There IS a full-on lemon version of this fic. As of chapter 4 it turns NC-17 and continues the trend from there. To read this version (assuming you are of age), check out AdultFanFiction dot net and look for my same penname in the Final Fantasy section.
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 7, the settings, or characters depicted within this work of fiction. I make no money off it whatsoever.
Chapter 1 - Apprehension and Tifa's Solo
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It was that flashback again; the raging flames swirled up around her as she watched his body flung from the exploding reactor. The sword was sill there, impaled through his left shoulder until his body hit the canyon floor with a sickening thud. The sword reversed itself out and fell at his side, still wet with his blood. His eyes trailed up to the sky, which was slowly filling with smoke from the burning village. The moon was full that night, just as on the night when he made his promise.
"I'll protect you, Tifa. I'll join SOLDIER and become a top-ranking officer, just like Sephiroth! Then, I'll come back and be your hero...I'll protect you."
Tifa's eyes shot open. A dream. Her hand reached for her abdomen and found the scar from that fateful night. The physical wound had healed, leaving only a small pink line across her torso, but the memories still haunted her. Rolling over, she bunched the pillow up beneath her head and looked over to the sleeping child next to her. Marlene was peacefully sleeping, stirring only slightly in her dreams. Tifa smiled; it had been days since she slept as peacefully as Barret's surrogate daughter was. She flipped over and looked toward the ceiling, her mind running through the plans they had formulated over the past month. It was the apprehension of the upcoming mission that kept her awake at nights. Instead of a true team effort like they normally would have planned, each member of Avalanche was assigned a solo job that would lead them all together at the main reactor. It wasn't the biggest job they had pulled, rather a small one since funds that month were short, but it was the first time that she would truly act alone on one of their missions. Her eyes closed as she tried to put her fears to rest; Barret knew her capabilities, so there was no way he could put her in any more danger than she could handle.
The next morning a terrifying shock sent Tifa bolting up from her bed. Barret stood at the foot of the bed, his leg resting on the edge where he had kicked it to rouse her from sleep. "Time to go get some revenge on those no good $&#! ShinRa!" he yelled, almost smiling.
Tifa reached over to the bed next to her and covered Marlene up who had squirmed out from beneath the sheets at Barret's rather loud wake up call. "Barret, I wish you'd be a little quieter for Marlene's sake." Tifa scolded, having become like a mother to the small girl.
"Sorry..." he mumbled, scratching the back of his head as he turned to the conference table, "but it's time we get going! Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge are waiting for us upstairs." Tifa mumbled and stood up, grabbing her clothes and running to the bathroom to change. Moments later, she was assembled with the others in the bar, running through the last minute plans.
"So, Jessie will enter on the north side of the building, disable the security there, and allow the rest of us to gain access. Biggs will be stationed on the roof as the surveillance point while myself, Tifa, and Wedge enter from the East, West, and South sides. Take out any guards you find and make your way through the building to the central control room. We'll meet up there and bring Biggs down, and then Jessie will hack into the control system while the rest of us keep the guard busy. Everyone got it?" The party nodded to Barret and gathered their equipment as Marlene waved good-bye to everyone.
Tifa pulled her gloves on tight and patted Marlene on the head, "Be a good girl for our neighbors now, and help keep things running, ok?"
Marlene smiled, "I'll be good and take care of your bar, Tifa, I promise!" Tifa smiled sadly, partially at the fact she had to leave her bar to the protection of a little girl, but mostly because of those words.
"I promise"
His voice echoed through her head once again, but she shook it off and caught up to the others who were boarding the train to head for the ShinRa control building. As the cars rumbled along their track, Tifa stood nervously in the aisle, jabbing at the air to warm herself up. Barret looked up from his maps and watched her for a second, "Jes' sit down, ya hear? Gonna get yourself all worked up for nothin'...save it for the ShinRa." Tifa paused and brought down her fists then sighed and took a seat next to him. A few minutes passed as she nervously tapped her foot and toyed with the ends of her hair. Finally, she stood and paced up and down the car before it screeched to a halt at the station. Brushing herself off, she scrambled up from where she had landed on the floor and stepped out onto the platform with the others. "This is it." Barret whispered, "You all know the plan, let's quit stallin' and get in there!"
The group split, each member running off in an opposite direction, and Tifa was left standing alone to head toward her job. She drew a deep breath, exhaled, and took off toward the west side of the complex. The square building was surrounded by a network of alleys used as storage for various crates and boxes containing god knows what. As she ran down one of the damp, narrow passages, footsteps from behind alerted her that the guard had picked up on her entrance. She ducked behind a pile of crates and waited in the shadows as two guards passed by, guns in hand, apparently searching for something.
"They said they spotted her coming down here," one of them mumbled to the other as they continued on.
After they passed by, Tifa stepped out of the shadows and snickered to herself, "Idiots..." she mumbled as she walked on toward the next area.
A hand suddenly grabbed her shoulder and held her back, "Some are...but not all of us are going to ignore a pretty girl sneaking in here." Tifa spun around into a defensive stance and looked at the figure that had snuck up behind her. He was tall and slender with jet-black spiked hair reaching down past his waist. His uniform was that of a class A SOLDIER and he had a massive sword strapped on his back.
She held her fists up before her face and began stepping back a few paces, "Don't get in my way. I have a mission and I will finish it, even if that means I have to take you down first."
The man grinned, "You're a pretty feisty one, hm? So you think you're going to break into ShinRa facilities with your bare hands?" He stepped toward her and took her chin in his hand, bringing her eyes up to meet his, "I don't want to have to fight you, I'd really hate putting a cute chick like you in the hospital"
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Continued in Chapter 2 - Struggle in the Dark