. The necklace was gold, with a silvery blue pendant shaped like three raindrops in a triangle, a larger one on top and two smaller ones below.

"I apologize for the mission's failure," she said in a monotone voice.

"Well, you got here, didn't you?" Venne said, "Even if the method was unexpected."

Tenshi drew a deep breath.

*~*~*~*

A loud creak sounded as the huge wooden doors slowly opened. She walked in, her sandals making soft taps on the old wooden floor. She sighed. Before, light would shine in through the tall stained-glass windows, but in the darkness of Midgar, they were useless. It saddened her. She walked right up to the edge of the floorboards.

Aerith Gainsborough took a deep breath, allowing herself to be immersed in the flowers' luscious scent. It was a much different smell than the Slums, and was a nice change. She looked up again. The windows weren't completely useless, she decided, the lights outside still danced through them.

Aerith looked up. There was a huge hole in the roof, braced by shattered beams. People had suggested she get it fixed, but she had declined. It brought back memories of Zack, and who knows, it might be useful someday.

Zack Fair, SOLDIER 1st class. He had left for a town -- Niflhime? Nibbleheem? -- around… three and a half years ago, now, and no-one's heard from him since. Aerith had asked at one of the SOLDIER recruitment centres after him, but the receptionist didn't know. According to their records, he had disappeared during the Nebilhem mission, and was presumed dead. Aerith kept writing to him, though,

because she would just… some part of her would just know if Zack had died.

Aerith shook her head. She missed Zack. She still laughed to herself about the time they had made flower carts. Zack's was big and mechanical, and Aerith's was small and floral. She laughed about the time a Shin-Ra employee had tried to buy Zack's cart, thinking it was a weapon.

She sighed. A mugger had stolen the floral cart last year, and she had found it smashed in a trash heap a few days later. Back to baskets. She bent down and began to carefully pick a few flowers. She paid attention to how many of each colour she had (white, blue, and pink), their sizes, and where in the 'garden' they had come from. When she was satisfied, she walked out of the church, and out into the slums.

"Fresh flowers, only 3 gil apiece!" she called. She stood beside the passage between Sectors 5 and 6, catching a lot of sales.

"Look mommy!" one little girl had said, jumping up and down and pointing to the flowers, "What are they? They're so pretty!" After her mother had explained what a flower was and bought her one, the little girl put it in her hair, over her ear. Aerith must have been beaming.

"You don't see a lot of flowers around here, do you?" said one young man, coming up behind her. Aerith could tell that he wasn't from Midgar, just by the way he looked. For one, his clothes were different. He wore a cream scarf over a blue vest that displayed his tight arm muscles, and tight dark jeans. His hair was flaming red, but Aerith could see by his sharp eyebrows that it was completely natural. His hair spiked this way and that, and a small spiky ponytail stuck out at the base of his neck. He was different, an outsider. It appealed to Aerith.

"They only grow in my church," she said, "I still can't figure out why."

"Well, as long as they grow somewhere," he said, and smiled, revealing even white teeth. The canine teeth, however, seemed like fangs… He reached into his pocket and took out a five gil piece. He gave it to Aerith, and took one of the pale blue lilies.

"Wait, sir, your change," she said, but the young man waved o her.

"You can keep it," he said, "and please, call me Rain," he laughed.

"I'm Aerith," she said, taking his hand and shaking it.

"It's a pleasure, Aerith," he said, "I'll see you later."

He walked off into the slums of Sector 5. Aerith watched him go.

"Excuse me, miss," came another voice, snapping her back to reality.

*~*~*~*

Aerith sighed from fatigue. After business waned in Sector 5, she started to move with the crowd, and had somehow ended up in Sector 7. After she exhausted her flower supply, she made the long trek home. She swung the church door open, to see another person.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" said the girl, "I didn't mean to barge in!"

"It's okay," Aerith smiled, "It's not my church, it just is." That's when Aerith noticed the other person had a pale blue lily in her hair.

"Did you pick a flower!?" Aerith asked, quite suddenly.

"Oh, this? No, my friend gave it to me!" she said quickly, "He says he bought it from a flower girl named Aerith!"

"R-really?" Aerith stuttered, a little confused, "Well, Aerith is me."

"Oh, then thank you for the flower!" she said, then hastily added, "I'm Tenshi."

Aerith nodded, and walked forward, beside Tenshi in front of the flowers.

"They smell lovely," said Tenshi, "They remind me of my hometown, Gongaga. It was very… green there. I liked it."

"I've never been outside of Midgar," said Aerith, "But I hope I can travel, and go where it's green, and flowers and grass grow." She paused., "Tenshi? The man who gave you the lily, was his name Rain?"

"Hmm? Yeah, Rain Amida. He grew up in Gongaga with me. How did you know?"

"He bought it from me," said Aerith, "I could tell he wasn't from Midgar, just by the way he looked. I get the same feeling from you."

"You don't look like you're from Midgar either," Tenshi commented, good-naturedly. She was right. Aerith wore a summery strapless green and pink dress which fell just past her knees. It was attached by a pale yellow ribbon around her neck, which attached to the back of her dress, under her shoulder blades, by another ribbon. Her hair was in a thick braid tied off by a pink ribbon. She also wore sandals which laced halfway up her shin.

"I guess not," she said, "But he also… I don't know, but I could just feel it. He didn't belong here."

"No one should belong in this place," said Tenshi after a few minutes, "Not where it's always dark." Aerith nodded. Suddenly, there was a beeping noise, filling the church with noise. Tenshi grabbed her cell phone from a chain around her waist. It was a text message. Tenshi swore.

"Aerith, I'm really sorry, but I have to go!" said Tenshi, "I really want to stay, but, uh, duty calls!" With that, Tenshi Helway left. Aerith didn't watch her leave; she kept her eyes on the flowers. After she heard the church door close, she smiled. She's very fixed on her work, Aerith thought.

Just like Zack.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

New story, but I've been working on it for a long time. I'd love to hear feedback!