A/N: Howdy-do, folks! This idea has been bugging me to be written, and then had to go and be a brat and wouldn't come out properly for the longest time. I finally finished the first chapter, and decided to post it. This story, while called a crossover, is actually just the FF-7 characters placed into the universe of Stargate SG-1. The characters of SG-1 will not be making an appearance, unless I'm really desperate for some System Lords, so don't expect to see Colonel Jack O'Neill (two L's). This does not take place on Earth, either. It's kind of a tweaked version of Gaia… Only because I'm so lazy and didn't want to come up with all those planets, each city in FF7 will be a representation of the different worlds they visit.

I fixed this one up from the original version... This should still work with my plans, and it won't have as many crazy fans on my tail ^_^ Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 7, any of its spin-offs, any other Final Fantasy, or Stargate SG-1. I am not receiving any money for this nor do I ever expect to.

Chapter 1

Active Duty

He sat back in his chair, lacing his fingers behind his head, a motion that looked awkward with his shoulder pads. He was starting to get a little irritated, wondering what Shinra wanted now. The door to the conference room opened and a tall, dark-haired man walked in looking a little lost. He saw the man sitting at the table and cracked a grin. He sat down next to him, "Hey, Cloud! They called you, huh?"

The blond shook his head, incredibly annoyed by his predicament, "Unfortunately. My sister invited the family over for a barbeque… And I'm stuck here in this god-awful uniform," he picked at the black turtleneck sweater.

The dark-haired man laughed, "Only you'd be sorry to get called in for duty during a family get-together. The rest of the men in the world would only be too glad to ditch their mother for a chance to defend his country!"

Cloud looked around the room. Aside from the large, seven-seat table, there was a flag with the Shinra symbol on one side, two doors on different walls, a spiraling staircase going up, and a small table on the side. He raised an eyebrow at his companion, "And what part of this would you call 'defending my country'?"

He spread his hands wide, "Your family doesn't have to know."

He shook his head, "Zack… You're an idiot…"

They looked up as the door opened once more. An average heighted man with wavy, shoulder-length silver hair walked in and offered the SOLDIER salute. Cloud and Zack returned the salute and watched as he sat down opposite Cloud. The door opened once more and a young man with a silver ponytail came in, giving them a nod before dropping into the chair beside the other silver-haired man. It slid open once more and two men walked in, one with short, leafy blond hair, the other with a messy brown 'do. The blond sat down in the seat next to Zack and the other walked over to the large window on the wall opposite the door, glancing briefly at the metal barrier shielding the other side of the glass from view. Another brown-haired man walked in and leaned against the wall beside the door, completely ignoring the rest of them. The entrance opened and a slender woman with ivy-colored hair stepped in and took the final seat beside the ponytailed man. The eight of them sat in quiet until the doors slid open and a man with blond hair and thin framed glasses walked in. The six seated rose at once and all eight of them saluted at once. The new blond man nodded, returned the salute and said, "At ease." The rest of them all sat down in synch. He sat down in the seat at the head of the table, "Now then. I have asked the nine of you to join me here for-" he cut off, having noticed there were only eight people there. "Only eight of you are here… And that's including Fair…"

Cloud looked up, "If I may, Sir, why have we been brought here?"

"Ah, of course. I am Director Lazard Deusericus. I have asked that ten First Class SOLDIERS would meet me here today to discuss a new development in our country's future." He slid various folders down the table to each participant. Zack reached behind him to hand one to the brown haired man by the window, and the green-haired girl did the same for the man by the door.

Cloud opened his and skimmed it. He looked up, "What exactly are these, Sir?"

"Confidentiality agreements. Before I can get into the details of this, I'll need all of you to sign the line at the bottom of the page, legally binding you from repeating a thing we discuss within these walls."

"Mm," Cloud let a sound of confirmation escape his lips as he read the full document. He finished and picked up a pen before jotting his signature at the bottom in his neat penmanship. He closed the folder and slid it back to Lazard, who shook his head in a motion in a motion for him to keep it.

"Once all of you have signed the form, pass them back to me." Seven pages of paper found their way back to him. He counted them to make sure, double checking for signatures, and stacked them together inside an official Shinra folder.

The door to the room opened and a young man, no older than sixteen, came running in, silver hair flopping lazily in his face. He jumped to attention, "Sorry I'm late, Sir! Arc forgot to order the train tickets and-"

"That's enough, Ur." He slid another folder down the table to the new guy who read it and signed it with a grin on his face. After handing the paper back to Lazard, he took up a spot near the stairwell, trying to see what was up there. Lazard stuck his paper with the others and said, "Now then. On to business." He stood and walked over to the phone resting on the table on the side. He picked it up and pressed a single button, "Open the shield."

Cloud stood up and turned around as the metal wall blocking their view of the window started to shift upwards. He walked over and looked down at the humongous ring carved out of stone with various markings etched into the side. He felt someone bump his shoulder and turned to see he wasn't the only one staring. Even the mellow guy by the door had come over to see. The first brown-haired guy that had come in asked, "What is it, Sir?"

"That, Klauser, would be what we have dubbed, the 'Stargate.'"

The man with the wavy silver hair glanced over, "What does it do?"

"Harvey, is it…? Our researchers have discovered it was used in ancient times as a means of transportation. We've found that it creates a wormhole to another, similar gate, and provides a means to travel instantaneously to the other gate."

The laid-back brown-haired guy spoke up, "So, what're we here for?"

"Ah, straight to the point, Leonhart. I personally selected ten First Class SOLDIERS to lead ten teams to become a peaceful, exploratory force. Now, since only eight of you have shown, I'll brief you now. Follow me."

***

Cloud followed his military superior through the halls of the massive building as he led them to the room with the Stargate itself. The object in question was much larger than its appearance through the window made it look. The blond walked forward slowly, progressing up the ramp to the gate itself. He touched it gently and asked Lazard, "How does it work?"

"We haven't quite figured out how the ancient civilizations worked it, but we have constructed a makeshift system using Shinra's latest technology."

Leonhart spoke up, "So, what do we do?"

"As I said, I selected the eight of you plus two others to lead ten teams through the gate. These teams will be called Forgotten Future, and a number. For short, FF-1, FF-2, FF-3, and so on." Zack walked forward and held a stack of folders towards Lazard. He took the one off the top and opened it briefly. He scanned the crowd of First Class SOLDIER's present and announced, "Firion Fynn. You will be the leader of FF-2. These are your new orders."

The man with the silver ponytail snapped a salute and walked forward, accepting the folder. Lazard continued, "Luneth Ur, You will lead FF-3."

He held out the folder as the teen who'd arrived late walked forward. Cloud couldn't help but not like him. He was cocky; the way he walked, smiled, and even his method of accepting the folder showed it. "Cecil Harvey. You have been assigned as the commander of FF-4."

The man with the wavy silver hair walked towards him after saluting and accepted the orders. Lazard looked into the next one, "Bartz Klauser. FF-5 is yours to command."

Bartz, the one who'd been standing by the window, took the folder, walked back to the others and started flipping through it. "Terra Branford. From this day forward, you are leader of FF-6."

The ivy-haired woman stepped forward and accepted her orders after a salute. "Cloud Strife." The blond looked up at the sound of his name, "You will head FF-7."

Cloud walked forward, hair spikes giving a little bounce as he snapped into a salute. He walked forward and reached out to take the folder. "Squall Leonhart. FF-8 is your responsibility now."

The laid-back brown-haired guy moved forward and took the folder, his actions all showing disinterest. Cloud could relate. Lazard looked around and motioned for Zack to skip the next folder. He handed him the last folder in the stack as his boss said, "Since our FF-9 leader is absent today, I'll move on to FF-10. Tidus Zanarkand, the position is yours."

The guy with the leafy blond hair moved forward and took his orders with energy in each step. Lazard crossed his hands behind his back, "Congratulations to all of you. The assignments for your teams are concealed within. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. In the meantime, dismissed!"

***

Cloud climbed on his motorcycle, Fenrir, and pulled on his goggles. He reached over to start the engine as a voice called out from behind him, "Hey! Cloud!"

He turned to see Zack running towards him, "What is it, Zack?"

He stopped next to him, panting, "Could you give a ride back to the Clearview Hotel? I got a ride here with another guy, but he's not done yet…"

"Fine. Cling, and I knock you off."

"Great! Thanks, man! I'm surprised you agreed though…"

"You questioning my decision?"

"No! No! You caught me off guard, is all." He climbed on the back, a grin never leaving his face.

He hunched over, grabbing the handlebars, "You're in luck. I'm heading there, too."

"Great! Maybe we can-!"

Cloud pumped the gas, pulling out of parking spot. "No. I already have dinner plans."

"Don't tell me you got a girlfriend…"

"No."

"Thank god…! I think I'd die if you got a girl before me…"

He glanced over his shoulder, "Shut up, Zack."

His grin widened.

***

Cloud slid his keycard into the slot and opened the door to his hotel room. He walked in with a sigh and tossed the folder containing his new orders onto one of the twin beds. He ran his hand down his face as he dropped onto the other one. He pulled out his cell phone and pressed speed dial '1.' A feminine voice picked up, "Hello?"

"Hey, it's me."

"Cloud!?"

"Yeah… Sorry I took so long to call. The damn meeting ran all day."

"It's okay. Better late than never, right?"

He rolled his eyes, "Your optimistic attitude never ceases to surprise me."

She giggled, "So… Are you coming home? Or…" her voice dropped a little, "Do you have to work?"

"Both."

"Huh?"

"I'll be coming home for a week, and then I have to come back."

"…For how long?"

"I have no idea."

"Will you get any relief time?"

"I don't know."

"That sucks… Oh… And Cloud?"

"Hm?"

"Denzel missed you."

"Tell him I'll be home soon."

"Okay!"

"I'll talk to you soon, then."

"Behave yourself, Cloud!"

He ran a hand down his face and replied sarcastically, "Love you, too." He looked down at the phone before snapping it shut. He sat there in silence, hating himself, 'Damn it… I promised I'd be there for mom's birthday… And now this new assignment comes up, and that's just gonna keep me from home… Maybe I can talk them into moving to Midgar…' A knock sounded at the door and he forced himself to get up, but not without a sigh. He walked over and undid the latch on his small hotel room and opened the door to find Zack. He rolled his eyes, "What?"

"Just thought I'd stop by. Ya know, say hi?"

"We just saw each other less than an hour ago. What do you really want?"

He scratched the back of his head, "Actually… I had a favor to ask…"

Cloud rolled his eyes once more, "What?"

"Well… Do you know any girls who feel like taking a road trip?"

"What?"

"I'm goin' home for the week and I, um, told my mom I was bringing a girl with me… The only problem is… I don't have a girl…"

"Why did you tell your mother that?"

"I was hoping work would get in the way… Never failed me in the past. Besides! It just kind of… slipped out."

"Sorry, Zack. Not my problem." He moved to close the door and Zack pushed back on it.

"Hey! Come on, man! We were best friends growing up…!"

"Not really. You just gave yourself that illusion."

"Aw, man! Come on! There's gotta be someone…!"

A mischievous glint shone in the blond's eye, "You that desperate?"

"Yeah."

"You can't tell your mom you broke up?"

"No… It'd kill her if I told her I had another failed relationship…" he hung his head and let his shoulders sag.

"Well… I think I know just the girl…"

"Seriously!?"

"Yeah… I met her during my last assignment… She hit it off with my sister and they stayed in touch." He walked back into his room and grabbed a piece of paper and pen. He flipped his phone open and went to his 'contacts' menu, found the number in question and jotted it down. He walked back over to Zack and handed him the piece of paper, "Here's her number. Just tell her I gave it to you. She's pretty desperate for a date herself, so I'd make a bet she'd accept."

"Great! Thanks, man! I knew you'd come through!"

"Yeah, whatever. Just go." Cloud shut the door on the closest thing to a childhood friend he'd ever had, thinking, 'If you only knew, Zack Fair, you wouldn't be thanking me…' he walked back into his room and sat on the bed, flipping the folder open. He glanced down at its contents, shifting through the numerous pages. 'The worst part of it is… I don't even get to pick my own team. Oh, god. I am so screwed if I get a bunch of needy little wusses…'

***

Cloud stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around his waist and rubbed a hole in the foggy mirror. He groaned and scratched the back of his head, 'This is gonna be one hell of a week…' He walked out into the main room and grabbed a pair of boxers from his bag and hiked them up before grabbing a pair of jeans and pulling those up over them. He moved his towel to his hair and attempted to dry the soggy spikes back to their crisp towers. He gave up, threw the towel over his shoulder, and sat on the bed, tugging on socks and then a pair of boots. His cell phone hummed with a low vibration as it started ringing from its place on the nightstand. 'Who the hell is calling at this hour…? It's not even seven in Midgar…' He picked up the phone and answered with a swift, "Hello?"

A smooth, masculine voice replied, "Remember me, Cloud?"

"Yeah. What d'you want?"

"Hm… As aloof as ever, eh, Cloud?"

"I'm not in the mood for games, Sephiroth."

"Hm. I see. Well, regardless, I have a message for you from Director Deusericus."

"And…?"

"You're orders include attending a training session under my command before you are allowed to officially step through the gate."

"Is that all?"

"Yes. If there are any questions, contact me."

"When?"

"Hm?"

"When is this going to happen?"

"After you return to Midgar. I understand you've been given shore leave for the next week."

"Understood."

"Farewell."

"Yeah, bye." He snapped the phone shut and shrugged, 'It's been awhile since I heard from him… Ah, well. No time to think about that. If I want to make it in time for my flight I'm going to have to run…' He grabbed a long-sleeved t-shirt and pulled it over his head. He grabbed his bag and threw his orders inside, slinging it over his shoulder. He left his room and made his way to the elevators, riding it down to the main floor. After handing his key to the clerk and paying his tab, he went outside and stuffed his sack into the saddlebags on Fenrir and climbed on. He pulled his leather gloves out of his pockets and tugged them on, sliding a pair of goggles on after that. He revved the engine and tore off to the northwest.

***

He pulled the bike to a stop at the edge of the curb and got off, gripping the handlebars and walking it down the rest of the way. He stopped at a particular driveway and moved up, lugging the oversized bike with him. He left it halfway up, knocking the kickstand down before moving up to the door of the small, three-bedroom home. He raised a fist and knocked, a smile tugging at his lips all the while. He waited for a few minutes, and then knocked again. Finally the door flew open to reveal a disheveled brunette in a fuzzy bathrobe. The second her eyes fell on her visitor, her eyes lit up with a bright light. She jumped forward, throwing her arms around him in a vicious hug, "Cloud! You're home!"

He groaned against her fluffy sleeves, "Sorry I took so long…"

"Don't be! I'm just so glad you're here!" She pulled back, "But… It's only nine o'clock… Were you flying all night!?"

"Not really… Because of the time change, it was technically a two-hour trip… I left Midgar around seven…"

"Cloud!" Her arms were around him again, "It's been so long!"

He wrapped one arm around her waist and picked her up under one arm, carrying the squealing woman into the house, "It's only been five days…"

"Five days is long enough! Now put me down, you jerk!" Despite her complaints, she still wore a grin.

"I know." He moved over to the couch and dropped her on it, before sitting down on the edge of the couch, his back pressing her against the soft fabric of the sofa.

She smiled openly, "I hate you, Cloud."

He pressed himself up against her, squishing her into the couch, "Good."

She struggled to sit up, "Jerk."

He grinned, "Where would I be without my adorable old bag of a sister?"

"Hey! It's only one year!"

"You're still older."

"I'm not an old bag, though!"

"That's what you think."

She clapped her hands to her face, "I'm twenty-two! I can't look that old, can I?"

"Aerith, you're starting to scare me…"

"Cloud, be serious. Do I look that old?"

"No. I just say that to lower your self-esteem so you don't try to make yourself the most attractive girl in town and get all the dumbass losers on your tail."

She blinked, "You mean… You're trying to protect me by calling me old?"

He rolled his eyes, "Something like that." He stood, "What's to eat? I had a six hour flight with no food and I'm hungry."

A/N: Well, there's the modified version of chapter one… I originally had Aerith as Cloud's fiancée, but too many CloTi fans assaulted my house, trying to keep Aerith away from him… Please leave a review and let me know what you think!

-Valk