A/N: Hello. This is the first chapter of my story on Final Fantasy VII. And I can assure you in this story my OC's no Mary Sue. Her flaw will be evident in the story. And if not, I'll explain at the end of the prologue. Other than that, it will be rated M for violence and graphic sexuality (A.K.A. lemon sequences). After seeing Crisis Core, I couldn't help but be eager to create an OC with a wing like Sephiroth. :) Of course, it'll happen sooner or later in the story. For now, I want her to be as human as possible, because the main thing I'm concerned about is the ability and inability of my OC and the people around her. And don't worry. I'm still working on editing the semifinal chapter on The Lost Light. It'll just be a while... I'll let you know as soon as I get it resolved, though, I can tell you that. Oh, and her voice actress will be Sofia Carson. For now, I hope you enjoy this story.

Prologue: Serra's First Day

It all started one night as a young girl with dark brown hair and blue eyes walked to the building of Shinra Electric Power Company whilst the pouring rain fell on the ground. It was raining at that point, so the young girl was dressed in a black trench coat with a hood and a belt holding the symbol of SOLDIER around her blue jeans to keep from getting wet before she walked closer. That was all she could do to prepare for her latest assignment: get dressed in accordance with the weather, and show up on time. But as she looked up at the tall building of Shinra, she couldn't help but get cold feet. When compared with the other SOLDIERS in the company, it's hard not to feel insignificant. What was a small-town girl like her doing at Shinra in the first place? For her answer, she's here because it was her punishment, or so she was told. She could remember it as if it were yesterday... because it was.

Her name was Serra Tiran, her age 17. She was originally a native to Nibelheim. Because of their background, in spite of a Shinra generator running there, she and her family were not exactly anyone special. Yet, for all her life, she yearned to be. And although she knew her limits, she was determined to prove it, even if it meant defying the law.

When the 1st class operatives were sent there to pick up recruits, Serra took advantage of that event to vanish amidst the crowd and to look around in Shinra Manor. And she did get a good look, but not inside the generators. Judging from the coloration of the light from the generators, she already knew it was from Mako energy. But what intrigued her was what was at the center of it all: the Jenova Project. And she could've looked there, too, but a certain 1st class SOLDIER stopped her just short of pressing her hand on the door as his calm, collected, and husky voice spoke up.

"What are you doing here?"

As she heard his voice, Serra could feel herself freeze up just by hearing him speak to her, let alone looking at him. As his emerald feline slit eyes met with her normal-by-comparison ones, Serra figured out that this SOLDIER was onto her from the beginning. Did she not disappear as well as she thought she did? And for that matter, why did he not just inform the guards of Shinra Manor to keep an eye out for her? Maybe he did. Although, he wouldn't be here, even if that was the case; they would've reported to him of her intrusion. While Serra didn't think of those questions apart from the obvious being whether or not she'd be punished, the SOLDIER spoke to her again.

"You do realize that non-Shinra personnel aren't allowed in there."

That would've been it. She was busted right on the spot, and with no way out of it at that. As Serra ran fresh out of ideas, she recalled what her best friend, Tifa, told her about Shinra. Those who break its laws are to be punished. Although it didn't quite matter to Tifa, Serra was panicked over what he could do to her. And so, she acted on instinct and looked for the quickest way out around the white-haired SOLDIER in front of her as she shouted.

"If you think I'll let you take me away, you're wrong!"

With that, Serra tried to run around him, only for the 1st class to block her left exit with his katana. As she stopped in it's path, Serra tried to go for the other way around, but that was when the SOLDIER used his open hand to block her next before he spoke.

"Well, if you believe I'll just let you off with a warning, you're mistaken about that as well."

This made Serra more than nervous by this point, like an animal backed into a corner. And like a cornered animal, she became desperate to create any way out. And so, she tried to go under his sword to escape, but the 1st class member reminded her how long it was as he set it lower than it would allow, just at her hip level. With no other way out of it, Serra was forced to concede to the SOLDIER as she sighed in defeat. She could've put up a fight, sure, but admittedly, she realized she was far outclassed when it came to SOLDIER. She didn't have any training, nor did she have the means to attack other than her fists. And she knew how well they'd do against a sword as long as his.

"I'm in trouble, aren't I?"

Following this failed attempt to discover what Jenova really was, Serra ended up brought out to SOLDIER in front of all of Nibelheim, but not quite for the reason she believed. She thought they were deciding on her punishment for breaking the rule against trespassing in Nibelheim, but as it turned out, the SOLDIER who stopped her was admittedly impressed with how she managed to get past the guards at Shinra Manor. With naught but them and the gate to keep the townspeople at bay, he could guess that she must've mapped out the terrain to find an opening that would let her sneak by undetected and peek inside. Nibelheim was her home, after all, so at the very least, she might've planned that route for months. Regardless, it was time to continue the show as he smirked while speaking.

"It seems we missed one more recruit."

As Serra heard this, she became surprised. A break-in to Shinra Manor like that, and she's being recruited? Of all the sentences, that was completely unexpected. Before she could process it any further, Sephiroth gently pushed her to the members of SOLDIER who stood in single file before she recovered and stood up straight with her arms at her side while some of the members exchanged glances towards her. She knew what they must be thinking, that they have doubts about her being SOLDIER material. And although she yearned to be special, becoming a member of SOLDIER was not quite what she had in mind.

Truth be told, she could care less about it. Tifa always felt Shinra to be suspicious, that it had an ulterior motive behind what it's doing. Of course, Serra considered it a conspiracy theory, so she ignored it and went on with her day. Now that she's in this situation, she's beginning to wish she had stayed to listen to them. As Serra turned her head from the SOLDIER recruits quickly, Sephiroth spoke up to the people.

"Listen well, all of you. Follow your ambition. And whatever happens, do whatever it takes to uphold your honor as SOLDIER."

Given how sudden this whole thing was, Serra didn't hesitate to raise her hand to Sephiroth as he took notice of her before he spoke.

"Yes?"

"I'm sure it must be a real honor, but... I never wanted to be SOLDIER."

This only earned a smile from the 1st class member before he spoke.

"Well, then. Consider this your punishment."

Punishment. Serra was beginning to rethink the definition of that word entirely. As she walked in the main hall of Shinra, Serra would get passing glances of belittlement and disapproval all around her. If this is what Sephiroth meant by punishment, he must deliver his word very well. But she was raised to deal with whatever punishment she was given, so she was forced to suck it up for the remainder of her time around the others. However, one of the SOLDIER members wasn't like that as he spoke up to her.

"So, you must be one of the new recruits. Nice to meet ya."

With that, she turned around to see a man with spiked black hair, blue eyes, a dark blue uniform, gloves, and boots looking at her as she spoke.

"Huh? Who are you?"

"Oh, right. We didn't get introduced. My name's Zack. SOLDIER, 2nd class."

As Zack got his hand out to her, Serra didn't quite know what to make of his energetic and positive attitude for someone who works at SOLDIER. What confused her even more was its classes. Practically everything about it confuses her.

"2nd class?"

"Yep. I worked real hard to get there, though. But who knows? Maybe you'll get there your first day."

Knowing the odds of that, especially with her not wanting to even try being a member of SOLDIER in the first place, Serra only smiled at his vote of confidence, something she never thought she'd do with a SOLDIER, unless it was when she outsmarted them like before. Maybe his positivity was quickly rubbing off on her...

"That'll be the day. But honestly, my only hope is that I don't get called on to a mission so soon."

Unfortunately, her hope was dashed as she heard someone calling to her as a man in a tuxedo with his black hair tied back and a black dot on his head appeared.

"Serra Tiran."

As she heard his voice, she took notice of his presence, as did Zack before he spoke to him, making her more curious.

"Hey, Tseng."

"Tseng?"

"Yeah. He's a member of the Turks, as far as I know. What's up?"

"Lazard has an assignment for you. Sephiroth will be your partner."

Being told this, Serra widened her eyes out of shock as she spoke along with Zack in unison.

"What!? What for!?"

Upon noticing that they spoke in unison, Serra looked to Zack and became confused on why he had a problem with it.

"Huh? What's wrong, Zack?"

"Nothing. It's just— well, come on! It's not every day you get to pair up with Sephiroth."

"Sephiroth?"

Taking notice of her apparent confusion, Zack thought of an idea on how to fix that as he spoke.

"Oh, yeah. You're still new. Well, Sephiroth's actually a 1st class SOLDIER. Beyond that, it's a long story. But why do you have a problem with it?"

"Because I never asked to be SOLDIER. I was happy the way I was."

As Serra said this, Zack became perplexed by her not wanting to be in SOLDIER. As far as he knew, SOLDIER was an organization dedicated to honor. Who wouldn't want to be a part of that? Before he could attempt to ask her, though, Tseng spoke up.

"Well, we don't always get what we want. Now, come with me."

With that, Serra wanted to argue, but because she was surrounded by countless SOLDIER members and recruits, she felt as though that they'd expect her to say no. And given the staring looks she received the whole time she was there, she didn't want to go through that pressure anymore and conceded to societal convention as she spoke.

"Alright. I'll be right there."

Meanwhile, Lazard received a report from Sephiroth's recruitment mission. When he heard that a young girl broke into Shinra Manor without being detected, he was appalled. But he was even more so with what he intended to do with her.

"Are you serious about this, Sephiroth? You want to recruit her of all people?"

"That's right. Is there a problem?"

"You do realize that she broke the law. It's a punishable offense—!"

"But she didn't let that stop her, did she? In fact, she came far closer than the other townspeople that tried to break in."

"Even if it wasn't against the law, she's still too inexperienced to just take with you on the spot. Besides, she has a family back home. Wouldn't you rather let them deal with her?"

Truth be told, Sephiroth would care less about it. He never had a family to know about, at least not one that was loving or kind. As far as he knew, his mother, Jenova, was dead after childbirth while his father abandoned him. Since then, Sephiroth was raised up as a young boy by Hojo, a resident scientist that helped make him the soldier he is today. Of course, that didn't mean he never wanted anything for himself.

For starters, he wanted to know the truth about his parents. He's never gotten the chance to meet her or his father. If there were any evidence containing their existence, he'd go after it in a heartbeat if he wasn't so occupied with assignments. He's wanted that opportunity for most of his time under Shinra. Instead, when he got the recruiting assignment, he seemed to find someone who managed to impress him.

To think that a small-town girl would be the one to break into Shinra Manor was truly a surprise... Normally, it would've been a punishable offense, and nothing more. But something about the girl's defiance made him... curious; what did the girl have against Shinra and SOLDIER to begin with? And why would she break into the Manor in the first place if she'd show little resistance in the event of her captire? Either way, Sephiroth wouldn't get his answers by punishing her the way the law asked him how to do it. And so, he decided to make her his recruit in order to find out for himself. But to keep up the act, he'd have to show her the ropes.

And that meant to shape her into something better than she is now. Without her doubts, Serra would easily be lethal, but they stopped her from taking any extremes when he stopped her. She put almost no effort in it at all... and that greatly irked him somehow. So, that was another reason for his bringing her along. Because he had little to no patience in putting up with her quickly giving up, he decided that the fastest way for her to learn was a trial by fire. And he will see to it that she passes that trial, or at very least, survive it.

"I've made up my mind, Lazard. And you should know it can't be changed."

As Sephiroth got the high ground in his word, Lazard realized that his mind can't be changed. This made him admit defeat in the argument before he spoke.

"Alright. But, Sephiroth, this girl is your responsibility. You're aware of of that much, aren't you?"

"You don't have to remind me."

At that moment, Serra walked in the main hall and instantly took notice of Lazard and Sephiroth having just finished the discussion. Upon noticing the latter, she became quite peeved.

"Wait. You're Sephiroth?!"

"That's right."

This made Serra furious to say the least. She had a good life at Nibelheim, and then he came. She didn't want to be a part of SOLDIER, yet here she was. Because of him. And while it was on account of her sneaking into Shinra Manor, Serra still faulted him for taking her away from her home, for subjecting her to so much ridicule in so short a time, and for... basically everything. But she knew her limit from the beginning when she met him. And that was what Sephiroth took notice of as she held her fist back as she muttered.

"Nothing."

Before the atmosphere could get too awkward as Sephiroth became peeved himself with her lack of trying, Lazard spoke up to Serra, making her redirect her focus towards him

"So, you're Serra Tiran?"

"Yeah. What about it?"

"You and Sephiroth are being assigned to a search and capture mission."

Hearing this, Serra widened her eyes at the very thought of it. How could she be assigned that if it was just her first day? And for that matter, where would that assignment take place? But of the two questions, she considered the former to be most important.

"Search and capture? But why?"

"I advised against bringing you into it this early. But you can take it up with Sephiroth."

Of course it had to be him. As she easily remembered how he took her from her home, she couldn't help but glare at him as she spoke.

"I really don't like you."

"You'll thank me later."

As he began walking out the door, Serra only looked at him as he went on his way. With her blue eyes fixated on the white-haired 1st class SOLDIER, she got the feeling that her punishment was far from over. And she believed she would not like this job one bit...

A/N: Hello. For those of you who haven't noticed by now, Serra's flaw is that when the situation isn't in her favor, she immediately refuses to try to surpass it. I know it's something a whiny child does, but there's a reason behind this behavior. And it will be explained later on in this story. So hang on tight for that, okay? And don't worry. Cissnei will get a chance to shine, too. I personally ship her and Zack together, in case it wasn't obvious. And Cloud and Aerith, too. :) There'll be a new chapter soon, so stick around.