Final Fantasy VII 1. Chapter 1

**I've had this idea floating around in my head for awhile. I guess since I have time to write, I'm going to make this a short story. Hopefully no more than 5 or 6 chapters. I mean, haven't we all wondered what we would do if we ended up in the world of Final Fantasy?** **Besides, the Final Fantasy Tactics games always have a person sucked into the world of FF, why can't I write my own spin on things?**

I was finally free! After weeks of studying for finals and then taking the aforementioned tests, I was done! Winter Break had officially started for me and I could now kiss my first semester of college goodbye. I felt good about most of my finals...except for Macroeconomics. I was never much of a math person and the graphs just confused me. I mean, I could tell you what they meant, but if you wanted me draw them out I was lost. Thankfully, I changed my major from Business to English, to avoid any more math and graph drawing. Nothing but essays and reading from here on out! I can't say I was anything but relieved. Writing had always been my thing. But anyway, that's why I'm writing this.

Because something unbelievable happened to me that day. It would be every gamer's dream come true. However, often, like in real life, we picture something that is too perfect. Something that we know is impossible, but we hold to the hope that it is everything that it seems. Even when it is not. I'm not making much sense, am I? Let me stray from my memories for a bit to make things more clear. Final Fantasy. It is one of the biggest names in the video game market. It has spawned many sequels and has met with much commercial success. But let's break down its name. Final, meaning last and Fantasy, meaning something that is like a dream, not real, where the impossible and improbable can happen. That can best describe my experience, because believe me, I thought I would die in that fantasy. Are you still following me? Have you grasped what I've been trying to say? Let me tell you; I was taken into the world of Final Fantasy VII. You don't believe me, do you? I didn't believe it myself. After all, I was a full-time college student who was headed to law school. I didn't have time to play make-believe or live in a fantasy. But it all started with that book...

I sighed and flexed my stiff muscles tiredly, I had just pulled an all-nighter for my business final and was about to crash. But I just couldn't resist when my friend Leslie asked if I wanted to take a look at an old bookshop down the street from our college. I mean, we got student discounts! Need I say more? Both of us loved books and we roamed the store separately, each falling into her own little world among the dust motes and golden sunshine flickering into the shop from the high windows above. Tall, massive selves of books surrounded me and I couldn't help but think the store was almost like the Beast's library in Disney's Beauty and the Beast. Scanning the rows of books, I found one that caught my eye. The book was heavy and thick with dust as I picked it up, but I could tell even with its layer of dust, that it was beautifully bound. It was made of smooth, sturdy leather and there were beautiful engravings and motifs all across its cover and even on it's spine. I opened the book and tried to make out what it said on the first page-it looked a bit like French, but it wasn't and didn't look like any language I had ever seen. I flipped through a few pages and stopped in shock; I had seen the Shinra building from Final Fantasy VII! I tried flipping back to that page, but instead stopped upon another. I couldn't help it, I'd always had a fascination with fencing and absolutely adoring using a rapier. I'd tried it once at a Renaissance Fair and took to it immediately. Somehow, even with it being my first and only lesson, I just felt as if that blade were an extension of myself. And the blade I saw on the page was gorgeous, its name definitely French. I recognized it as the French feminine word for happy. After a semester of beginning French, I knew at least that much.

"Joyeuse: This sword celebrates the joy of victory for its wielder. On the matter of the victim, it is silent."

I touched the sword on the page and remembered how cool it was to use the fencing viera in Final Fantasy Tactics. I loved the combination of grace and deadly force a rapier had and when paired with the Elementalist job, it made a very well-rounded warrior. Thinking I had found a collector's item of Final Fantasy memorabilia, I raised my head to call for my friend Leslie. Then, I saw a flash of light come from the book and that was the last thing I remembered.

My head hurt. I groaned and opened my eyes to find myself staring at a cloudy, gray sky. Then I bolted into a sitting position, what was I doing lying on cement outside? I looked around at my surroundings and could find nothing that I recognized, only dirty, crowded streets. I was definitely not in the suburbs that surrounded my college and nowhere near any part of the city that I knew of. I wasn't even sure what city I was in. I stood and brushed myself off as I exited the small alley I had woken up in. Then I gasped when I saw what lay in the distance. The Shinra building was spread out before me, dominating much of the city, with its mako reactors. I was in shock; this couldn't be happening I thought blankly. Unfortunately, I didn't have the luxury of thinking, as a hand closed around my mouth and someone pulled me back into the alley. It was then that I realized where I was and I remembered what Aerith had said about it,

"This place is scary in a lot of ways. Especially for a girl."

I was in Sector 6 of Midgar... in the Wall Market.

**So this was a teaser for a new story I want to try out. What do you think? Review please! Also, this character is a self-insert, NOT an OC. Which means this person is actually me! After all, it is my take on things. So, any personality traits, skills, or bad habits you see, are actually based off myself. Hope you find me interesting, haha. Also, there will not be any pairings, except ones that are canon. As much as I'd like to have some romance going on between myself one of those hot guys, it just would take away from what I'm going for. This isn't a love story I'm attempting. I'm trying to put a new spin and perspective on the story of FFVII and how one person can make a difference in the world of Gaia. **


	2. Chapter 2

Fresh panic and, quite frankly, anger coursed through me as my assailant tried pulling me further into the alley. Who was this person, to grab me and try to force ME into anything? The words of my parents echoed in my head,

"If someone ever tries to hurt or kidnap you, make sure you fight back. Even if they kill you on the spot, it's better than having them drag you away to torture then kill you. At least if you fight, you avoid that and we have a body to bury."

Sound grim? Well, you need to remember, my parents grew up in the ghettos of Los Angeles. As minorities in Black neighborhoods. Need I say more? We were a Chinese American family that exemplified the idea of the "American Dream," my parents came from nothing, with immigrant parents who spoke little English, both went to college and became successful. But they never forgot being jumped in the ghetto or the discrimination and adversity they faced. They never let me forget all that they had gone through to give me the charmed life I lived either.

Almost screaming in rage, I pulled my elbow back as far as I could and slammed it into my attacker's ribs. Or, where his ribs should be, since he seemed to be pretty fat. His grip on me loosened as he let out a breath of air and tried to cradle his injury. I broke free of his hold and spun around, balling my hand into a fist and punching him as hard as I could in the face. In retrospect, I probably should have kicked him, since I have stronger legs, but do you really take the time to think about that in these situations? I caught a glimpse of his face before my fist connected with it and felt my blood run cold; it was Don Corneo. Now I know most people don't take him seriously. I mean, with the whole side-quest and Cloud cross-dressing, how in the world can one do anything but laugh? We have to keep in mind however, that he does work for Shinra AND he is in control of most of the slums. You don't get to a position of power like that unless you have some steel, money and men backing you. So I did the only thing a girl in my position could do after punching the lights out of one of the biggest criminals in Sector 6; I ran. As I high tailed it out of there, I sincerely hoped the Don hadn't gotten a good look at my face, I'd have to earn a living here somehow, and probably had to start somewhere in the slums. He could have made my life very unpleasant if he knew who I was and where to find me. And I don't think he would have just kidnapped me like Yuffie and Elena either.

_Weeks Later..._

I finally got a job in the slums, since I wouldn't be allowed onto the Upper Plate, not the way I was dressed, in plain clothes and with no Gaian money to my name. The money I had in my school bag that I took to the bookstore, was now useless and lets not even go into the usability of my credit card. What was I doing and where was I working you ask? Well I'm sure you've all heard of the Honeybee Inn? And no, before you get any perverted ideas, I was NOT sleeping with anyone there. Eww. I have more pride and dignity than that, thank you very much. I was a pre-law college kid, remember? So naturally I had some other talents and skills I could market. Thank goodness. It helped I was pretty too, but I don't really want to talk about my options if all I had going for me was my looks. Ahem. Anyway, as a kid I was a prima ballerina even though I hated how mean and clichey the girls were to me at the studio. They were jealous, I suppose, but made going there a chore, so I quit. I still retained my dancing skills, as I loved to dance and party just as much as any person in my teens. It did help that I formed a band the year before and had sung and performed with them at various events. Nothing big, just small parties and informal gatherings. We'd only really been hired and performed a few times a year. It was just a side gig really, along with my other college friends who needed money and could sing or play an instrument, but had no time for a part-time job. Seriously, when you're pre-law like me and pre-med like my friend Scilla, who was also in my band, you don't have time for a part-time job. You're too busy studying your brains out and pulling awesome grades.

So what was I doing you ask? Well, I did a singing and dancing routine with the other girls in the brothel. It really raised business let me tell you. I was surprised that they didn't have better dancers; but then I guess stripping isn't that hard. Still, I helped choreograph some burlesque shows (not participating in them, though I did dress and dance seductively, better than sleeping with men right?) all in all, it was very much like a Pussycat Dolls performance, from which I drew a lot of my inspiration. So far, I had avoided the Don whenever he came, but with our shows gaining fame, he'd be sure to stop in and see one eventually. I just prayed he wouldn't recognize me or worse, take an interest in me. I may have gotten away the first time and given him a good fight, but I was in no way a trained fighter. I lived in the brothel with the other girls, so I didn't have to worry about walking home at night, but I still worried about defending myself. Especially when patrons got drunk and started grabbing girls.

**Boy, why you so obsessed with me, I don't know who you are**...

**Lying that you're-**

Suddenly an arm grabbed me from my spot center stage, where I was singing by the edge to the darkened room. I hadn't been able to see it coming because the stage was the only part of the brothel flooded with light during our performance. A drunk "patron" was leering at me,

"Hey honey, yurr purty sweet, wanna spend the night with me?"

The scent of alcohol reeked from him and he was dirty and unshaven. I resisted the urged to gag from the smell of him and tried to pull myself away. But the man only got more aggressive and our bouncers were stuck in the back behind the rowdy crowd, who was only egging the jerk on. Cries of,

"Aww c'mon now, give him a chance!" and

"Go get it, man!"

Filled the air and I was starting to see red. How dare they treat me like an object? Ok, I admit, I had anger issues when someone does certain things. One of them is when they say I can't do something, which is the equivalent of asking me to prove them wrong and making them eat their words and another was being objectified or discriminated against. This was one of those times. Before I could even reason with myself for the sake of my job, I yanked my arm out of his grasp and kicked him right in the nose. I heard a satisfying crack when my four inch heels hit him, and blood started gushing everywhere. Some got on my feet and my legs, but I didn't really care at this point. I was more horrified now; I knew what happened to girls who hit customers, they lost their jobs. And right now, this was the only job I had been able to get. Who else would hire a girl with no credentials for any decent work in the slums? I immediately stepped back stage to grab all my possessions, my messenger bag that I'd come to this world in, with a folder and some old assignments and lined paper in it, pens and other school supplies, my dead cell phone, wallet filled with useless money, a flash drive, and the few clothes and other necessities I had been able to buy with my earnings. The girls I'd befriended in the past weeks all shot me looks of sympathy or gave me words of encouragement as I packed my few things and walked toward the exit. I had no idea where or what I was going to do now. Would I be able to find a safe place to stay on the streets tonight? Unbeknownst to me, I was being followed and watched.

_Third Person POV_

"So," said the red-haired man as he stood up from leaning against the side of the building, eyes following the petite girl walking out the door,

"Think she has what it takes for it?"

His silent companion nodded and made to follow the young woman.

"Hm." the lanky man shook his head,

"Never thought we'd be recruiting girls..."

He started to follow his partner,

"Especially for SOLDIER," he smirked, "And here I thought I'd have fun on my night off."

What happened next was totally unexpected. One minute, I'm walking down the quiet street minding my own business then the next thing I know, I feel eyes on me and turn around, only to be greeted by the sight of an electro-mag rod. Reno. At least now I knew what time period I was in for the Final Fantasy VII compilation series, it had to be Crisis Core or sometime before the original game. I knew the Turks did several things, black ops, SOLDIER recruiting, but for them to bother me, there were only two possible explanations. One, they had an order to kill me, which wasn't possible, because I had not run into or interacted with anyone from Shinra, though I may have seen a young Reeve walking by or two, they were going to recruit me for SOLDIER. By force. Lovely. And, how was I SOLDIER material, may I ask? So, I figured I would ask, since they'd be able to take me whether I wanted to go with them or not, I may as well know why I was given the "honor." Yay, a life-time of servitude to an evil corporation bent on controlling humanity and destroying the planet! Not to mention generous helpings of mako exposure and human experimentation! Sounds like a picnic. Let me just grab my bonnet and we'll be on our way.

"Okay, so I get that you're Turks and that you're recruiting me for SOLDIER, and I'm going to come willingly, because let's face it, you're both about a foot taller than me and at least thirty pounds heavier than me each."

All I got from Reno was a slightly raised eyebrow, so I continued,

"But what I want to know is, why me? What makes me special enough to receive the "honor" of being recruited for SOLDIER?"

He stowed his weapon, "Fine, you made things easier for us, but you'll be briefed at HQ." He started walking off,

"You better be good at following orders, because we will kill you if you so much as try to run."

I sighed quietly, what had I gotten myself into? All because I kicked a man. This was not a good day. How was I going to be able to handle being a SOLDIER? I took one fencing lesson in my life and had virtually no fighting skills. I shrugged, guess I'd have to make do. At least I thought sardonically, I have a job and place to stay now. Though killing and fighting people didn't really hold much appeal. When life gives you lemons make lemonade? Yeah, but I still need water, sugar and a lemon press. Whoever said that was an idiot. But then, I guess I could always throw the lemons back at life...

**Hahaha I like how this turned out! Sorry for the delay, but school and the awesomeness of Winter Break got in the way! I was inspired by Dead Fantasy and Monty Oum, which is why I used the song Obsessed. Anyway, hope you guys liked it! Reviews make my day, won't you make my day? =]**


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Final Fantasy VII, Adventure, Tragedy