This is the first three chapters of my final fantasy7/8 crossover story.

Written by Darren Shier a.k.a "The Edge".Chapters 4,5 & 6 to follow...shortly

Final Fantasy;

"Synergy"

CHAPTER ONE;

"DEAD AGAIN"

On another world,far removed from ours or any other,there is a house.

The resident is not inside the house,he's outside,chopping wood in the snow to build a fire,so he may make it through another night.

Why did he and his wife choose Icicle Inn to make a home?

Good reasons long forgotten,he supposed.

But she was dead.

It must have been twenty years now,...at least Tifa went in peace,he thought,not like Aeris.

God,How long had it been,since those days when they'd all found each other and had stopped Sephiroth?

...Fifty years??!!?

How old did that make him?

Oh yeah,he'd stopped counting at 60...

So,where were the others?

Barret had gone back to Corel,originally he just fixed machines and help re-build the town.

He'd lived out his days as the mayor.

He'd taken Marlene to meet him and Tifa once...long time ago...

Cid?

What had happened to that guy ?

Oh yeah,with the money he'd made from his success with frequent space missions,he'd retired to one of those Mideel tropical islands,with loads of semi-naked hula girls and cocktails...Just like him,he thought...

Yuffie?

Last he'd heard of her she was expecting twins...

Reeve had re-formed Shin-ra,dismantling the Mako reactors and replacing them with the newly-discovered Cold-Fusion energy.

Midgar was an abandoned wreck,Junon city was the new capital.

Vincent had gone to find Lucrecia,and they had never heard from him again..

And Redxiii had found a mate,and was finally happy...

Now look at Cloud.

Really look at him.

His hair was once blond,spikey and proud.

Now it was white and floppy.

His eyes seemed older than the rest of him.

He still had his muscles,and was strong,but that was only because of the remaining Jenova still in his body.

No other man his age would dare dream of chopping wood in the snow at his age.

It was amazing how he could still hold a large sword such as his.

The huge buster-sword,with a million notches on the blade.

The cold was getting to him.

He should have stopped chopping,but he still did'nt have enough wood for a fire.

He placed another block of wood on the stump and raised the sword over his head...and stopped.

There was something wrong with his heart.

He dropped the sword and fell to his knees,clutching his chest.

The pain burned into his heart like a thousand knives of fire.

But his mind seemed detached,somehow.

While his body was dying,his mind was elsewhere,back in Nibelheim.

The day when he'd asked Tifa to marry him.

He'd chased her through the hills and the tree's.

All the while she was laughing,she wouldnt let him catch her...

As his mind replayed the happiest times,his body surrendered to the snow.

He was lying on the ground,frost lining his eye-brows.

Finally,he was dead...

"...Tifa..."

Moments after his body died,the eerie green glow of the lifestream geysered out of the ground and swallowed him up...

CHAPTER TWO;

"Vega"

On a world even further beyond,there is a younger man.

His name is Squall Leonheart,Commander of the SeeDs of Balamb Garden.

Today he faces another enemy.

Not a mortal enemy,though.

A sparring partner.

His name is Vega Palzar.

He's a SeeD candidate,the same age as Squall.

He's usually a shadow,a barely noticable guy.

He'd fought against the Sorceress with the rest,but he never seemed overly enthusiastic about it.

He had an agenda,but it was his big secret.

"Alright" said Squall.

"Gunblade sparring may look cool,but bear in mind its dangerous.

Even with the safety catch on you can still maim or wound your partner severly"

Squall noticed Vega was looking at his scar.

"Me and Seifer were lucky"

"Dont worry"replied Vega,loading the clip on his Gunblade.

"I'll go easy on you"

Squall looked at Vega's gunblade.

He had never really approved of Seifers gunblade.

Squalls was a real sword,the weapon of warriors.

But Seifers was different.

It had been designed with assassination in mind.

Vega's reminded him of that.

It had the blade of a Kitana,and the gun part was modelled on an M-16 rifle,complete with stock,which meant you wielded it like a scythe.

It was hard to handle if you were a beginner,but if you were an expert,it was very deadly.

Squall clutched Griever,and chambered a round.

It was custom at Garden

to name your gunblade for luck.

Vega had named his Jenova.

He just said that the idea had come to him one day,like he'd heard it in his head..

They were ready..lock,stock and ready to rock.

"Lets go,Sorceress-Lover" said Vega,showing utter disdain for his opponents abilities.

"Lets Rock" responded Squall,and they charged at each other...

Jenova clashed with Griever,Squall putting his whole wieght behind the blade to force Vega down.

Vega snapped off the safety and squeezed the trigger,the charge firing down the blade and blowing Griever out of Squalls hand.

Squall was prepared for this,and ducked under the swing of Jenova,elbowing Vega and grabbing Griever with his free hand.

He brought his trusty revolver up just in time to block Vega's swing.

Vega pressed hard against Squalls force,the two gunblades locking together under the preassure.

The result had Squall and Vega with thier faces right up to each other.

Squall grimaced...

"Hah!"laughed Vega.

"You're weakening...i'm stronger"

"Nope"grunted Squall"...its your breath..."

Vega hated that,he was beating Squall and Squall would'nt even acknowledge it.

No wonder Seifer hated this asshole...

Vega pushed Squall away,and spun a full 360* degrees,blade outstreched.

When he came to a stop there was Squall,his white top neatly sliced open with his chest visible underneath.

There was a very thin red line across it.

"What in seven hells are you doing?"demanded Squall.

Another inch closer and Vega would have cut his heart out or disembowled him.

Squall rushed at Vega,and aimed Griever right at his gunblade.

He knew the precise moment to pull the trigger,which was...NOW!

Jenova blew out of Vega's hand,disarming him.

Vega promptly sweeped his leg under Squalls,tripping him over backwards.

Squall fell and banged his head on the rocks.

The next thing he knew,Vega was standing over him,holding Jenova and Griever against Squalls neck in an X-fashion.

"Looks like i win,Sorceress-Lover."he said,grinning.

"One rule you gotta remember about fighting,Commander,is that while you might not intend to fight dirty,doesnt mean i dont..."

CHAPTER THREE;

"The Sorceress's Lessons"

"Okay" said Edea,sitting down.

"Open your eyes"

Rinoa opened her eyes to see what Edea had brought.

"Well?" prompted Edea.

"It's a Bonsai tree..."responded Rinoa,stating the obvious nature of the object.

"Yes." continued Edea.

"I thought it would be better to start you off on simple living organisms,like Bonsai trees."

"So what do i do?" asked Rinoa

"The tree is alive.

But it is a simple tree.

Study its Life-force and convince it that it has the potential to be so much more.

Make it bud"answered the former Sorceress.

"Concentrate"

Rinoa sighed,cleared her head,and stared at the tree.

What was Edea on about?

It was just a simple tree.

Pretty,yes,but just a tree.

How am i supposed to encourage a tree to bud?

Its not even Spring yet.

Wait a second....why is it glowing?

Is that the life-force she was talking about?

Must be...Alright,so how do i make it bud?

I want it to bud,so how...?

Edea watched the tree.

Then noticed it begin to vibrate...

She instantly realised what was happening.

"LOOK OUT!!" she yelled,lurching forward to push Rinoa to safety, an instant before the tree exploded into a mighty oak tree,fully bloomed.

All the SeeDs and students in the cafeteria dropped what they were eating and stared at the massive oak,that was streching through the roof.

Rinoa and Edea stared at the new arrival.

"Guess you dont know your own strength,Rinoa" she said.

Rinoa remained silent.

"Look, i'm sorry.

I know you're used to Drawing magic but Sorcerey does'nt work like that.

Drawing is harnessing the energy fields of other living beings.

But Sorceress's dont need to do that because they create their own magic.

They are sources of raw magic,hench the name,Sorceress..."

"Its not that" said Rinoa,still looking at the oak.

"I'm afraid Cid's gonna be pissed when he finds what i've done to his cafeteria" she laughed.



"Quistis to Rinoa" came the voice over the communication system.

"Go ahead" replied Rinoa.

"Can you come to the infirmary?

Squall's done it again" was the request.

"...Squall.My Squall..." she sighed."...typical."

She left the cafe,with the tree that was attracting a lot of attention...