Disclaimer: FFVII is property of Square-Enix

Foreword: Have you ever noticed that there are FFVII fics of every kind, but few seem to predate the Wutai War? Even the time travel ones. Most of the FFVII lore just kind of starts around when Sephiroth, Genesis, and Angeal are already well established SOLDIER's. But who came before them? Everything has a beginning, right? I'm surprised Square-Enix has never bothered to thoroughly explore this, so I began contemplating the birth of SOLDIER and how the unit evolved into ShinRa's premier military force.

The idea has been brewing in my head for some time. Truthfully, this is quite an ambitious project, and if it weren't for Pendrum finally caving—after repeated insistence on my part—and agreeing to co-write this with me, it probably would have never taken off.

This is not an AU. It'll be following the official FFVII timeline from the Ultimania Guide and so the chapters will be dated. The story will begin in the early 1970's (when ShinRa was still strictly a manufacturing company) and will conclude at the onset of the Wutai War in 1992.

Please be gentle. Oh, and any reviews are much appreciated. Feedback's always nice. Cover art is provided courtesy of mavhn from deviantart. Thanks again.

Beast within the Hurricane

by

The Disgruntled Panda + Pendrum

Chapter 1 - A Chance Encounter
November, 1972

This was idiocy. Pure idiocy.

Vincent Valentine was quickly growing tired of these missions. He was grateful for getting promoted to the Department of Administrative Research in rather short fashion, but really, why did ShinRa insist on sending him to neutralize these nightly raids? They were suicide missions. Did they hate him that much?

Truthfully, the missions were more interesting than the usual bodyguard detail he was assigned, but what troubled him was how inadequately prepared the support personnel accompanying him with were. Tonight was no exception. His crimson eyes studied the nervous faces of the six young security officers within the van. He glanced at their sweat stained foreheads, and down at their trembling hands before thoughts of his father, Grimoire Valentine, flashed into his mind.

"Wonderful. It appears I will be joining you tonight…" he muttered to himself.

"P-pardon me, sir?" one guard stuttered, his body still jittering.

"Tell me… Have you ever used a firearm on anyone before?"

"Y-yes, sir."

"And are you sure it wasn't friendly fire?"

"S-sir?"

"Never mind. Be alert. We're almost there."

It was quiet once more as the van moved towards the newly built mako reactor within the southern district of Midgar. The only sound came from the tires smoothly rolling across the pavement.

If he made it out alive tonight, Vincent would take his growing frustration up with the proper staff, and if necessary, even ask to speak to Heidegger directly. The coarse, bearded man was rarely approached by someone of diminutive rank, but Vincent had a feeling that if he stormed into his office with a fiery enough temperament, he would hear him out.

Enough was enough. These men they were combating were now legitimately dangerous. ShinRa called them opportunists, he called them terrorists. It began when the company started storing capital—raw material, company vehicles, electronic equipment, and scientific apparatus—inside various warehouses around the city when space within the main building grew thin. Of course, in its infinite arrogance, ShinRa had thought itself immune to crime. What it hadn't counted on was the perseverance of these impoverished, lower class citizens of Midgar.

After the first several robberies, the company began assigning security to patrol the warehouses at certain times. The opportunists adapted, quickly recognizing patterns of absence before breaking in. When ShinRa beefed up security to 24/7 status, they adapted once more, this time brandishing weapons.

What surprised Vincent initially was how apathetic ShinRa was to the loss of their security team, who foolishly fought to preserve assets, but often fell to the violent tactics of men whom simply had nothing to lose. That was made the opportunists dangerous: they didn't fear prosecution. Vincent understood that, but it seemed like many within the company didn't. These men, who grew up on the streets with nothing, would rather risk their lives for a chance at financial headroom, than go back to the shameful poverty they'd known all their existence.

Veld warned Heidegger of this, but the head of the Department of Administrative Research carelessly dismissed his claims. And when Veld persisted, he was subsequently shipped off to Wutai for several months. Heidegger had claimed he was needed there, but both Vincent and Veld knew it was punishment for insubordination.

It wasn't until the opportunists realized that one ShinRa commodity in particular yielded far more profits than the rest, when the company woke up.

It began only about a year ago, upon the installation of the first reactor in the northern sector of the city. When President ShinRa heard reports of groups breaking into the facility and extracting mako, he stormed out of his office, with a nervous mayor and police commissioner in tow.

"Mr. ShinRa, my officers are doing all they can!" the commissioner pleaded.

"Do something about it or I will!" ShinRa had roared.

With conventional ShinRa security failing, and even the local police force proving to be ineffective against the unpredictable, guerrilla style tactics of the mako hoarders, the company began actively training its own armed officers. But the company had no military experience. It was merely a manufacturing plant. And so, what did a company that trained these relatively inexperienced men do with them? Why, assign them under the command of only slightly more experienced men such as Vincent.

With another sigh, he looked out the front window as the van turned onto an industrial road, bringing the tall, grey cylindrical silo that was the reactor into view. Instinctively, his hand rested on his holster as he felt his pistol. He wondered what kind of weapons he would encounter tonight as he pulled it out and checked the mag before motioning for the men to get ready.

The van came to a halt directly outside the caged fence leading to the silo entrance. "Weapons check." His words were sharp, carrying urgent authority as everyone jumped out. "Follow my lead. Remember, we move as a team. No one tries to take matters into his own hands." He surveyed the agitated young faces as they cocked their weapons. One of the officers appeared ready to throw up. "Do any of you have women back home?"

"Yes sir!" four of them replied in unison.

"Then it's imperative that you stay alive if you wish to see them again." With a deep breath, Vincent led them past the caged entrance, where two dead security guards lay. Despite months of rigorous training, his heart began to beat faster, and it approached an uncomfortable level the moment he spotted a large hole at the side of the silo. It was definitely caused by an explosion; of this he had no doubt.

Vincent began signaling simple orders. Upon receiving a simultaneous nod, he ventured inside, sincerely hoping this wasn't his last mission, just so he could strangle Heidegger himself afterwards. If only Veld could be here with him. ShinRa personnel were stretched thin tonight as his comrade was dealing with an infiltration in the northern district. It was clever really, how the two attacks were coordinated as far apart as possible to make a consolidation effort near impossible. He had to give the opportunists strategic credit there.

The unmistakable stench of mako hit his nostrils the moment he entered the dimly lit hallway that connected to the warehouse. It was a smell that stung and burned the tip of the nose the same way a frozen morning wind would. As he and his team ventured closer towards the opening to the warehouse, Vincent heard bickering voices.

"Idiot, are you trying to get us poisoned? This stuff's toxic!"

"Oh, I'm sorry for trying to move faster than a Tonberry! I thought we were on a tight schedule since ShinRa's probably sending in its lap dogs."

"I imagine we came faster than expected then?" Vincent stepped out of the shadows as he entered the large warehouse—it contained miniature mako tanks, all connected via an intricate series of pipes.

Whatever element of shock he'd hoped to achieve in order to intimidate his foes disappeared the moment he laid eyes on twelve masked men, several armed. He had seriously miscalculated.

There was no pause or hesitance on their part as they opened fire, forcing Vincent to curse and leap for cover behind a mako tank as a shrill cry of bullets pierced the dank air. He heard several clanks against the back of the pod, followed by shouts of disapproval.

"Idiot, stop! That's pressurized mako! You're gonna bury us!"

Unfortunately for Vincent, the warning came too late as he heard the angry hiss signaling a leak. It was only thanks to his rigorous training that his body reacted before his mind as he leapt for cover.

The violent explosion came mere seconds later, generating enough force to sending him crashing straight into another pod. With his vision distorted, and the shrill ringing in his ears intensifying, he blinked several times, trying to rid himself of his daze.

Where was his gun? He'd lost his gun.

The ringing continued for several more seconds until he heard unmistakable footsteps from behind. He turned, only to be greeted with a metal pipe that struck his left shoulder. He felt something crack but couldn't afford the luxury of succumbing to pain as he quickly executed a leg sweep to knock his masked attacker down. Wasting no further time, he began to wrestle him with his right arm, trying desperately for a sleeper hold.

They thrashed about for several seconds before a sharp kick to Vincent's back forced him off. Fiery crimson eyes shot up at the person in question, who delivered another kick. This one proved unsuccessful as Vincent leapt at him, placing the man in a headlock while dragging him down.

"Get him off me!" The frantic man thrashed about, trying desperately to break the lock.

Vincent just needed his left side to regain feeling. If his senses came back, then maybe he cou—

The blow to his back hurt infinitely more than the first time. His hold on the man weakened as he was thrust off and left to roll around in excruciating pain.

Where were his men? He turned to see two ShinRa officers suffering similar fates at the hands of four masked men; while three lay lifeless, covered in a mixture of debris, blood and mako. There was only one guard who wasn't accounted for.

"Finish this miserable suit off!" someone cried as Vincent's surroundings began to fade.

So this was it, the end of the road for what had seemed like such a promising career? And all by the age of twenty two no less, only two years removed from his father's death.

At the recollection of Grimoire once more, Vincent decided to remain strong and not to grant his enemies the satisfaction of resignation. With unwavering resolution, he opened his eyes to face his maker.

"Oh, you wanna watch yourself die then, pretty boy?" the one holding the pipe taunted as he prepared to strike.

Even in his weakened state, Vincent managed to spit up at his mask.

"You're finished!" The weapon came down and Vincent braced, but to his surprise, the blow never materialized.

An outstretched arm clutched the attacker's wrist. "No… This guy's already helpless and this isn't what we do. I didn't sign up for this."

"Gainsborough, what in Odin's name, are you doing?"

"Wow… Way to call my name out like that, genius." With a roll of his eyes, he sighed and took off his mask. "Might as well get rid of this since you just made me in front of a ShinRa operative."

"All the more reason to kill him." The masked man shrugged him off and threw a shove for good measure. "Now know your place Gainsborough, or we'll leave you with this soon to be dead fool!"

"You're right…" he nodded. Then he quickly snatched a pistol from an unsuspecting colleague and fired at a nearby mako tank.

The violent explosion that trailed the thunderous sound—which sent the men crashing to their knees and covering their ears—spewed toxic green bile everywhere. For a second, Vincent didn't know if he was dead or not until he opened his eyes and found himself being dragged to safety by his young savior.

"What in Gaia… are you doing?" he coughed out, fighting consciousness.

"Saving your ass, pretty boy." He slung Vincent's arm around his shoulder and hoisted him up. "Can you walk?"

The raven haired ShinRa operative coughed again as they began to scurry away. "Gainsborough is it?"

The brunette afforded another eye roll. "Thank Odin. For a second I thought you might've forgotten."

"Tell me Gainsborough," Vincent coughed blood this time as he heard several disoriented cries from behind, "are you an idiot?"

"That's what my last girlfriend said. Joke's on her because while she's suffering on a beach in Costa del Sol right now, I'm having the time of my life right here, dragging suit wearing slaves around while getting shot at."

Vincent didn't realize the furious buzzing were bullets sailing past. They picked up their pace and made for the dim, musty connecting hallway, the same one he'd come through. "I never… asked you… to save me…"

"I could drop you right here you know," Gainsborough shot back, both literally and figuratively, as he exchanged gunfire with his assailants while scurrying towards the exit. "To be honest, I'm kinda considering it. You weigh more than my two exes combined. And they liked to eat!"

"You're dead Gainsborough!" Their screams were livid.

"If you kill me, who's gonna pleasure your sisters?" he taunted.

The volume of bullets that came their way increased dramatically in the next few seconds. Vincent was positive he was mad.

"I was looking for new friends anyways," Gainsborough mused, slightly out of breath, as he emptied his clip and chucked it for good measure before pushing Vincent out of the hole they'd now reached.

Instantly, Vincent shielded his eyes as bright headlights focused on the pair of them. Squinting, he made out the Shinra logo on several company cruisers as dozens of armed guards poured out.

So that explained the fate of the unaccounted officer…

"You are trespassing on official ShinRa property!" a voice shouted over a microphone. It sounded like Veld, but he couldn't be sure in his dazed state. "Surrender immediately! If you comply, you will be spared! If you do not, we will open fire!"

"Better… do… what they say…" Vincent felt his arm being slipped off Gainsborough's shoulder as his body became numb. He'd lost a lot of blood. "I'll… talk them… into… going… easy on you."

"I'll take my chances inside," Gainsborough said, retreating back into the hole, seconds before Vincent blacked out.