Final Fantasy VII: Bound for Midgar

by Windwillow

The story of the game itself is well known, but what about a certain martial artist and her mentor? At Nibelheim, Tifa was left near death and in need of medical attention in Midgar. If she was so critical, how did she MAKE it to Midgar? Her master Zangan takes center stage as she goes from Nibelheim to Midgar. Contains mild violence, language, and suggestive themes.

1. Foreword

Start Date: October 24, 2022

Windwillow

Another Story

Bound for Midgar

With the triumph of Shinra Inc., the once proud nation of Wutai was neutered in a humiliating peace treaty that stripped them of their materia and military forces as well as forcing their country into isolation. The war cost thousands of men their lives, both military and civilian, and in the aftermath Shinra Inc. consolidated its conquests and essentially assumed command of Gaia itself.

In the year 0002 A.W. (After War), a tiny village in the western continent known as Nibelheim fell victim to the rogue SOLDIER Sephiroth. He slaughtered the townspeople and razed the village, but in the aftermath was listed as missing in action and later dead. The full truth of the Incident would remain confidential for several years as Shinra Inc. "dealt" with the survivors and covered up the massacre. Five years later, its newly completed capital of Midgar had been fully active and thriving for several years before an insurgency threatened its very foundation.

But the true story of Nibelheim lies not with the dead or the official version, but with the survivors who managed to either escape Shinra either then or escape five years later. While the story of AVALANCHE later etched itself into Gaia's history, another story - perhaps small, yet not insignificant - was never recorded. Tifa Lockhart, one of the survivors of Nibelheim, had been grievously wounded by Sephiroth and left for dead, but was rescued by her mentor, the martial artist Zangan.

What follows are the tales of their travels, from the desolation of Nibelheim until a small group of insurgents turned the world upside down... As well as saved it.

Author's Notes

See Notes below if you don't want to listen to me yap. Saves everyone time.

This is just as much a surprise to me as it likely is to you. At the time of this writing, I've been novelizing the story of Final Fantasy VII in another fic posted here on . Right now I've finished Gongaga - which will be posted at some point in the near future - and that leaves Cosmo Canyon as the next step. But I feel sort of burned out right now and I'll work on that after I finish this side story, popularly called Gaiden in Japanese media. I say that like you don't know what it is, but humor me. -_-

I suppose it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to go from one big fic, still in progress, into a side story. But you see, I've been thinking about a few of said side stories for a couple weeks and I've decided to try my hand at one of the ideas now, before I work on Cosmo Canyon and continue FFVII: A Novelization. When this is finished, I'll post it as a separate work on and start again on FFVII: A Novelization. As of this writing in 10/24/22, I've finished Gongaga's final chapter and will post it at some point in the future. I'll be working on it for a while, so anyone who wants to read the main story, feel free to check it out. I haven't posted Chapters 29 or 30 and I'll release those after I start this Gaiden. They're done though, still polishing them up every so often to make them as good as they're going to get.

I'm looking at this as a sort of bridge between big fics, if I end up doing more. The Final Fantasy IV fic was just like that, sort of a minor practice piece, but it ended up bigger, and more relatively poorly written for my tastes, than I thought. When I finished I knew I could do better than that. Hopefully I have. I also have potential plans to end that with The After Years, if that ever materializes. I'd need to work out the kinks in each character's chapter and how to separate and connect them, and then deal with the rather large final chapter, so it'll be a colossal hassle and so I'm putting it on the back burner. Whether or when I get to it is up for debate.

I've fully finished the notes for the fic, and will write it soon. I did all this crap in about an hour, maybe an hour and a half, so I'm burned out right now. When I resume, I'll start on BfM, finish it, and go on to Cosmo Canyon. Before I do so I'll finish the first chapter to BfM and post it, because posting this and nothing else is pretty lame. So, as of 10/24/22, at the start of the project, nothing has been written except the notes.

Please stay with me, and I hope you enjoy this side story to the masterpiece RPG, Final Fantasy VII. I consider it a more relaxing piece to work on than the whole thing, but I will finish it at some point. It's just that I'm tired of working on the main story and need to try something new. Further chapters are upcoming as soon as I finish Cosmo Canyon.

Notes: You can skip all that if you want. I'm creating a new fic before I continue on my main project. I'll finish the first chapter then post the fic and go from there. Enjoy!