Chapter 1: Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core. All rights go to Square Enix.

"That which does not kill us makes us stronger"-Friedrich Nietzsche

Autumn's POV

Sakura Gains wasn't the first alias name that came to mind, but it was one I felt fit whenever I said it aloud to Master.

In my own opinion, I thought it was pretty clever: take the name meaning cherry blossom in Wutaian and combine it with an abbreviated version of my surname, and boom! Instant alternate identity.

Commander Jennings, my C.O., was the only kind instructor I got. My presence as one of the few females in the military angered the boys. My instructors were sadists and punished me whenever I made the slightest mistake.

I made many, so it wasn't exactly happy fun times. Sarrel Oakens, Tyler Walker, and Jason Chambers decided to befriend me, even though I didn't want to. They came in handy, as it turned out. But I made it a rule not to get too attached to anyone in Shinra. It's complicated, blah blah blah.

To prove myself to everyone else and because I was desperate for some way to get into SOLDIER at that point, I took it upon myself to investigate a monster outbreak in Junon during Christmas break.

The wind carried the scent of saltwater - something I had only smelled a couple of other times. The streets were vacant, but the many buildings placed right up against each other had clear glass windows emanating light from inside.

Junon was huge. About as big as Midgar with at least eight levels. Needless to say, I got lost a few times and almost got hit by a silver truck eager to turn.

But I didn't know how bad the situation was until my phone rang when I was strolling down the streets, literally looking for trouble.

Tyler called me with panic in his voice, begging me to leave Junon immediately. But the followers of a mass-murderer on the prowl already found me. I fought them with everything I had and managed to cut down their numbers by half when a SOLDIER 3rd Class came to my rescue.

I (stupidly) took on Harvey, their leader. He was at least a whole head taller than me, totally shredded, and armed with a sword bigger than my whole body.

Sometimes I really questioned my mental state.

'Stay calm... deep breaths...' I told myself in an effort to remain focused.

Harvey's eyes narrowed. "You know, not a lot of people fight left-handed except the General himself."

I frowned. "How would you know? I know at least three SOLDIERs that are left-handed, thank you very much. Us lefties aren't that rare."

Harvey charged forward at a speed that was surprising for a mere normal human with no military background. I stepped aside, using a back kick to make him stumble forward.

He spun around, slashing ferociously at me while I blocked. Seeing his legs unguarded, I took the opportunity to sidekick his right shin. He stepped back, grunting in pain.

Noting his sword was lowering I used a butterfly kick to knock it out of his hands and kick him in the face. He lost his balance and fell to his knees, but then grabbed his sword again and got back up.

"I... won't go down... so easy."

I shifted into a defensive stance. "Oh, good. Okay."

Harvey stared at me strangely, which only made me feel even more stupid.

'Great job brain! 'Good'? 'Okay'?! Ugh, I'm so dumb. Y'know what, I'll chalk it up to the adrenaline rush and getting my butt whooped.'

I was starting to tire. Harvey knew it. He managed to kick and punch me a few times, carving some really deep scratches into my upper arms and my sides from his sword he retrieved. Each time I narrowly avoided getting a body part cut off I couldn't help but let out a relieved sigh.

My stamina might've improved from punishments, but fighting for such a long period of time wasn't something I'd mastered yet. And I was only thirteen. I wasn't exactly a powerhouse.

He threw a thrust at me, followed by a powerful lunge that forced me to counter. I could feel my arms trembling underneath the heavy pressure I was trying to keep at bay and my feet slid back a bit. I noticed, beneath the sparks from our clashing blades, a crack forming in my sword.

'Crap, this isn't looking too good,' I thought grimly, front kicking his stomach. It didn't really seem to affect him but drew away from his attention long enough for me to jump back.

Harvey smirked. "Looks like you're runnin outta juice little girl."

Panting, I tried to pump myself up. "Yeah, well, I'm not dead yet."

'Great comeback, me.'

"No, but soon you will be!" he exclaimed before charging at me.

Exhausted, I was too slow to dodge an incoming slash, resulting in an extended cut on my left arm. I cried out as the searing pain exploded up and down. Blood trickled down my arm in rivulets.

My opponent laughed, blowing me back with a sidekick to my stomach.

It knocked the wind out of me, leaving me to try to fill my lungs back up while gasping for breath. It burned so much; like I was suffocating to death. I was also writhing in pain because he harshly hit my broken ribs, pain bursting inside me. Oh Gaia, just make it stop!

I couldn't stop the whimpers from escaping me, tears burning my eyes. Harvey slammed his right foot down to hit the ground, as I managed to roll out in time.

I struggled to reach my sword, which dropped because of my cuts, but Harvey kicked it away from me.

Jerk.

I glared at him and the deadly blade inches from my face.

"Who's high and mighty now, little girl?"

"Bravo, you beat a thirteen-year-old girl. 'Cause that really shows how big and strong you are," I spat, with his response being a kick in the head.

That caused me to blackout. When I came to I realized I was in a chopper with Angeal Hewley and his pupil, Zack Fair. I didn't take a liking to him much; he was annoying and instantly put on a charming facade to try and woo me.

General Sephiroth and Commander Genesis were present too, though I had no idea in my deep slumber. They'd taken Harvey and his rebels away to prison for life.

And thanks to my little stunt, Angeal wanted to see what I could do. He said something about my potential, but I was too shocked by what else he told me to pay attention to it.

If I demonstrated my skills and manage to impress him, he'd recommend me for SOLDIER to the Director. Needless to say, I eagerly accepted.

First I was pitted against Zack, who for lack of a better word, sucked. It was obvious he was a newly promoted 2nd because even though his fighting skills were better than mine and he had a few strategies up his sleeves, all it took was a little taunting and sticking out my foot to get him on the floor.

Angeal complimented me on my performance and then sent out my next opponent: Genesis Rhapsodos.

I, for one, was terrified. I'd heard of his legendary temper and tendency to burn things whenever he got even the slightest bit irritated, so for a while there I was just running away from him trying to stay alive.

When I realized that he wasn't totally bent on killing me, I gained enough confidence to start sparring with him.

He was so rude, I just couldn't keep myself from teasing him and getting him annoyed. I should've known better, considering he started putting some actual effort into our fight, but my big mouth - as usual - beat me to it.

Then I insulted LOVELESS.

I'd really had enough of him at that point, but as soon as that raging fire ignited in his eyes I'd started screaming and running away from powerful blasts of Firaga. When he'd gotten me pinned on the floor he demanded I take it back, but for some reason, I just blew a raspberry at his face. I never said I made the smartest decisions.

Angeal had to tear his friend off of me and act as a peacemaker between us.

I said that he was an "annoying spoiled prince that had enough anger issues to warrant a psychiatrist for life", and he called me a "brat that had a big mouth needing shutting".

We were still bickering when Angeal shoved us out the door. He and Sephiroth managed to persuade the Director into allowing me to become a member of SOLDIER after a few hours of convincing.

Next were my mako enhancements and injections. When I found out I was going to have an appointment with Hojo, I quickly requested they get someone else to handle such delicate procedures.

When I was asked why, I answered truthfully he was a stereotypical mad scientist who would probably jump at the chance to rewrite my genetic coding or something, and that he was hands-down the creepiest man I'd ever come across.

Sha-bam, new scientist to overlook my procedures. If everyone thought that way about him, though, it made me wonder why he even still had a job.

The entire process of enhancements and mako treatments, by the way, was not a fun process.

The mako injections, surgeries, and showers took away my rich coffee brown eyes, replacing them with glowing sapphire. My insides burned and ached when I moved even an inch. My blood became liquid fire. I stayed in bed for what felt like months.

Later I found out it actually did take months.

My mind was a wreck. Memories flashed by, no matter if they were welcome or convenient or not. Many were of my family and my time in the labs. But sometimes it would go to my time in Nibelheim.

A few months more, and I was back on my feet. My mentor was 1st Class Riley Jones, though sometime later he said he couldn't teach me anymore, so they assigned me to none other than Angeal Hewley himself. I became Zack's partner by force, to my dislike. The higher-ups said I could be a great influence on him. Then my promotion to 2nd Class came, and from then on everything changed.

Zack and I became closer, unfortunately, due to his persistence. We were practically friends after a couple of years. Keeping my identity a secret became a larger issue than I imagined, and eventually, both Angeal and Zack knew something was up. I ended up telling them my real first name and begged them to keep it a secret to everyone else for personal reasons.

Miraculously, I'd gained enough of their trust for them to not find me suspicious and they agreed.

I was digging a hole so deep I wasn't sure I could even crawl out of it. I was supposed to remain closed-off to everyone, not make any friends, and go solo until I became a 1st to nab whatever info I could get my hands on about my heritage.

Little did I know that obtaining the information and keeping my identity a secret would be the least of my worries and that I would never be the same again.