Final Fantasy VII: A Brave New World

HEY EVERYBODY! HOW ARE YA!? JACK HERE! I had this idea hit me when I saw the Final Fantasy VII fic titled Nexus… It's not exactly for me, but hey, I give credit where credit is due.

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII or anything connected to that universe, it belongs to Square Enix… I do own any OC's I add to the mix and (unless someone else has done the same exact thing) this plot.

Summary: What if Tifa was also experimented on by Hojo after the Nibelhiem Incident? How would her presence change the story? One thing is certain: it's a Brave New World.

CHAPTER 1

Zack's mind was in a Haze as he slowly came into the realm of consciousness. He had no idea how long he'd been out, but the last thing he remembered was Sephiroth going berserk and killing the people of Nibelhiem before Cloud Miraculously killed him. He finally managed to open his eyes and saw that he was in a Mako Tank. He looked around to see two other tanks: one containing his friend Cloud, the other containing the girl who had been hired as their guide... Tifa if his memory served him right. After determining they were in the basement of the Shinra Mansion, Zack started banging against the Mako Tank in an attempt to break free... An attempt that eventually succeeded. Free of his prison, he got to work on freeing his companions. "Ladies First," he mumbled to himself as he got the girl out of the Mako Tank.

"Where... Am I," she asked weakly.

"The Basement of the Shinra Mansion," he explained, "can you open your eyes?" Tifa furrowed her brow has she struggled to open her eyes, eventually revealing the Blue Glow of Mako Enhancement. "Correct me if I'm wrong," he asked, "but your eyes are supposed to be brown, right?"

"What do you mean supposed to be," she asked.

Zack sighed, "Well..." He then noticed a piece of a broken Mirror and picked it up, giving her a view of her new eye color. "You seem to have undergone Mako Enhancements like those who become a part of SOLDIER."

Tifa's trembling hand reached up and took the mirror shard, "What's going on? What's been done to me?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Zack sighed.

Zack then walked over to the other tank and got Cloud out, putting Tifa in a state of shock and confusion. "Cloud," she mumbled, "How did he get here?"

"He was here the entire time," answered Zack, "He was the Infantryman."

"Why didn't he say anything?"

Zack shrugged his shoulders, "I guess he was ashamed."

Tifa crawled over to her childhood friend and shook him, but didn't get any response. "What's wrong with him," she asked.

"If I had to guess, I'd say Mako Poisoning," answered Zack, "I'll see about getting us some new clothes so we can get out of these Mako Drenched ones."

As Zack walked off, Tifa wrapped her hand around Clouds, "You came for me... Even though you knew the odds were against you." She leaned down and kissed him on the lips, "Thank you Cloud."

XxX

Zack came back fifteen minutes later with two SOLDIER FIrst Class Uniforms for him and Cloud, and a Black Leather Outfit with a white undershirt and denim short shorts for Tifa. (AN: it's Tifa's Advent Children Outfit) "I got the undershirt and short shorts since I didn't know your measurements," Zack said with a light blush on his face, "I'll uh... take Cloud to the other end of the Lab and dress him after I do myself."

"Thank you," mumbled Tifa as she stood up and watched Zack take Cloud to the other room. Once he was out of sight, she began to undress herself. She stopped briefly to examine the Scar running diagonally between her breasts... It had the faded look of an old scar. 'How long have we been down here,' she thought to herself. She then continued to undress and redressed herself, and made a note to thank Zack for finding the leather part of her outfit. She walked to the other end of the Lab where she saw Zack strapping the Pauldrins onto Clouds shoulders. "There we go buddy," Zack said kindly, "good as new."

"How long do you suppose we were down here," she asked.

Zack paused before he noticed a Computer Terminal and decided to access it. "Subjects Cloud Strife, Tifa Lockhart, and Zack Fair were each found at the Mako Reactor after the incident… after four years of constant experimentation, all three have been deemed failure's and are of no use to the Reunion Theory." Zack was doing everything in his power not to freak out: four years of his life had been taken from him… And what about Aerith? Was she ok? Did she wait for him? Or did she move on? Rather than dwell on these thoughts, Zack decided to focus on the here and now.

"What's the Reunion Theory," questioned Tifa.

Zack shrugged his shoulders, "Beats me."

XxX

Zack and Tifa both carried Cloud up to the Mansion's Main floor where Zack carefully placed the blond on one of the beds. "You keep an eye on him," he told her, "I'm gonna go scout ahead."

Tifa had no argument against taking a break since her body was already screaming for her to do so. "I don't know if you can hear me Cloud," she spoke, "But I'd like to think you can... I guess I'm hoping that by talking to you I might somehow bring you back... Probably wishful thinking on my part." A lone tear began to trail from her left eye down her cheek, "I must look so pathetic right now."

"I'd never think that," stated a cracked voice.

Tifa looked up to see Cloud looking at her with Mako Blue Eyes and a weak smile on his face. "CLOUD," she cried as she wrapped her arms around him, "I'm so happy you're awake."

Zack walked back in with three cans of Dumb Apples, "There are plenty more where these came from, but I figured we could..." he looked up to see Cloud had woken up, "CLOUD, YOU'RE AWAKE!" Zack embraced his friend fiercely and started giving him a noogie, "Welcome back to the world of the living man!"

"It's good to be back," the spikey blond replied with a smile.

The three sat down and opened their canned Dumb Apples, giving their bodies much needed nourishment. "We should probably crash here for the night," spoke Zack, "I've barely done anything and I'm already beat."

"You think we'll be in better shape after we've had a proper night's sleep," asked Tifa.

Zack grinned and said, "Undoubtedly."

"Not that I have anything against that plan," added Cloud, "but there's only two beds and three of us."

"You and I can share a bed Cloud," Tifa said with a shy smile on her face.

Zack grinned, "Then it's settled." He then set the Buster Sword into the corner next to his bed and laid down, "Night!"

Cloud was extremely embarrassed by the situation: here he was sharing a bed with the prettiest girl in Nibelhiem. "It's alright if you feel a little embarrassed," Tifa mumbled as she rested her head on Clouds chest, "Truth be told, I feel a little embarrassed too."

XxX

Zack was up early the next morning, long before Cloud and Tifa, so he decided to scavenge for more supplies. Eventually he came across a Sword that would be standard issue for a SOLDIER Operative, and a set of Leather Gloves in one of the random dresser drawers. He walked back in to see Cloud looking down at Tifa's still sleeping form with a smile on his face. "Tifa was the prettiest girl in town when we were kids," he said out loud, "I don't think there wasn't a boy our age that didn't have a crush on her."

"How about now," asked the SOLDIER 1st Class, "Would you say you still have a crush on her?"

"After everything that's happened, I don't think the term crush applies anymore," the blond answered.

"Then how would you describe your feelings for me," Tifa asked him.

Cloud looked into her Sky Blue Eyes and said, "I think I'm in love with you."

Tifa smiled as she looked up at him and said, "The feeling's mutual." She then kissed the blond on the lips.

"Uh, I scavenged the Mansion for some Weapons and I found these," Zack presented the Sword and the Gloves.

"I'll take the gloves," stated Tifa, "I'm a Martial Artist anyways."

"I guess that leaves me with the sword," replied Cloud.

XxX

Zack, Cloud, and Tifa walked out of the Shinra mansion to see Nibelhiem as if it had never been destroyed by Sephiroth. "How can this be," questioned Tifa, "We can't have all imagined it."

"It's a cover up," replied Zack.

Cloud sighed, "Somehow I'm not surprised that Shinra decided to cover up what happened here."

"We should get moving," spoke Tifa.

"We should head towards Gongaga," suggested Zack, "It's my hometown so we'd at least be in familiar territory."

"It's better than nothing," grunted Cloud.

And with that, the three headed into the wilderness south of Nibelhiem towards Gongaga.

DONE!

For those of you who are new to my writing style, this is the part where I explain some of what I believe to be my more questionable decisions.

Q: why did you have Cloud wake up so early on?

A: To be honest, I tried not to wake him up, but my Feels got the better of me.

That's all for today folks, I already have the next chapter half done, so it should be ready soon. Remember to leave a review telling my how you felt about this story: What you Liked, what you disliked, what you'd like to see happen, stuff like that… And so you know, I probably won't do what you the readers suggest, but I will at least take it into consideration.

Jack "The Ripper" Hellscythe