An introduction to this:

After a long time I'm finally doing this.

I have many ideas knocking around my head, too many, and it's no secret to anyone who cares to look at the number of stories I've written and my favorites that I read more than I write. I would love to write them, really, but I'm not good at long stories and for whatever reason my plot-bunnies always seem to hop into that direction. So I decided to create this niche and put some of the bunnies up for adoption.

If you like it you can take it. The one Rule: I want is to be told so I can go read it whenever it's posted. Ta! :)

Now... onto the auction, I mean, action!

Title: Project Shape-Shifter (yeah, it's awful, change it, please!)

Fandom: Final Fantasy VII.

Warnings: AU, the point is not to rewrite cannon but to change it. Butterfly effect and such.

(I'm not a gamer and I haven't played the game but I love this fandom. The point of this? I don't know how some things work, like summons, so don't be mad when the way I've used them doesn't make sense).

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The project was the brainchild of some scientist (an OC is fine. He is no important, his actions on the other hand...) that worked for ShinRa under Hojo's direction until he discovered that his boss had stolen his beloved project and, not happy with that, had put the blame of the failure of the project on the poor man shoulders. Unfortunately (for everyone involved) the project was still on development when Hojo stole it.

Project Shape-Shifter (SS for short) was the first Super Soldier project. It was supposed to create super soldiers able to morph into different creatures completely of partially, the subject would then acquire the abilities, advantages and disadvantages of the creature or creatures (if it's a partial transformation they could fuse different creatures abilities as long as they are compatible, so no ice and fire) he or she chose to transform into. It's a lot like Vincent case, except that, unlike Valentine, this project was supposed to kill the creatures mind leaving behind only the abilities and power and no chance that the host would loose control.

A little on the project:

The first stage of the project was to infuse the Test Subjects with the bodies of different monsters. The test subject was supposed to be able to change bodies at will according to circumstances. Later, with practice, the subject should be able to call forth only the abilities or enhancements needed, for example, wings of a dragon for a hasty escape or better sense of smell from a Nibel wolf.

This stage was successful if only because the mindless beasts were exactly that, mindless. This is also the point of development where the project was before the theft and the reason Hojo's try failed.

In the second stage the test subject would've been infused with more powerful and more intelligent monsters. The challenge here is to break the monsters' minds so that only the bodies remain, no second or third consciousness to fight for dominance of the body.

The third and final stage was to infuse the host with the bodies (and again: only the bodies) of a selection of summons and/or the strongest monsters around. The challenge in this stage is similar as before: to break the summons' and monsters' wills and minds without killing them and, in the summons' case, to find a way to tether then to this plane before sticking them into their host.

Hojo's failed Test Subject? You're right, it was poor Vincent.

So, Jobless and more than a bit mad the scientist left intent on completing his project and showing ShinRa what they had thrown away.

Now fast forward a few years and we have a young Tifa intent on crossing an old rickety bridge and a young Cloud unsuccessfully trying to stop her. They fall as they did in cannon. Unlike in cannon they aren't found by the villagers but by a deranged scientist who is finally ready to implement stage 3 of Project SS and who just stumbled upon two perfect test subjects. And yes, his lab is hidden somewhere in the Nibel Mountains or thereabouts. It's not like there is much traffic there.

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I didn't get much further with this idea except for a few more points:

- I'm not sure how old the kids were when the bridge incident happened but they'll spend at least a couple of years under the scientist scalpel/mako tanks/etc.

- I don't hate Tifa, far from it, but I was of two ideas about her:

a) Whatever the reason her body can't resist the torture any longer and she dies. Cloud completely loses his shit afterwards and kills the scientist and destroys the lab. Vincent finds him shortly thereafter. Her death is one of the things that spurs Cloud into going against ShinRa.

b) She's sick and getting sicker but she is holding on. Luckily for them, Vincent, spurned by Chaos who knows something is fishy and doesn't like it, has awoken and rescues them. She'll recover.

- Cloud won't enroll in SOLDIER. After listening for years to the mad rambling of his tormentor he absolutely loathes everything remotely related to scientists, ShinRa and Hojo, not necessarily in that order.

-Vincent will become a mentor to Cloud, will help him cope with the changes and train him. Ironically this will force Vincent to confront his own demons, sometimes literally. They are in a way brothers by virtue of being the result of the same project.

- When Cloud finally decides to move against ShinRa Vincent (and Tifa if she's alive) will follow.

- I want the gang to get together somehow but I guess that'll depend on whatever changes have already been made to the timeline.

- I want Zack and Cloud to meet for the first time as enemies (not bitter enemies just, you know, two strangers on different sides of a conflict), before becoming friends.

- Before going against ShinRa the group will return to Nibelheim (they hadn't until then), they'll raid the mansion for anything useful and stumble upon Hojo's notes. Cloud's long-dead admiration for Sephiroth will make a vengeful return and he decides to save the man, if he can (he isn't naïve, if Seph is too far gone he'll kill the man).

- Angeal, Genesis and Sephiroth fates I'll leave in the author hands. I like them and it'd be awesome if they could be saved somehow but I have no idea how.

Cloud inner monsters:

- I think a maximum of five is enough, otherwise it'd be too easy and no fun. Could be less too, just not more.

- I'll leave the choice to the author. The only one I really want is Fenrir, as in the mythical wolf Fenrir. It's not a summon or a monster in the game, I know, but if you can have Odin why can't you have Fenrir?

finis

PM me or leave a review if there's anything you want to ask.