A/N: Was wondering whether to post up this story or not, but, eh, why not? Please be kind xD

This story is a crossover between a few Final Fantasy games, but the main ones being VII and XIII (hence the crossover category this is in).

In this, you will see characters from FFVII, FFVIII, FFXIII and FFvsXIII. Was considering having more show up, but then I wanted to keep the number of games limited.

Please know, this story came about because I wanted to write something with Cloud and Noctis in it (my personal favourite Final Fantasy guys). As such, the characters seen in here are completely biased towards who my friends and I like.

I consider this a "fun" fan fic where it's a quick and simple plot. So please understand this if you go onto reading the story. It's a light read directed at the fans of the games listed above (and mainly for fangirls, woo...). Many moments are based off what happens in VII and XIII (hey, it is a crossover!)

Just because something is one thing in the game, does not mean it will be the same in this (ie: fal'Cie in this are not the same as fal'Cie in FFXIII, anything like that will be explained in the story). So please no comments like "that's not how it is in the game". Go with the flow of the story, kay?

This story starts off mainly in the FFVII section of the "world" and more FFXIII will come in a few chapters later.

I hope those that read this still end up enjoying the story and relationships~

I

"My family's moving..."

"To where?"

"I don't know..."

"Will I be able to see you again?"

"I...don't know..."

"...I got it! I'll join SOLDIER! That way I'll hopefully be able to find where you are some day."

"You'd...join SOLDIER?"

"Yeah! I'll join up as soon as I can and find you. I promise."

"All right. It's a promise."

Water rushed from the faucet, the odd droplet joining that which flowed down the drain when it dripped from San's face. She gripped the sides of the sink as she stared unblinking at her reflection. After a few minutes, she held her hand under the cold water and splashed some more over her face. It helped to wake her up in the morning, splashing the cold water over her face, especially after a bad night's sleep.

A knock at the door brought San from the thoughts that lingered on. Sighing, she turned off the water, making sure it would not drip. "You done in there yet?" asked Alvina.

Running a hand over her face, San turned and opened the door to the bathroom. When she opened it, the redhead was standing in wait, arms crossed. It was not in an annoyed manner, at the least, she was just waiting for her roommate to finish up. "Yeah, sorry about that," muttered San as she ran a hand through her black hair.

"Another bad dream?" questioned the redhead in the brief moment they were parallel to each other. San was silent for a minute. Though Alvina knew about them, that did not mean that San enjoyed talking about the matter.

"Yeah," she answered. She looked down at her hands, trying to make sure that she understood she was now in reality and out of the dream world. "They're happening more often..."

"Maybe you should see someone about it." Alvina slung the towel she held over her shoulder as she gave her roommate a concerned look. "It may be nothing, but better safe than sorry. 'Sides, I'm sure they could give you something so that you wouldn't dream."

San waved the matter aside. "Not like it's been affecting my performances. It's just annoying to have the same blasted dream again and again."

"All right, all right," sighed Alvina, letting the matter slide. "Just don't go letting it degrade your performance today of all days." The redhead sniffed and flicked San across her forehead.

"I won't, I won't," assured San as she waved Alvina's hand away. "Just hurry up and take your damn shower."

The redhead made a noise in success as she headed to the bathroom. "Who's gonna win today?" she asked as she closed the door behind her.

"Team Havoc!" cheered San back. A soft chuckle escaped her as she went on to don her uniform for the day. It had been six years since she joined SOLDIER, with each day being as tough as the last. She had not given up though, and had made it through the rigorous training to become known as Osana "Silverblade" Aella. Through the years, she had made some friends in training, Alvina Kimberley being one of them. Through luck, they had been put on the same team for the final assessment for a SOLDIER recruit. The two women trusted each other completely, now they only hoped the other members of their team would be able to pull through.

:::

"All SOLDEIRs fall in!"

"Yes sir!" answered the SOLDEIRs in unison as they shifted into perfect lines and stood to attention.

"All recruits here? Good." The commanding officer Zack Fair smiled as he looked over the sea of faces. Placing his hands on his hips, he began to walk back and forth in front of the rows. "Today is the day I'm sure most of you have been fretting over: assessment day. The day where your first rank is chosen. Don't let it get to you if you don't make it to the rank you want, there will still be plenty of time ahead of you to reach your goals! Today, you will be evaluated on your performance both as a team and on your own! I have only one word of advice before the trial begins. Actually..." he paused for a moment before looking back over the crowd. "This is an order." Reaching back, he drew forth his sword and held it before him as though all his hopes and dreams rested in it. "Never lose your dreams," he called out clearly, lowering the sword. "Also, no matter the situation never let go of your pride as a SOLDIER. Got it?"

"Yes sir!" barked out the recruits.

"Good. Make sure to do your best today." He gave one last look to his sword, holding it high above them all to see. "Let's go!" With a final salute, the SOLDIER recruits hurried off to their starting locations. "Team Havoc!" he shouted out as the recruits continued to rush by. Four of them slowed down and headed over to where Zack stood.

"Yes sir?" they asked in unison when they came to a halt.

"Give it your all today. And don't let me down. I've got gil riding on you guys," he added with a wink.

"Ah, right...sir," the four fumbled, not expecting such a thing to have been said. Without waiting for anything more, Team Havoc quickly rushed off to their starting position.

"Man, to think he'd go and tell us something like that moments before we begin!" sighed out Alvina in annoyance.

"Either let it be more motivation to do well or forget about it, whichever works better for you," commented Cloud Strife, the third member of Team Havoc.

"Whatever. Let's just get through this," grumbled Squall Leonhart as he loaded up his rifle.

"C'mon guys, we're Team Havoc. Commander Zack just placed gil on us since he he knew it would be such a safe bet." San smirked lightly as she lowered her helmet after trying to reassure her team. "Time to mess the other teams up..."

A blaring horn filled the air and the final assessment was on. It was a survival match. Ten hours would pass before it was over. It was not only other teams out there, but fiends were out prowling the different areas of the battleground. The death-toll may be low for the final assessment, but one did exist. It was just one more way to weed out the strong SOLDIERs from the weak. They had made a promise to each other, Team Havoc, that they would be among the ones to finish.

Panting hard, San crouched behind a bolder. Only an hour remained and all of her teammates still survived.

"We should head over to that cave; it's a better defensible position to run out the clock." San pointed over towards a cave that had to be no more than a few hundred feet away.

"What if there are already recruits in there?" asked Alvina.

A smirk crossed San's face behind her helmet. "Then we kick them out."

"It's clear. We should go now while we can." Squall rose up slightly to get ready for when they would make their move.

"All right. Move out!" barked out Alvina, taking the lead. Rushing to stay together, the other three of Team Havoc were quick to move on her order. It was going so well, they were nearly there, when out of the blue, San fell to her knees.

"Dammit! A time like this!" she grunted to herself as flashes from her dreams overpowered her senses. The light that called her seemed so far. Her body disintegrated each moment it was away from the light. No matter how hard she tried, she could not reach it. All that happened in less than a second, but it was enough time to open her defences. A fiend leapt upon their group and singled out the weakest one at that moment. Sharp claws dug into its captured prey and the two tumbled away.

"Keep going!" shouted out San as she tried to get the monster off of her, her flash of a dream done. To lose now, this close to the end, she would not have it! The rest of her team hesitated for only a second before following her order. They needed to get a hold in the caves before they could do anything else.

"Dammit!" cursed Cloud under his breath before turning around. "San!" he yelled out, racing to aid her. Raising his rifle, he took aim and shot at the fiend that was having trouble biting through San's own gun. The fiend shrieked out in pain as it flailed about. San took that moment and managed to scramble away from it, drawing her sword.

"I told you to head to the cave!" she shouted back at Cloud as she moved in for a killing blow to the fiend.

"Yeah, you can thank me later," sighed the blond as he shot the fiend to make for certain it was dead. "Let's go!" San rushed towards him as quickly as her wounds would allow her. Cloud began to back up towards the cave, all the while covering her to make sure no more surprises would get them.

Less than an hour to go...they would make it through!

:::

"Team Havoc!" they cheered out, raising their drinks and clanking them together. As one, they drank from their mugs and lowered them back down, empty. The assessment had finished, and the ranks had been given out. It was the best they could have hoped for: all four of them had made it to 1st Class SOLDIER. Tonight was their night to celebrate along with all others who passed the assessment.

"Whew, man! What a tough ten hours!" laughed out Alvina. She brought her mug to her mouth one more time to make sure all of it was drained.

"Not tough enough to stop us," commented Squall, shrugging lightly.

"You're not Team Havoc for nothing!" cheered out a new voice. Looking up, the team members saw who had joined them.

"Commander Zack!" they nearly choked out in surprise.

"Zack, Zack!" he laughed out, waving the matter aside. "Just Zack now, 1st Class SOLDIERs," he grinned at them. "Well done today, you guys were one of the best groups we've seen in years."

"Yeah, all save for one at the end," smirked Alvina as she shot San a look.

San's cheeks reddened in embarrassment. She did not like remembering that the fiend had nearly gotten her so close to the end. "Shut up!" she hissed at her friend as she sent a kick to her under the table. The smirk widened on Alvina's face as she moved slightly. San's brow furrowed in confusion for a second just before her foot came into contact with someone's leg, but it was not Alvina. Cloud was the one to wince and curse under his breath. San quickly had a look of regret and muttered an apology to Cloud.

"Now, now," laughed out Zack, "she did her best under the situation, and Cloud did well by going back to help. But, still, by being the one to almost die near the end, you're gonna be the one to help me get the next round of drinks for you guys. Come on, San." Tossing his head to the bar, Zack headed off without even waiting to see if San would follow.

"Yes, sir," muttered San before catching up.

"You're one of the best swordsmen we've seen in a while, Silverblade," grinned Zack as he took two mugs. "Might even be able to rival Sephiroth."

"Ah, I wouldn't know about that," chuckled San to try to brush the matter aside.

"Well, you might win if you don't have another episode like you did today in the middle of a battle."

San froze in her step. Not even her other teammates had noticed her breakdown out on the field. Was there really nothing the commanders did not know about the recruits? "It...it won't happen again," she murmured, walking once more.

"How long have you had these dreams?"

"Nearing on ten years now... They've gotten more frequent recently, but this was the first time something happened while I've been awake."

"You're a good SOLDIER, San. Despite having these dreams for all this time, you've still managed to become 1st Class. I won't force you to do anything at the moment, but if it happens again while you're awake like that, go to our doctors. Got it? It's not an order, but rather a request from a concerned friend."

"Yes, si—" The look Zack gave her stopped San in mid-word. She chuckled swallowed before chuckling wryly. "You got it, Zack."

"Right! Well, you guys have a good evening!" he clapped San on the back after he placed the mugs he had carried down on the table.

"You're not staying?" asked Cloud.

"Nah, I got a date!" Grinning, he waved before heading off.

"Treat Aeris well!" shouted out Alvina after him. Zack raised his hand to show that he heard before hurrying out of the SOLDIER-filled place.

"Well, now that we're 1st Class, how long before do you think we'll be thrown into the war?" asked Alvina as she took a swig from her new drink.

"Who knows," shrugged Cloud. "It's been pretty quiet recently. Maybe not for a while."

"Could be tomorrow, could be a week from now, could be a month. It's the life of a SOLDIER." Squall was quick to bury himself in his drink once he finished speaking.

"We can only wait and find out," sighed San as she looked down at her drink. The thought now of having her dreams affect her while awake began to frighten her. What if it happened at another critical moment? She had gotten lucky today, but what if she really ended up dead next time? She did not want to die because of something like that.

"Well, well, well. Lookie who we have here. If it isn't the 1st Class newbies," smirked someone new. Looking up, all of Team Havoc raised their eyebrows at the newcomer. "Doesn't Shin-Ra have enough Mako-infused pawns to deal with already, yo?"

"You're a Turk then, aren't you?" asked San, looking at the two men from over the rim of her mug.

"Oooh, and five points to the lady! Name's Reno and this here's Rude." The redhead that had goggles on his forehead gestured with his thumb to the guy standing next to him.

San's expression fell slightly. "You wear sunglasses while inside?" she murmured before taking a sip of her drink.

Rude shuffled his weight slightly. Reno laughed as he clapped Rude on his shoulder. "Ah, don't worry bout it. We're here to congratulate you guys. Been a long time since people have scored as high as you did in the final assessment for SOLDIERs. 'Sides, good to make friendships now, who knows how often we'll end up working together." His eyes shot to Alvina for a second. "Which I hope is fairly often."

"Well, you guys can become all buddy-buddy. I need some fresh air," sighed San, rising.

"All right, free seat!" cheered Reno before she had barely moved a step away from her chair. Shaking her head, the black-haired woman was quick to head outside before anyone compelled her to stay and talk. It was not that she did not like the Turks, she was just honest about needing some fresh air. She could only stand bars for so long.

A sigh escaped her as she was met by the cool air of the night. Stepping to the side of the door, the new 1st Class SOLDIER leaned against the wall. Since she was alone, San allowed herself a smile. She had made it to being a 1st Class SOLDIER. "Osana Aella, SOLDIER, 1st Class." A light laugh escaped her. "I like the sound of that..."

"It does have a nice ring to it," came a second voice. San quickly stood straight, her hand instinctively reaching to where her sword would have normally been. She sighed once she saw who it was and was able to relax once more.

"Cloud Strife, SOLDIER, 1st Class. That also has a nice ring to it," she grinned to him as he stood beside her.

"If you say so." His smile was hidden in the darkness.

"So you left Alvina and Squall to deal with the Turks?"

"They can handle themselves. Besides, I think that Reno likes it better with fewer of us around."

A snort of a laugh escaped the black-haired woman. "That obvious to you too, huh? Ah well, I'd rather be out here anyway." Her gaze moved skyward. Up on the Plate, nothing blocked the sky above. "If it weren't for the sky, that is," she whispered.

"What was that?" asked Cloud, looking to her in the night.

"Nothing." She shook her head to move past what she had said. "Thank you..." she finally added.

"For what?"

"For coming back to help me with the fiend. It's embarrassing to admit it, but I'm not sure if I would have been able to get it off of me long enough to kill it if you hadn't come to help."

"Don't mention it. I'm just glad I was able to help." Silence fell between them. The bustling noise from inside was loud enough to reach them, but it was thankfully a light hum in the background. "Why do you dye your hair?" Cloud finally asked.

San was truly caught surprised by the question. "What?" she asked back, unable to find her voice for anything more.

"Your hair." Turning to her, Cloud pointed to San's hair. "Isn't it really blue? I've noticed the roots now and then. Why do you dye it black?"

Consciously, San gripped her hair. "I don't really want to stand out too much with it. As a part of SOLDIER, I thought it would be a good idea to hide anything that would be able to make me stand out too much from the others. You know, in case something should happen with the enemy while out there."

"Still, would be nice to see it in its normal colour one day."

A small smile parted her lips. "Maybe... Some day..." She glanced to Cloud before looking to the sky that she feared once again, whispering, "Whenever I fulfil my promise..."

A/N: Hm, not the most exciting way to end a chapter, I'm sure, but it had to end somewhere.

Oh, and if you're wondering, Cloud's personality is meant to be more like he is in Crisis Core compared to VII or Advent Children. Why? 'Cause all the bad stuff that happened to him (Mako poisoning, seeing his friends get murdered, etc) don't happen! So he's a bit less brooding in this...for now.

If anyone's wondering where Noctis is, he comes later.

Hope at least some people are interested in reading this xD More to come soon~