A calm and cool night descended upon the sleeping planet. Silhouetted, rolling
hills extended for many miles into the horizon, spotlighted by a full moon that hanged
high in the sea of stars. A few birds flew high in the sky, returning to their nests to seek
refuge from the night's chill. Standing beside these hills was a group of mountains that
appeared to stand tall with the hills looking up to them. A tall, dark figure stood on the
highest peak of the mountains, overlooking the area. The figure, dressed completely in
black, used the darkness to hide its presence. It seemed to be well-built and a long,
polished silver sword was sheathed at its right side. Only the bright emerald green eyes
would give away the presence as it stood motionless. A gentle night breeze tugged
lightly at the figure's long hair. The eyes narrowed to a squint as a faint light appeared
on the crest of one of the hills. A mighty laugh bellowed from the depths of the figure's
body and echoed into the night.
Morning finally settled upon the land. Rays of sunshine beamed down on the
formerly dark hills. An occasional cloud shadowed a few of the hills as it caressed the
face of the sun. The gentle aroma of wild flowers filled the air as some of the petals
were carried away by the breeze.
A woman approached the field of flowers, dressed in a T-shirt and a pair of dusty
jeans. Her long, soft brown hair was pulled back in a high ponytail with a few pieces of
hair hanging down to eye-level as bangs. Following her was a large group of people
dressed in similar clothes and carrying many tools with them. As they caught up to her,
she turned around, placing her hands on her hips, and looked out over the group of
people. Her eyes scanned for any troublemakers as she gave the first orders, "Good
morning, everyone. My name is Mayasha and I will be your team leader for this project.
I have given each of you a set of papers as a briefing, but little history is known about this
particular spot and that's why we are here. I expect all of you to do your best to uncover
the mysteries that lurk beneath the surface. Good luck." With a couple mumbles from
some workers, each person set out to find their own place to start.
Later on, Mayasha's vibrant friend, Hyori, approached her during a break, "Maya,
are you absolutely sure there's something here?"
"I told you, Hyori, that I've been drawn to this particular area ever since I became
an archaeologist. It is like a dream come true to be here right now."
"And just what proof do we have?!"
Mayasha smiles at her with perfect confidence, "None."
About an hour after Hyori's questioning, Mayasha was walking through the wild
flowers, looking around for something to catch her interest. By this time, she was
starting to doubt if there were artifacts to find beneath the earth. The palms of her
delicate hands swept over the tops of the tall wildflowers, the petals tickling her hands
lightly. A cool, crisp breeze floated by, lifting the hair from her neck and filling her nose
with the sweet scent of the flowers. As she took another step, Mayasha felt something
hard dig into her heel. Stopping and kneeling down to see what it was, she noticed a
piece of metal sticking up from the soil. She removed a small, hand shovel from her
right, back pocket and carefully dug around the metal. After a few minutes, Mayasha had
uncovered a cross that was approximately 3 feet in height, but she could not pull it from
the soil.
She shoved the tool into the dirt, towering over the shovel to put her weight on it.
Suddenly, the shovel broke through the ground and Mayasha's arms went through with it.
She dropped the tool into the hole as her arms were sucked in as well. A loud, scraping
noise reached her ears for a few seconds. A short silence followed, then a thud as if the
shovel hit the ground far below. Shifting her weight to her legs, Mayasha was able to
pull her arms from the hole and sit up. Brushing the loose dirt from her arms, she looked
down at the cavity and took her flashlight from the tool belt that was strapped carelessly
around her waste. She flashed the beam of light into the hole and saw dusty, dry-rotted
shingles on a slanted roof and a steeple that rose to the top where the cross was attached.
Her first reaction was a call to the other crew members, "Hey, guys! I think I found
something!"
People rushed to her side and crowded around the pore so that the only light that
reached inside was that of her flashlight. Hyori pushed her way through a few of the
crew members, "Out of my way! Maya, what's going on?!" Immediately, she shut up
when she saw the building inside the hole. She knew what Mayasha was going to suggest
and ordered, "Open up this hole and get some rope! We're going inside!"
Once lowered into the pit, the few crew members that accompanied Mayasha and
Hyori stood in awe for a few moments. It seemed as though the building had merely
been covered by a blanket of earth. Though it was, of course, falling apart, the church
was in really nice shape for being hundreds of years old. Mayasha was the first to pull
herself together and walk in.
Inside the church, sunlight beamed through a giant hole in the roof, revealing a
small area where flowers were growing. The potent mixture of dust and sweet flowers
filled the air. The sunlight also passed through beautiful stained glass windows that
towered over her. She also spotted the figure of a girl tending to the flowers. The girl
was dressed in a dirty pink dress that had buttons missing on the bottom half of the skirt
and a heavier brown shirt over it. Her hair was similar to Mayasha's, but it was twisted
in the ponytail and she had two tiny braids on the sides of her face. She stood slowly and
turned to Mayasha and smiled brightly at her. Then, in the distance, Mayasha heard the
voices of her friends behind her and she turned around for a split second to look for them.
Remembering the girl, she spun around to see if it was still there, but the figure had
disappeared.
Hyori called out to Mayasha, "Maya, you look like you've just seen a ghost."
Mayasha shook her head lightly and looked to her friend, "No, I'm just in awe at
the fact that flowers are still growing here."
"That's strange. How could flowers grow down here? They don't have sunlight
or oxygen."
Mayasha walked over to the small patch of flowers that was growing up from the
floor and looked upward at an angle. There was another hole not far from the one she
stumbled upon in which sunlight shined through to the exact spot of the flower bed.
"That's not entirely true, Hyori." Her friend joined her as she explained, "Sunlight and
oxygen have gotten down here through that hole over there. Moisture isn't a problem
since it soaks into the ground and eventually drips down here from the surface. This
accounts for the rotted appearance of the church. The sunlight may only hit this spot for
a few minutes maybe an hour, but it must be enough for these plants to feed on. I just
wonder if the entire place is merely covered in a blanket rather than erosion filling every
crevice."
Voices of the other crew members interrupted their quiet thoughts. Sam ran into
the church and called for them, "Biggs has found another hole farther away from here in
the largest hill in the area."
"Now why in the world did he go that far away? That has to be at least a few
miles away from here!" Hyori complained.
Mayasha turned to take one last look at the church before heading for the surface,
"Have the crew break through this ceiling, but be careful. They could easily fall into the
hole and be killed. I'm going to the other site."
She walked out of the church and tugged on the rope she used to climb down.
Surface members pulled her out of the hole immediately and she headed for a rugged
looking jeep where Biggs sat waiting for her. Hopping into the car, Mayasha asked
questions, "Biggs, I know you like to do your own thing, but why did you go so far
out?"
"Actually, I was just driving around the area to see if there was anything that
caught my interest. That's when I hit that damn hole and almost got stuck." Biggs was a
large, husky man. He was dark-skinned and had a metal right arm. Mayasha never asked
him what happened to it, because she figured if he wanted it to be known then he would
have told them by now.
"Fine then," she said as she propped her feet up on the dash and the wind pulled
back on her long, silky hair. Soon after, a few more vehicles followed them the entire
way to the site.
Mayasha bent down to the hole to shine her flashlight into it while the others
stood, waiting for her reaction. The light reflected immediately off a shiny surface,
almost blinding her. She stood up and rubbed her eyes and everyone watched for her
verdict. "It must be thick glass. This appears to be an enormous business building,
probably the main building of the city. Break through this blanket of earth around the
building and we'll call it a day. In a couple of hours we won't be able to see very well so
hurry it up. After that, meet back at the hotel in Kalm to get a good night's rest. We'll
need it for tomorrow."
That night, the figure returned. The person strolled through the remaining
wildflowers and onto the stripped land that was cleared for the archaeologists. This time,
it was wearing a long, black cloak with the hood up to hide his face. The figure was in
no hurry, but it swiftly made its way to the place where the large building was uncovered
earlier in the day. Hopping through the open hole in the building, the boots cracked the
broken glass that remained on the floor. All was dark except for the moon's light on a
metal chamber with a clear viewing window. Above the window, engraved in metal was
the name Jenova. Inside was a horrific creature that looked like a mutated human being
frozen in a purple gel-like liquid. The cloaked figure placed a black-gloved hand on the
window and whispered, "It has been too long, mother." The liquid pulsated with energy
as a malevolent grin spread across his face. The light became blinding and, suddenly, the
glass shattered, but the figure showed no sign of concern or injury. By the time the glass
had fallen to the floor, both the figure and the creature inside the chamber were gone.
The next morning, Mayasha was the first one at the site. She stood at the edge of
the hole where the church was, staring down in deep thought as she sipped on her cup of
hot chocolate. It wasn't long before Hyori approached her, "Maya, most of the crew are
here and there are two new additions ready to meet with you and get started." With a
slow nod, she turned to follow her friend. Hyori was always a very colorful person to say
the least. Her hair was slightly darker than Mayasha's, but she had bangs and her hair
was pulled back. She was also somewhat of a thief, borrowing people's tools and
forgetting to give them back.
Where the wildflowers began again stood the two new workers. Mayasha was
impressed by the way these two looked. They were dressed to start work immediately
and were both very handsome men. "Good morning, gentlemen. My name is Mayasha
and I'm your team leader. Welcome to the site."
The one that replied was tall and well built with emerald green eyes and short,
silver hair. He was dressed in a pair of old jeans and T-shirt, "It is nice to meet you. My
name is Riven and I'm looking forward to uncovering whatever lies here."
"It is a pleasure to have you, Riven." Then, Mayasha looked to the quiet one who
was dressed similar to the other. He looked just as strong, but he had blonde, spiky hair
and deep, liquid blue eyes. "And what is your name?"
For a moment, the guy seemed to be in his own world as he looked around.
Finally, he snapped out of it, "Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Michael."
"It is nice to meet you both. I hope you'll do your best."
Mayasha's first priority was to explore the newly uncovered building to determine
its roll in the surrounding society. Once she was lowered into the enlarged cavity, she
knew by the enormous size of the building that it was, indeed, the main building of the
city. In order to get to the very bottom, Mayasha had to maneuver her way through large
pipes that extended out into the city. A massive pipe ring surrounded the building and
smaller tributaries branched off from the ring and winded their way to a small ring on the
outskirts of the city. Being at such a great height slightly frightened her for she was
hundreds of feet above the smallest buildings. Her feet touched the ground, but she was a
little wobbly from the extreme heights. She took a moment to gaze up at the ruined
building in awe of its dominance. As she stood beneath the encasing ring gazing up at
the massive structure, she felt a presence...a feeling like dejavous.
Eerie creeking surrounded her as she walked through the entrance. Mayasha
carefully observed everything from a main desk to the two impressive staircases on the
sides. The name on the front of the desk startled her. It read "ShinRa" and Mayasha
nearly tripped over a piece of debris on the floor. Shaking it off, she continued up the
stairs. Each floor was special in its own way, and it was obvious that it was a major
corporate building. There was even a tree in the center of a cafe on one of the floors.
However, everything changed on the sixty-seventh floor. A chill ran up
Mayasha's spine as her steps carried her to what appeared to be a storage room or a
laboratory. The feeling was verified as she turned a corner and saw that this is where her
light shined into the day before. She saw a large, circular metal chamber that had been
opened...violently. The door was crunched up like an empty can that someone had
stepped on. As she lifted her foot up, there was a strange gel-like liquid on the bottoms
of her shoes. Kneeling down, she saw that it was purple and was obviously fresh.
"Surely it would have evaporated by now," she mumbled to herself. Cautiously, she
touched her hand to the liquid and a surge of energy shot through her arm and to her
head. She saw the chamber as it was before with its radiating light and squinted to read
what was engraved just above. She almost fainted as she read the name Jenova, but
before she had the chance, a monster slammed against the viewing window with a loud,
piercing scream. Mayasha was jolted back to reality with a sudden gasp. Her head
jerked in every direction, reassuring herself that she was back in reality. It was time to
get out of the building.
For the remainder of the day, the crew uncovered much of the city easily. Riven
was always around asking people if they needed help with anything. Michael pretty
much kept to himself, but was always available if someone asked for help. Sometimes
he was in his own little world just looking around as if in deep thought.
At the end of the day, Hyori rode back to Kalm in Mayasha's silver car. On the
way, they had a discussion about the two new guys. "Riven seems too cheery and helpful
for even me to stand!" Hyori started.
"Yes, he is. They are both very attractive and charismatic in their own ways."
"On the other hand, Michael is too quiet. We would never hit it off with that kind
of silence! He seems a little bizarre to me, don't you think?"
"Oh well, we all have our quiet times do we not? Maybe he's nervous about
working with us right now. Let him get adjusted to the new job and we'll see how quiet
he actually is."
"Well, at least we can say we finally have something to look at besides old
relics!" They broke into laughter as the car reached Kalm and the hotel.
Within a single work week, the crew had the entire city uncovered. Only the
details remained. Mayasha could be found walking the dusty streets of the city off in her
own little world. She had premonitions of how the city operated all those years ago.
Suddenly, she saw the girl that was in the church standing on one of the street corners.
Mayasha watched closely as she tried to sell her flowers to people that walked by. The
city appeared dirty and crowded and the flower girl seemed so lonely, but always
cheerful. The girl walked into a dark alley, looking like she was going home for the
night. Mayasha then saw a young man walk up to her and tell her that it was dangerous
to be there. He did not look like a normal citizen, but more like a fighter. The man
bought one of her flowers as he sent her to safety. Mayasha smiled at the two, thinking
the man seemed very familiar.
She was about to start following the man to see what happened when Riven
grabbed her shoulders and she snapped out of it. "Hey, Maya, come back to this planet!"
"Oh, hi Riven. I was just thinking that's all."
"You looked like you were in a daze. Are you all right?"
"I'm fine, thank you. What are you doing here? I thought you were with the
team."
"I came to find you and see if you were all right since I haven't seen you with us
lately."
"I don't know. I feel as if I know this place from somewhere. I think maybe I'll
go to the library tomorrow when we're off and see if I can find something."
"What makes you think you know this place?"
"It was a bedtime story my father used to tell me. He said there was a city called
Midgar around here and that the planet was almost destroyed a long time ago. There was
a group of nine I think it was: Cloud, a mercenary; Aeris, a flower girl; Barret and Tifa,
members of a group called Avalanche; Red XIII, a lion-like creature; Vincent, a vampire;
Yuffie, a materia thief; Sid, a pilot; and Cait Sith, a mechanical creature. A man named
Sephiroth was trying to destroy the planet and it was up to them to stop him. It was a
complicated story and took several nights to finish telling, but it was a great story. Aeris
was killed in an attempt to stop Meteor from destroying the planet. The team found
motivation in her death to defeat Sephiroth and save the day. I don't know if any of this
is true or not, but it all seems real."
"It sounds like a good story. You'll have to tell the whole thing to me sometime,
but I've never heard of such a thing. However, if you want to at least dig up some history
on this place, I'll help you. It's probably just a story and nothing more."
"How do you know?"
"It seems a little far-fetched to be real. I don't think it's possible."
"Maybe, but I think it might be. Let's meet at the library at two o'clock, okay?"
"I'll be there."
Little did they know that a shadowy figure was lurking around the corner,
listening to everything and watching them.
Instead of waiting for two to come, Mayasha was at the library by noon. For
some bizarre reason, she didn't trust Riven with this situation. He didn't seem to believe
her at all. It did seem a little crazy, but not impossible. The figure that stalked her the
previous day was at the library. Mayasha spun around, thinking she saw something, but
she just shrugged and continued.
As she walked out of one of the isles of books, reading as she went, Mayasha
bumped into Michael, knocking her books onto the floor. "I'm so sorry, Maya. I didn't
mean to run into you."
"No, I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."
Michael knelt down and helped her pick up her books while picking up his own
as well. Mayasha noticed that the books he had were on the exact topic she was
researching. "What are you doing here? he asked."
"I'm researching the history of the site. It intrigues me that there seems to be no
information on it at all."
"That's funny. I'm looking for the same thing, but I seem to have found
something."
They sat down at a small, vacant table to look at the books and newspapers he
found. He looked at his watch and jumped, "I forgot about the time. It's almost two and
I have to get back to my house. Maya, why don't you come over tomorrow after work
and look at these with me. There is a lot to talk about."
"Sure, why not? I'll be there."
As soon as Michael left, Riven sneaked up behind her and gently massaged her
shoulders, "Hello, Maya. I see you've already started without me."
"I figured I'd be here a few minutes early to get started."
"Well, I'm here now. Let's see if we can find anything."
Mayasha hid a paper that Michael had accidentally left behind in her backpack so
that Riven didn't see it. Riven didn't seem like he knew what to do. Every time they
found a lead, he would screw up or the listing would disappear. After a while, they
finally gave up and went back to the hotel.
Later that night, Mayasha shut herself in her room and took out the paper that
Michael left behind. There was an article on the front page printed about monsters
appearing and that a company named ShinRa was involved. She knew the name ShinRa
was in the story her father told her and that she had to go to Michael's house to find out
the rest.
(end chapter 1)
hills extended for many miles into the horizon, spotlighted by a full moon that hanged
high in the sea of stars. A few birds flew high in the sky, returning to their nests to seek
refuge from the night's chill. Standing beside these hills was a group of mountains that
appeared to stand tall with the hills looking up to them. A tall, dark figure stood on the
highest peak of the mountains, overlooking the area. The figure, dressed completely in
black, used the darkness to hide its presence. It seemed to be well-built and a long,
polished silver sword was sheathed at its right side. Only the bright emerald green eyes
would give away the presence as it stood motionless. A gentle night breeze tugged
lightly at the figure's long hair. The eyes narrowed to a squint as a faint light appeared
on the crest of one of the hills. A mighty laugh bellowed from the depths of the figure's
body and echoed into the night.
Morning finally settled upon the land. Rays of sunshine beamed down on the
formerly dark hills. An occasional cloud shadowed a few of the hills as it caressed the
face of the sun. The gentle aroma of wild flowers filled the air as some of the petals
were carried away by the breeze.
A woman approached the field of flowers, dressed in a T-shirt and a pair of dusty
jeans. Her long, soft brown hair was pulled back in a high ponytail with a few pieces of
hair hanging down to eye-level as bangs. Following her was a large group of people
dressed in similar clothes and carrying many tools with them. As they caught up to her,
she turned around, placing her hands on her hips, and looked out over the group of
people. Her eyes scanned for any troublemakers as she gave the first orders, "Good
morning, everyone. My name is Mayasha and I will be your team leader for this project.
I have given each of you a set of papers as a briefing, but little history is known about this
particular spot and that's why we are here. I expect all of you to do your best to uncover
the mysteries that lurk beneath the surface. Good luck." With a couple mumbles from
some workers, each person set out to find their own place to start.
Later on, Mayasha's vibrant friend, Hyori, approached her during a break, "Maya,
are you absolutely sure there's something here?"
"I told you, Hyori, that I've been drawn to this particular area ever since I became
an archaeologist. It is like a dream come true to be here right now."
"And just what proof do we have?!"
Mayasha smiles at her with perfect confidence, "None."
About an hour after Hyori's questioning, Mayasha was walking through the wild
flowers, looking around for something to catch her interest. By this time, she was
starting to doubt if there were artifacts to find beneath the earth. The palms of her
delicate hands swept over the tops of the tall wildflowers, the petals tickling her hands
lightly. A cool, crisp breeze floated by, lifting the hair from her neck and filling her nose
with the sweet scent of the flowers. As she took another step, Mayasha felt something
hard dig into her heel. Stopping and kneeling down to see what it was, she noticed a
piece of metal sticking up from the soil. She removed a small, hand shovel from her
right, back pocket and carefully dug around the metal. After a few minutes, Mayasha had
uncovered a cross that was approximately 3 feet in height, but she could not pull it from
the soil.
She shoved the tool into the dirt, towering over the shovel to put her weight on it.
Suddenly, the shovel broke through the ground and Mayasha's arms went through with it.
She dropped the tool into the hole as her arms were sucked in as well. A loud, scraping
noise reached her ears for a few seconds. A short silence followed, then a thud as if the
shovel hit the ground far below. Shifting her weight to her legs, Mayasha was able to
pull her arms from the hole and sit up. Brushing the loose dirt from her arms, she looked
down at the cavity and took her flashlight from the tool belt that was strapped carelessly
around her waste. She flashed the beam of light into the hole and saw dusty, dry-rotted
shingles on a slanted roof and a steeple that rose to the top where the cross was attached.
Her first reaction was a call to the other crew members, "Hey, guys! I think I found
something!"
People rushed to her side and crowded around the pore so that the only light that
reached inside was that of her flashlight. Hyori pushed her way through a few of the
crew members, "Out of my way! Maya, what's going on?!" Immediately, she shut up
when she saw the building inside the hole. She knew what Mayasha was going to suggest
and ordered, "Open up this hole and get some rope! We're going inside!"
Once lowered into the pit, the few crew members that accompanied Mayasha and
Hyori stood in awe for a few moments. It seemed as though the building had merely
been covered by a blanket of earth. Though it was, of course, falling apart, the church
was in really nice shape for being hundreds of years old. Mayasha was the first to pull
herself together and walk in.
Inside the church, sunlight beamed through a giant hole in the roof, revealing a
small area where flowers were growing. The potent mixture of dust and sweet flowers
filled the air. The sunlight also passed through beautiful stained glass windows that
towered over her. She also spotted the figure of a girl tending to the flowers. The girl
was dressed in a dirty pink dress that had buttons missing on the bottom half of the skirt
and a heavier brown shirt over it. Her hair was similar to Mayasha's, but it was twisted
in the ponytail and she had two tiny braids on the sides of her face. She stood slowly and
turned to Mayasha and smiled brightly at her. Then, in the distance, Mayasha heard the
voices of her friends behind her and she turned around for a split second to look for them.
Remembering the girl, she spun around to see if it was still there, but the figure had
disappeared.
Hyori called out to Mayasha, "Maya, you look like you've just seen a ghost."
Mayasha shook her head lightly and looked to her friend, "No, I'm just in awe at
the fact that flowers are still growing here."
"That's strange. How could flowers grow down here? They don't have sunlight
or oxygen."
Mayasha walked over to the small patch of flowers that was growing up from the
floor and looked upward at an angle. There was another hole not far from the one she
stumbled upon in which sunlight shined through to the exact spot of the flower bed.
"That's not entirely true, Hyori." Her friend joined her as she explained, "Sunlight and
oxygen have gotten down here through that hole over there. Moisture isn't a problem
since it soaks into the ground and eventually drips down here from the surface. This
accounts for the rotted appearance of the church. The sunlight may only hit this spot for
a few minutes maybe an hour, but it must be enough for these plants to feed on. I just
wonder if the entire place is merely covered in a blanket rather than erosion filling every
crevice."
Voices of the other crew members interrupted their quiet thoughts. Sam ran into
the church and called for them, "Biggs has found another hole farther away from here in
the largest hill in the area."
"Now why in the world did he go that far away? That has to be at least a few
miles away from here!" Hyori complained.
Mayasha turned to take one last look at the church before heading for the surface,
"Have the crew break through this ceiling, but be careful. They could easily fall into the
hole and be killed. I'm going to the other site."
She walked out of the church and tugged on the rope she used to climb down.
Surface members pulled her out of the hole immediately and she headed for a rugged
looking jeep where Biggs sat waiting for her. Hopping into the car, Mayasha asked
questions, "Biggs, I know you like to do your own thing, but why did you go so far
out?"
"Actually, I was just driving around the area to see if there was anything that
caught my interest. That's when I hit that damn hole and almost got stuck." Biggs was a
large, husky man. He was dark-skinned and had a metal right arm. Mayasha never asked
him what happened to it, because she figured if he wanted it to be known then he would
have told them by now.
"Fine then," she said as she propped her feet up on the dash and the wind pulled
back on her long, silky hair. Soon after, a few more vehicles followed them the entire
way to the site.
Mayasha bent down to the hole to shine her flashlight into it while the others
stood, waiting for her reaction. The light reflected immediately off a shiny surface,
almost blinding her. She stood up and rubbed her eyes and everyone watched for her
verdict. "It must be thick glass. This appears to be an enormous business building,
probably the main building of the city. Break through this blanket of earth around the
building and we'll call it a day. In a couple of hours we won't be able to see very well so
hurry it up. After that, meet back at the hotel in Kalm to get a good night's rest. We'll
need it for tomorrow."
That night, the figure returned. The person strolled through the remaining
wildflowers and onto the stripped land that was cleared for the archaeologists. This time,
it was wearing a long, black cloak with the hood up to hide his face. The figure was in
no hurry, but it swiftly made its way to the place where the large building was uncovered
earlier in the day. Hopping through the open hole in the building, the boots cracked the
broken glass that remained on the floor. All was dark except for the moon's light on a
metal chamber with a clear viewing window. Above the window, engraved in metal was
the name Jenova. Inside was a horrific creature that looked like a mutated human being
frozen in a purple gel-like liquid. The cloaked figure placed a black-gloved hand on the
window and whispered, "It has been too long, mother." The liquid pulsated with energy
as a malevolent grin spread across his face. The light became blinding and, suddenly, the
glass shattered, but the figure showed no sign of concern or injury. By the time the glass
had fallen to the floor, both the figure and the creature inside the chamber were gone.
The next morning, Mayasha was the first one at the site. She stood at the edge of
the hole where the church was, staring down in deep thought as she sipped on her cup of
hot chocolate. It wasn't long before Hyori approached her, "Maya, most of the crew are
here and there are two new additions ready to meet with you and get started." With a
slow nod, she turned to follow her friend. Hyori was always a very colorful person to say
the least. Her hair was slightly darker than Mayasha's, but she had bangs and her hair
was pulled back. She was also somewhat of a thief, borrowing people's tools and
forgetting to give them back.
Where the wildflowers began again stood the two new workers. Mayasha was
impressed by the way these two looked. They were dressed to start work immediately
and were both very handsome men. "Good morning, gentlemen. My name is Mayasha
and I'm your team leader. Welcome to the site."
The one that replied was tall and well built with emerald green eyes and short,
silver hair. He was dressed in a pair of old jeans and T-shirt, "It is nice to meet you. My
name is Riven and I'm looking forward to uncovering whatever lies here."
"It is a pleasure to have you, Riven." Then, Mayasha looked to the quiet one who
was dressed similar to the other. He looked just as strong, but he had blonde, spiky hair
and deep, liquid blue eyes. "And what is your name?"
For a moment, the guy seemed to be in his own world as he looked around.
Finally, he snapped out of it, "Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Michael."
"It is nice to meet you both. I hope you'll do your best."
Mayasha's first priority was to explore the newly uncovered building to determine
its roll in the surrounding society. Once she was lowered into the enlarged cavity, she
knew by the enormous size of the building that it was, indeed, the main building of the
city. In order to get to the very bottom, Mayasha had to maneuver her way through large
pipes that extended out into the city. A massive pipe ring surrounded the building and
smaller tributaries branched off from the ring and winded their way to a small ring on the
outskirts of the city. Being at such a great height slightly frightened her for she was
hundreds of feet above the smallest buildings. Her feet touched the ground, but she was a
little wobbly from the extreme heights. She took a moment to gaze up at the ruined
building in awe of its dominance. As she stood beneath the encasing ring gazing up at
the massive structure, she felt a presence...a feeling like dejavous.
Eerie creeking surrounded her as she walked through the entrance. Mayasha
carefully observed everything from a main desk to the two impressive staircases on the
sides. The name on the front of the desk startled her. It read "ShinRa" and Mayasha
nearly tripped over a piece of debris on the floor. Shaking it off, she continued up the
stairs. Each floor was special in its own way, and it was obvious that it was a major
corporate building. There was even a tree in the center of a cafe on one of the floors.
However, everything changed on the sixty-seventh floor. A chill ran up
Mayasha's spine as her steps carried her to what appeared to be a storage room or a
laboratory. The feeling was verified as she turned a corner and saw that this is where her
light shined into the day before. She saw a large, circular metal chamber that had been
opened...violently. The door was crunched up like an empty can that someone had
stepped on. As she lifted her foot up, there was a strange gel-like liquid on the bottoms
of her shoes. Kneeling down, she saw that it was purple and was obviously fresh.
"Surely it would have evaporated by now," she mumbled to herself. Cautiously, she
touched her hand to the liquid and a surge of energy shot through her arm and to her
head. She saw the chamber as it was before with its radiating light and squinted to read
what was engraved just above. She almost fainted as she read the name Jenova, but
before she had the chance, a monster slammed against the viewing window with a loud,
piercing scream. Mayasha was jolted back to reality with a sudden gasp. Her head
jerked in every direction, reassuring herself that she was back in reality. It was time to
get out of the building.
For the remainder of the day, the crew uncovered much of the city easily. Riven
was always around asking people if they needed help with anything. Michael pretty
much kept to himself, but was always available if someone asked for help. Sometimes
he was in his own little world just looking around as if in deep thought.
At the end of the day, Hyori rode back to Kalm in Mayasha's silver car. On the
way, they had a discussion about the two new guys. "Riven seems too cheery and helpful
for even me to stand!" Hyori started.
"Yes, he is. They are both very attractive and charismatic in their own ways."
"On the other hand, Michael is too quiet. We would never hit it off with that kind
of silence! He seems a little bizarre to me, don't you think?"
"Oh well, we all have our quiet times do we not? Maybe he's nervous about
working with us right now. Let him get adjusted to the new job and we'll see how quiet
he actually is."
"Well, at least we can say we finally have something to look at besides old
relics!" They broke into laughter as the car reached Kalm and the hotel.
Within a single work week, the crew had the entire city uncovered. Only the
details remained. Mayasha could be found walking the dusty streets of the city off in her
own little world. She had premonitions of how the city operated all those years ago.
Suddenly, she saw the girl that was in the church standing on one of the street corners.
Mayasha watched closely as she tried to sell her flowers to people that walked by. The
city appeared dirty and crowded and the flower girl seemed so lonely, but always
cheerful. The girl walked into a dark alley, looking like she was going home for the
night. Mayasha then saw a young man walk up to her and tell her that it was dangerous
to be there. He did not look like a normal citizen, but more like a fighter. The man
bought one of her flowers as he sent her to safety. Mayasha smiled at the two, thinking
the man seemed very familiar.
She was about to start following the man to see what happened when Riven
grabbed her shoulders and she snapped out of it. "Hey, Maya, come back to this planet!"
"Oh, hi Riven. I was just thinking that's all."
"You looked like you were in a daze. Are you all right?"
"I'm fine, thank you. What are you doing here? I thought you were with the
team."
"I came to find you and see if you were all right since I haven't seen you with us
lately."
"I don't know. I feel as if I know this place from somewhere. I think maybe I'll
go to the library tomorrow when we're off and see if I can find something."
"What makes you think you know this place?"
"It was a bedtime story my father used to tell me. He said there was a city called
Midgar around here and that the planet was almost destroyed a long time ago. There was
a group of nine I think it was: Cloud, a mercenary; Aeris, a flower girl; Barret and Tifa,
members of a group called Avalanche; Red XIII, a lion-like creature; Vincent, a vampire;
Yuffie, a materia thief; Sid, a pilot; and Cait Sith, a mechanical creature. A man named
Sephiroth was trying to destroy the planet and it was up to them to stop him. It was a
complicated story and took several nights to finish telling, but it was a great story. Aeris
was killed in an attempt to stop Meteor from destroying the planet. The team found
motivation in her death to defeat Sephiroth and save the day. I don't know if any of this
is true or not, but it all seems real."
"It sounds like a good story. You'll have to tell the whole thing to me sometime,
but I've never heard of such a thing. However, if you want to at least dig up some history
on this place, I'll help you. It's probably just a story and nothing more."
"How do you know?"
"It seems a little far-fetched to be real. I don't think it's possible."
"Maybe, but I think it might be. Let's meet at the library at two o'clock, okay?"
"I'll be there."
Little did they know that a shadowy figure was lurking around the corner,
listening to everything and watching them.
Instead of waiting for two to come, Mayasha was at the library by noon. For
some bizarre reason, she didn't trust Riven with this situation. He didn't seem to believe
her at all. It did seem a little crazy, but not impossible. The figure that stalked her the
previous day was at the library. Mayasha spun around, thinking she saw something, but
she just shrugged and continued.
As she walked out of one of the isles of books, reading as she went, Mayasha
bumped into Michael, knocking her books onto the floor. "I'm so sorry, Maya. I didn't
mean to run into you."
"No, I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."
Michael knelt down and helped her pick up her books while picking up his own
as well. Mayasha noticed that the books he had were on the exact topic she was
researching. "What are you doing here? he asked."
"I'm researching the history of the site. It intrigues me that there seems to be no
information on it at all."
"That's funny. I'm looking for the same thing, but I seem to have found
something."
They sat down at a small, vacant table to look at the books and newspapers he
found. He looked at his watch and jumped, "I forgot about the time. It's almost two and
I have to get back to my house. Maya, why don't you come over tomorrow after work
and look at these with me. There is a lot to talk about."
"Sure, why not? I'll be there."
As soon as Michael left, Riven sneaked up behind her and gently massaged her
shoulders, "Hello, Maya. I see you've already started without me."
"I figured I'd be here a few minutes early to get started."
"Well, I'm here now. Let's see if we can find anything."
Mayasha hid a paper that Michael had accidentally left behind in her backpack so
that Riven didn't see it. Riven didn't seem like he knew what to do. Every time they
found a lead, he would screw up or the listing would disappear. After a while, they
finally gave up and went back to the hotel.
Later that night, Mayasha shut herself in her room and took out the paper that
Michael left behind. There was an article on the front page printed about monsters
appearing and that a company named ShinRa was involved. She knew the name ShinRa
was in the story her father told her and that she had to go to Michael's house to find out
the rest.
(end chapter 1)