Disclaimer: All publicly recognisable characters and settings are the property of Square-Enix. The original characters and plot are my property. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.

A/N: This is the first major story that I will be working on, so I'd really appreciate constructive criticism if it is needed, which it most definitely will be, haha. This story contains an OC, so if I begin to show signs of Mary-Sue Syndrome (MSS) please, for the love of God notify me. This story has been an idea of mine for awhile but I have never actually sat down and typed it out until today. Also, I have not finished Crisis Core.. yet, because I want to prolong the inevitable as long as I can, so bear with me! xP

Chapter 1 – Prologue


Mid-September, 0007.

"There's a fair few of them in the area, if we get spotted it'll alert 'em all and we'll be screwed." Nora said as she pressed her body to the back of the rock that Zack and Cloud were hiding behind. The odds were definitely against them, maybe if Cloud didn't have mako poisoning they might have been able to fight their way out but that wasn't the case and keeping him unharmed was their biggest priority.

"We can do this, we'll just have to leave Cloud here for a little bit." Zack said as he pulled the Buster Sword from the magnet on his back, Nora got the hint and moved Cloud so that he sat in a corner in the rock. Zack planted his sword in the ground so if anyone tried to attack Cloud they'd pretty much fail as there weren't many openings big enough to get through to him.

"Just hang in there, Cloud. We'll be back soon." Nora said as she stood up and pulled her sword from the magnetic holder on her back before glancing at her best friend. "You gonna' be okay to fight them in hand-to-hand combat?" She said with a sly smile.

"Are you underestimating me now?" Zack looked towards her and grinned.

"Of course not." She laughed and got into a battle stance standing back to back with Zack.

"Targets have been spotted! Move out!" A voice called and not a second too soon there were many Shrina infantrymen and some 3rd Class SOLDIERS on the attack.

One particularly cocky 3rd Class SOLDIER charged at Nora with his sword upheld, going into a fore swing and following it with a back swing. Nora nimbly dodged the first and met the second with her own sword. The force of her sword meeting his sent the 3rd Class stumbling back a few feet, that is when she saw an opening and kicked his sword out of his grasp and followed it with another kick to his head, knocking him out instantly.

Three infantrymen rushed at her with their swords drawn and began swinging at her clumsily, it was obvious that they had just been given their swords not too long ago and have not had the necessary training to be able to use them efficiently. Nora was able to block two of the three blades with her sword and caught the third one in her right hand, you just gotta love them Shinra quality gloves. Allow ya to block anything without repercussions. With her superior strength she was able to send him to the ground by giving the sword a hard swing to the right before she cut through the other two as easily as air. One infantryman immediately dropped to the ground while the other only dropped to his knee, attempted to stand but fell on his side and remained motionless.

Nora quickly glanced over her shoulder to see how Zack was going, he had a decent amount of incapacitated Shinra goons littered around him and was currently beating the living daylights out of two 3rd Classes.

"This is the power of SOLDIER? B-But.. She's just a girl!" An infantryman surrounded by his comrades yelled in astonishment.

"That's sexist, ya'know!" Nora feigned being offended and put one hand on her hip.

Within 3 minutes all of the Shinra goons had been defeated and Nora turned around to face Zack and saw him theatrically dusting his hands off with a smug smile, although Nora noticed that it didn't reach his eyes. They were both tired and not from the fight at all, it was a cinch, but they had been on the run non stop for a few months now and it was beginning to wear them down mentally. Although they did try to put on a happy face for the sake of one another. "Shows them not to take the power of SOLDIER so seriously."

"Hmm." She nodded in agreement and put her sword in the holster on her back. "But they've probably called for backup and it'll be in bigger numbers too. We should get Cloud and make our escape as soon as possible."

The deafening roar from the countless assault rifles being fired was all that could be heard as the two 1st Class SOLDIERS sprinted throughout the forest clearing trying to evade the seemingly endless hail of bullets that were being fired at them from a distance. Zack was lucky that he wielded the Buster Sword as it was deflecting the bullets that were directed at him and Cloud causing them to ricochet with a loud ping and scatter in all different directions.

Nora was nimbly dodging the bullets that were being fired at her and had been successful.. most of the time. She had been shot in the lower back twice and leg, but it wasn't nearly enough to put her down, no way. Up ahead Nora spotted a small almost unnoticeable track, there were a lot of trees and foliage so it would cover them for awhile, when they reached it she quickly grabbed Zack by the arm and directed him to it.

They kept on running for a good 800 meters before Zack noticed Nora slow down and stop running all together, which concerned him. They were kinda in a dire situation here, this wasn't the time to be slowing down. "What are you doing? Are you okay?" He asked and walked towards her when he saw her bullet wounds.

"Zack, there's too many of them. We're not going to make it out of here alive if we keep going on like this." Nora said as she uncapped a hi-potion and drank all of its contents in one gulp. "So.. You go on ahead."

If this was a cartoon Zack's eyes would have bulged out of his skull. "Are you crazy!?" He yelled in disbelief, he couldn't believe his own ears at the moment. If she stayed behind that would be suicide!

"Maybe.. You have to be crazy in the first place to run from Shinra, eh?" She offered a pathetic excuse for a smile. "Zack, we promised that we'd make sure Cloud gets better. We would be breaking that if we all wind up dead."

"But we promised that we'd all make it to Midgar, together." He emphasised. "We can still make it, Nor – We really can! C'mon lets go now!" Zack couldn't believe the crazy talk that she was going on about, he wasn't going to leave one of his best friends here to die! He made an attempt to grab her arm but she moved her arm out of the way before he could touch it.

"If doing this means saving my friends, then nothing will stop me. I have to do this, Zack. It is my duty as SOLDIER to protect my comrades and especially my friends. This is where I get off." Nora said stubbornly, although it was clear to Zack that it was just as hard for her as it was for him. He couldn't argue with her if her heart was set on it.. He couldn't stop or deter her no matter how much he wanted to, it would ruin her SOLDIER honour and he was not going to do that to her.

"My friend the fates are cruel-" Nora recited, just like her mentor had always done but was cut short by Zack before she could even finish the quote.

"LOVELESS, Act IV." Zack offered a sad smile and she felt a pang in her heart to see him that sad, he was always such a happy person and she always thought that a frown should never mar his face, but it was something that had to be done. She smiled just as sadly as Zack did before giving him a pointed look.

"You get out of here, I'll distract them for as long as I can."

"Y-Yeah." Zack clapped her on the shoulder and affectionately ruffled her hair like he used to when she first joined the ranks of the Shinra Army. He then adjusted his grip on Cloud and turned to run, but stopped and glanced at her from over his shoulder. "You go and get 'em, tiger." With that he did one of the hardest things in his life, left his best friend behind.

Nora cast a glance over her right shoulder at Zack and pulled her sword from the magnetic holder on her back and assumed her battle stance, she gripped the hilt of her sword tightly. If she was going down, she wasn't going down without a fight. Nora briefly wondered if Genesis would be proud about what she was going to do but quickly shook it off and began hoping that she would be able to fend the army off long enough for Zack to escape with Cloud and get a good distance away. She seen the countless ominous red lights of the infantry's helmets in the distance as they began closing in and took a deep breath, a smirk slowly spreading across her face as she prepared to charge them.

"Good luck, Zack."