Disclaimer: I do not own FFVII or any of its characters. All rights to the game and movie belong to Square-Enix.

Final Fantasy VII: Sin's Past

Chapter 1: Forgotten Promises

The morning mist was something most people frown on. It's foggy, unclear, and near impossible to find your way out of. However, in such a small town, there's not much to miss, therefore the mist is something the residents of this town actually appreciate. Outside the large gates of this town, a sign was planted into the ground. The letters on it were fairly large, so they were easy to read. With a pair of keen eyes, one could even make out the letters said: "Welcome to Nibelheim."

While the residents of this small town went about their business, off in the distance was a group of people, numbering in five, watching the villagers. The person in the center of the group was looking through a pair of binoculars, closely studying every move and every face he saw through the looking glass. His black, spiked hair blew in the wind as he took the binoculars away from his eyes, a small smirk growing on his face. The other people in the group were bored. This was shown by their constant yawning and stretching. One of the men stood up with his gun at his side.

"Hey, boss. When are we gonna make our move already? We've been watchin these people for over half an hour!"

The boss, the dark-haired individual, kept the smirk on his face as slightly turned his head back to the grunt who approached him. "Aw, poor Nez is a little bored, eh?" He chuckled. Once he stopped, he resumed what he was saying. "Don't worry, boys. It's almost time. Once we take care of business here, everything else will just go according to plan." The other men there just chuckled because they knew what was coming. The boss looked at his watch. 8:30 on the dot.

"Alright fellas. Time to get to work."

A woman was carrying some bags full of groceries from the store she had just exited. The store itself was positioned near the gate to the town, which were usually kept closed. As she walked, she heard a noise coming from beyond the gates. She stopped in place and looked towards where this noise was coming from. At first, it sounded like an engine. As she got closer to the gate, the noise kept getting louder and louder, like it was coming closer. Before she got to the gate, the doors suddenly flung open. A huge gust of wind caused the woman to fall on her back as three motorcycles flew over her and skidded on the ground. Three of the men started shooting, killing random citizens who were trying to get away. The boss, who had his own motorcycle, got off of the bike and brandished his extraordinary weapon. It was a large, double-edged sword that looked like it would be impossible to wield through normal means, but this man efficiently wielded it with only one hand. The blade was a dark grey; while the blade was wide at the start from its attachment to the hilt, it would eventually become thinner by about 3 inches.

He stood in the midst of the town as all the defenseless townsfolk were shot dead. Even those who hid in their homes weren't safe as they met the same fate. A large man, roughly 6'5", stood behind the boss. As the last shots were fired, the wind began to blow again. Dust rose from the ground as the wind picked it up. There was utter silence in this place. However, only one survivor remained: the woman who had fallen from earlier. She was quietly trying to crawl away. The boss tilted his head back to find her, and she knew instantly that she was caught. The boss smirked as he made his way towards her. The woman was panicked, desperately trying to get away to save her own life. As she nearly got to her feet, the boss stood over her, his shadow cast over her as his tall figure blocked the sun. She looked up into the boss' eyes, noticing a strange, green glow to them. The woman had tears in her own eyes, scared for her very life.

"Please…" she pleaded, "..don't kill me. Please, I beg…" However, she was quickly silenced by the swinging of the boss' sword as it killed the poor woman.

The boss stood walked away from the woman and rejoined his gang. "So boss…" said the large member, "…you really think he'll show up?"

The boss smirked as he kept his head low. He turned his back to his fellow team members as he looked up into the sky. "Of course." He replied. The could feel the chill in his voice. Not to say that he was emotionless, just that his mere presence was… frightening.

"After all…" he continued as he looked into the bright blue sky, the same dark smirk on his face. "…we have a promise to keep…right?"

---

Cloud awoke very suddenly from his sleep, sweating heavily and grabbing his chest to keep his heart from bursting out of it. His breathing was heavy. As his eyes scoured the room, they fell upon the window, looking out into the streets as the sun gave light to them. Cloud's eyes came back to look down at his covers as he removed his hand from his chest. His breathing finally went back to normal. He sighed as he laid himself back down on the bed and looked at the ceiling.

"Just a dream."

A/N: R&R pleeeeeeeaaase! This is my first fanfic and I want to know whether you all like it enough for me to continue. Be as critical as you like, I will openly welcome your opinions.