I hereby disclaim any rights to Final Fantasy VII.
Final Fantasy © 1997 Square Co., Ltd. All rights reserved.
Final Fantasy™ and Squaresoft™ are registered trademarks of Square Co., Ltd.
Author's Note:
With this novelization I hope to take the events of the original game and write them into a cohesive story.
Because of so many recent developments with the Final Fantasy VII compilation, some of the events in the original game may be expanded upon.
Conversely, because some of the events that are entertaining in video games are simply not at all entertaining when put into writing, some of the original game content may be cut short and/or left out completely.
(I am mostly referring to things like Golden Saucer mini-games, breeding chocobos, battles that do absolutely nothing to further the story – things of that nature.)
I will do my very best to match the dialogue in this novelization to the script of the game.
I will do my very best to keep every character in-character with regard to their thoughts and feelings.
Last, but not least – if you're hoping that my novelization will favorite either Aerith or Tifa and therefore sway the love triangle in one conclusive way or another… all I can promise is that I will strive to portray things exactly the way they were portrayed in the original game. ;)
. :: Prologue :: .
Mako
She smiled.
Kneeling in the dirty alley and holding her hands close to the broken mako furnace, the smile was a soft and hesitant one, but it was there. The noises of the city surrounded her; the automobiles and motorbikes with their loud popping engines, the Mako Reactors in the distance with their heavy rhythmic thrum. Even the louder sounds from the city plate above echoed down at her, down into the slums.
As she watched the tiny luminous flickers of life encircling her hands, she barely heard any of it. For just a precious few moments she allowed a bubble to encase her, to help her forget about the city in which she stood. The pale green brume drifting out of the rusted and broken pipe set her face aglow and warmed her fingers. Amidst the dank dimness of the alley and the cold of the night, she savored the warmth.
Mako.
Her smile faded just a little. Much as she cherished this tiny glimpse at the Planet's precious life-blood, it saddened her all the same to see it coming from a leaky Shinra furnace.
The basket of flowers hanging from her arm swung lightly as she straightened, and the night's chill quickly reclaimed her cheeks and fingers. She peered down at the furnace for a moment longer, thinking wistfully that someday she might shimmer and float away from this city like the tiny white mako sprites shimmered and faded into the air as they floated away from the furnace.
Well…
It's a nice daydream, anyway.
That's what she told herself, turning her gaze back down the path of the alley. Her body reluctantly followed suit, and before she gave herself any more time to reflect sadly on the broken furnace her legs were moving her in the direction she should be going -- back to Sector 7, back to work. The heels of her boots tapped lightly against the pavement as she moved down the alley, the tips of her soft pink dress fluttering against her calves with every step.
She came to the alley entrance and stood there for a time, pausing to allow for a slow in traffic before she crossed. The Goblin's Bar sat to her left, the theater parking garage with its monstrous 'Loveless' ad to her right. A car came down the road in her direction and veered sharply away, leaving a musty-smelling trail of exhaust in its wake.
A busy night for the slums... She watched the bustle around her, pressing a closed hand to her chest, the basket of flowers dangling in the crook of her arm.