Prologue

PROLOGUE

THE LAST CETRA

Elmyra Gainsborough watched the commuters alight from the rusting locomotive, hanging on to the slimmest of hopes that tonight would finally see her husband returned to her.

It was by no means the Midgar Transit's last arrival of the day, but she was experienced enough to know Shinra, Inc. personnel were rarely on board so late. As it happened, though, this train's route had originated in Sector2 of the upper-city, near the barracks of the Shinra Army. If Lieutenant Gainsborough was ever going to emerge from the artificial glow of a carriage interior, this was as decent a chance as any.

Elmyra waited with drawn breath, her heart fluttering, her stomach in knots.

The locomotive was an older MK100-70 class, and the fumes of its Mako engine had settled like a pale green mist across the platform, swirling playfully as the passengers made their way from the station. A schoolgirl was leading her toddler brother down the concrete steps while their mother followed behind. The woman's hair was as dark and grubby as the children's, and she bore the look of someone who had spent their entire life in the Slums.

"Hurry up, Biggs!" the girl demanded impatiently. "I don't wanna miss Mog House!"

Beyond the terminus, a maze of lumber and corrugated iron rooftops began east in the direction of the Central Complex, the colossal tower that held the upper-city hundreds of feet above. Broken shafts of pinkish twilight breached the underside of the Plate where construction work continued, piercing the shanty villages like radiant spears amid the Midgar Slums' eternal gloom. The colours reminded her of Kalm's sunsets, and of her sister who still lived in the quaint fort town.

I really ought to visit Jersey soon, Elmyra reflected. She's bound to be as lonely as I am since marrying that travelling salesman. And it would do me some good to get away from this impoverishment for a while...

Elmyra had become very familiar with the Lower Sector7 landscape in recent weeks. She had received a letter from her husband two months earlier, notifying her that he had been granted temporary leave from the War. The conflict in Wutai had been raging for almost a year, with no signs of resolution, and Lieutenant Gainsborough's platoon had won a strategic and well-publicised victory at the Zephyr Heathlands. Her information was limited to what was broadcast by Shinra News, though, and she was savvy enough to recognise much of that was probably twisted to promote the corporation's agenda.

If truth be told, she cared little for the details; all she wanted was to feel her husband's loving embrace, and be certain that he was unharmed.

Yet when Elmyra had come to the station on the morning his leave was scheduled, barely able to contain her excitement, she was met by bitter disappointment. While the other women wept with joy, leaping into their partners' arms, she had lingered like a lost soul until after the last couple had departed, staring anxiously at the empty wagon.

Why isn't he here? she had deliberated. He said he would be on that train. Maybe he's just been held up at Headquarters…

However, her husband was not on the next service, nor any that afternoon. She had made the trip to Sector7 every day since, but it was to no avail, and not a single explanation for his absence had been issued. Tonight was no different.

"All aboard!" yelled the moustached station master, peering at his timepiece. "Train's leavin'."

Sighing with frustration that the journey from Sector5 had again been in vain, Elmyra turned from the platform as the station master blew his whistle, drawing the carriage doors shut as he did every night. She was now accustomed to the man in the tight red uniform – Hauser – and though he had often offered words of support and kindness over the weeks, she had grown to dread his presence; his signal condemned her to the long walk home alone.

The evening's warm summer air felt thick and humid against her skin, her cotton frock clinging to her body. Flickering gas lamps illuminated the road that led back to the Sector6 gateway, the orange light swathing the old trail of dirt and waste in murky silhouettes. Heavy clunking sounds resonated from the nearby Train Graveyard as cargo trucks were shunted around the ghostly depot, the repetitive thuds ascending raucously into the otherwise silent sky.

As the last cart was rolled into the siding, bringing with it a peaceful stillness, Elmyra slowed in her tracks, listening intently.

"Mama…" a tiny voice whimpered from the shadows.

Elmyra glanced along the path, straining her eyes as she noticed two shapes partially concealed by the charred body of a burnt-out vehicle.

"Is someone there?" she called nervously.

"Mama…" came the girl's trembling voice again.

Cautiously edging forward, Elmyra approached the car. As her sight adjusted to the dimness of the spot, she could make out a young child, knelt over the form of a beautiful woman. Elmyra rushed to her side at once, her mind blanking as she tried to speak, unable to find words of comfort as she saw the life drain from the lady's angelic face. The girl clasped her mother's limp hand, tears trickling down her cheeks as she obediently slipped a small white object into her dress pocket. With great effort, the woman reached out to Elmyra with her free arm, meeting her frightened gaze with fading jade green eyes.

"Please take Aerith away from here…" she whispered with her final breath. "Please keep her safe…"

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