Final Fantasy VII: Apple Core

"I am the land, my eyes are the skies, my limbs the trees, I am the stone, and the water's depth... I'm not here to obtain the nature. I am nature…" (the old adage of the ancients)

Prologue

A train ran at full speed through the separate sectors of Midgar. Minutes later the old locomotive slowed down under a large bridge. Darkness surrounded the great metropolis of Midgar; slowly, the lights in the houses and the lampposts on the streets activated in order to illuminate the city until the morning came. It was a quiet night even though the city was full of life. The habitants couldn't complain about the prosperity because they had everything they needed and wanted. A home, work, money, and a trustworthy government known as the Shin-Ra Electric Power Company. Midgar wasn't an idyllic beautiful city, indeed the exact opposite of a picture book town, because neither trees nor flowers or other green plants grew. No, the conditions of climate and soil were too destroyed to be a biotope for plants and animals. But…who needed trees when you already lived in the lap of luxury?

Two people sat on one of the drawbridges and discussed that inequitable life. The twosome were curious and wanted to see how the city vegetated because only one portion of Midgar was rich. The other faction consisted of seventy percent slums and polluted residential area. The ground was void of nutrients, so plants and flowers were unable to grow. The air in the slums was filthy and the water too impure to drink. It was anything but pleasant for the people who were forced to live below the plate.

Many of the habitants were just stuck even though they had the courage and money to immigrate. However…no matter how poor the land was, they loved the cluttered town and didn't want to leave it. They had valuable memories and the dirty, uncomfortable living area of Midgar was something like a hometown to them. A home: a place where they were born and raised. Even without the wealth of those above the plate, they lead optimistic lives because they had no other option but to appreciate their poverty. Life was too precious to simply cast it asunder so easily…

The two young adults were sitting on the bridge below the moving train, letting their legs dangle over the edge. Their conversation was interrupted and they fell silent until the train passed and the loud clatter of the vehicle speeding down the tracks faded.

The capes they wore to conceal their bodies were simply loose and white in design. Their faces were masked; only their eyes were uncovered. They looked like desert thieves who planned their next attack to steal treasure. Their hands were covered in thick, white gloves that stretched up to their elbows. The boots they wore were slightly different, but it was clear they were still a pair. It was not unusual to see suspicious people in Midgar in the middle of the night…

The large advertising poster of the LOVELESS stage production flickered in the background of Sector 8. The city never rested completely, for the citizens of Midgar never slept. The massive mako reactors around the orbital town were constantly active. In the night, the trains were often very late. It was the same as always.

The time never stopped and the city grew more and more with each passing day. The metropolis unfolded it's splendor under the regiment of the 'Shin-Ra Electric Power Company' and the citizens who lived on the platform could live a pleasant life. Shin-Ra Inc. was great and very popular, because they consistently kept their promises and powered other small towns and villages in the surrounding area with mako electricity, so all the people had a comfortable life.

But of course ...there were a few people standing outside the association who didn't want to accept that Shin-Ra Inc. was successful and achieved utter dominance, which made a incomprehensible fortune because of their reclaimed mako energy. Such a resistance was against the Shin-Ra Company, and with relatively mild protests, they tried to attempt voicing their displeasure with the organization's practices. Unfortunately, the number of active resistance fighters was not more than two young people. And these two were just sitting, relaxed, on the drawbridge and talking about all the world and his brother...

The air up above the platform was cleaner than the air in the slums and the starry sky shone above the metropolis. The young woman in the bright uniform dared a glance upward to the great Shin-Ra headquarters which was built in the middle of the city. She saw some huge cranes that transported components made out of steel and iron. Although Midgar was still under construction, it still managed to grow with considerable speed. It was very impressive.

"Isn't it a little too early to choose a birthday gift for the president?"

A beer coaster thumped down the bridge and disappeared somewhere in the darkness of the railway tracks. The young man looked at his feminine partner with a sarcastic grin from the side and pulled the lower part of his white scarf away to get a few sips of cold beer. The woman next to him ccrossed her legs and leaned back slightly.

"I just want to talk to the president," the female voice answered in a serious and determined tone, while the man leaned forward to get an eye on the city lights in the distance before he shook his head.

"...You think you have enough luck to pass hundreds of guards and infantrymen just to get a piece of gossip to the president? It's too risky to infiltrate the Shin-Ra-building...but I'll see what I can do, maybe I'll be able to help you somehow…"

"...You've got the upper hand. I just hope that you can organize a conference with the president. That's all what I want."

"Sure! Anything else I can do for you?"

"No need to be sarcastic…"

"What a nice wish coming from you…"

Another smaller train passed loudly beneath the bridge and seconds later the whole area was quiet once again. The mysterious man in white chuckled before he continued to drink his beer. For a minute, the two just sat there and remained silent until the very pleasant female voice sounded again.

"No. It's the wish of the planet."

Without another word, she jumped confidently on another passing train and landed with both feet on the shaky roof. The man threw his nearly empty bottle into the darkness and with a sigh he shook the head again before he followed his female partner. He stood on the roof of the train and ran a few steps forward to secure the girl and hold her firmly. The fast train ran through the darkness to the train station of Sector 8...