Obligatory Disclaimer:

I don't own any characters (or anything else) you recognize from Final Fantasy VII, they are all the property of Tetsuya Nomura and/or Square-Enix.

Author's Note:

First of all, this is going to be a long story. It's already 200 pages and growing. It's also in a constant state of revision, so pardon me if there are any typos. Second, it would be good of you to keep an open mind here. I have added a few things to the world of Final Fantasy VII that we have not previously seen in the compilation, the biggest of which being our main female, a black mage. If the 'non-canonical' aspect of that offends, I apologize, but it is there, if you do not like it, do not read it.

I encourage all fans of FFVII (specifically the Turks) to give this story a chance. It's got a little something for everybody, I think.

Also, this story is going to be lacking in slashy pairings, so if that's a must for your reading, then this probably isn't the story for you.

I've tried very hard to develop these characters and make them my own. It's a bit of a slow start, but once it gets going, it's pretty entertaining. I hope you enjoy this pretty epic story.

Setting:
Takes place about six months after the end of FFVII, before Advent Children.

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It was a simple enough mission. The assignment itself was actually disgustingly simple. It had been intended to be easy, too, he knew. Otherwise Tseng wouldn't have insisted that he didn't need Rude to go with him.

"Shit, Reno, she's just a kid. She's a damn kid. Just go get her and bring her back here."

Reno had frowned at this. "Why does Rufus want a kid?"

"Research. He's trying to find a way to cure Geostigma. Geostigma goes for kids first. He needs the cells of a child with Geostigma, and the cells of a child without Geostigma. That's all I know. Just go get the damn kid."

"But why this girl in particular?" Reno had asked, scrutinizing her picture.

"Because her medical records are spotless. She's never so much as had a cold in her life."

"Maybe she's got special Materia or something." Reno had said, blowing it off.

"Just go get the damn kid, Reno."

"This is a waste of my time, yo."

"Reno… just get your ass out the door."

But here it was…not easy at all.

Reno struck again with his electromag-rod. Again, the woman slapped it away with her walking stick – blunt on one end, fitted with a sharp metallic point at the bottom. She raised a hand and Reno felt himself being thrown backwards, as though punched in the stomach. He hit a tree and thought inwardly that sliding down the bark was probably ruining his jacket.

And why the hell didn't his superiors figure out that the girl would be guarded by a black mage?!?

And not just any black mage… this one was skilled, obviously, and would probably kill him if he didn't do something soon.

I've got to distract her…

"I'm not trying to kill you, or hurt her. We just a need a tissue sample."

The woman raised her staff threateningly towards him, the blunted circle at the top glowing menacingly.

"Tissue sample? With ShinRa, that means you'd cut her damn arm off."

The girl she was protecting, a small girl of no more than eight, gasped and hid behind a tree, her two black pig tails swinging.

"What makes you think I'm with ShinRa?"

"I'm not stupid. I see what you're wearing. You're a damn Turk."

So she's heard of us. Great.

He took a moment to close his eyes – he feigned wincing to fool her, and went over their first meeting quickly.

He had run into the girl in the woods here outside her hometown. She was quickly followed by this woman, who wore long tan pants that belled, starting at the knee – easier to trip her up, perhaps? – A black cloth jacket that extended just past her elbows – no help there – a tank top of some shiny blue material, and shoes that indicated her skills unarmed would be just as deadly – they were fine slippers, fit for martial arts, and above those were three shiny anklets, each of a different make. Her eyes were a lovely, dark shade of jade, and her face was delicately boned – she was something of an exotic beauty, her skin tone not too fair nor strangely tan. She was in freakishly good physical condition, and there were somewhere between six to seven piercings in each of her ears. She had chocolate-brown hair…slightly darker than average, with parts of it in braids and parts of it not…but it was all tied in a pony-tail at the base of her skull, anyhow – except for the bangs, which fell to just below her chin and were parted to reveal her face.

If I can get behind her somehow, and get a hold of that hair…maybe I can throw her off long enough to get a hold of her hands – she can't cast spells without her hands…

"Look, lady, I will make sure they don't hurt her. It's really sick to hurt a kid. I'm not a total creep; I'm a grunt. It's a job. I need the money."

He stood back up, and just as he did so, she charged. It was a close-combat moment…the rod and the staff hit together several times but neither of them made a hit. They made contact over and over – but neither was hurt.

"You're not trying to kill me – why?" She asked.

"What do you want me to say? Because I'd rather bed you first?"

She glared at him. "Pig."

"Because there's no reason for anyone to get hurt, that's why." Reno muttered, shaking his head. This chick was crazy.

Her eyes softened slightly. Fear lumped up in his chest. Sudden change in a woman was never a good thing.

"Then forgive me." She said.

"For what?" he asked, his eyebrows raising.

She disappeared, and he heard a voice behind him say, "For this," right before he blacked out.

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Please keep in mind that in my reviews I am not asking for a critique of the writing style (I am what I am, sadly), and more of a review of content. Reviews where you just tell me you like it are always nice, too, and if you hate it, well… sorry?
-Nyavin