A/N: I always had this idea, long before the Odyssey blade. I just never found the right inspiration and finesse to write it. Now, after months of deliberation and deep pondering over the value of writing it, I've come to the conclusion that I might as well try it out – can't get worse than not existing, after all.

Disclaimer: This story is the production of Final Fantasy 7 and Legend of Zelda. I do not own the rights of either of these games, and hereby announce that it would be to your folly to claim my ownership over them later. They are the creations of Square Inc. and Nintendo respectively, and I will be grateful if everyone acknowledges that. (I love high-end speaking… just too hard to do in real life)

Prologue:

Traversing through the winding paths of tunnels, plants and hollowed trees would have leaded you to many paths. You could cover lands, jumping from the Southern forest to the great mountains and tumbling waterfalls of the country. Some paths might lead you to a more mystical destination, to countries far with the moon doomed to lurch down to the lands. Most paths lead you to nowhere, leaving very few that heralded lands unknown.

You had to be extremely lucky or unlucky, to find those.

Otherwise, you just had to be very lost.

Such was the case of a certain teenager. His garb appeared to favour the colour of green, his hat and tunic dyed that colour. Blond hair cascaded past his shoulders and strands looming over his blue eyes. What would have distinguished him most from other people were three things: all the weapons he carried around, the fairy floating amicably around him and his green haired friend.

"Tel tak," Guess who, the girl giggled, blocking the boy's eyes with her hands. She was a child with wisdom shimmering behind her eyes, donning the same colour as the boy. Her name, to all those that knew her, was Saria.

"Ter, se jenova." Alas, I've forgotten. The blond boy replied. The term boy was a bit misleading, for he was bordering the age of eighteen. Not yet a man, not yet, but definitely not a boy. Strength of skill, experience and magic coursed through him like his very blood, and given the Triforce of the deity Farore was the Hero of Time, Link.

"Neth quilina? Las, ro cei se novri." Can't remember? Pity, how far I've fallen. Saria sighed, mocking great disappointment as she withdrew her hands. Her own fairy glided over to her shoulder, supplying pretended consolation.

"Qri, qri, se'l jerai il cun tes Termina." Yeah, yeah, I'm finding the way to Termina. Link grumbled, staring at the looming passage as if that will supply the answers he wanted. No inspiration arrived, so it appeared that no solution came.

"Tand tu la airal Shail? Nost melqe si qai'ie xion." Land of the setting Moon? Don't tell me we're lost. Saria sighed disparately, shaking her head at her friend's memory. It was all in fun and games anyway, so no harm was done.

"Si tri xion. Lis wei jerai il cun." I'm not lost. Just finding the right way. Link muttered, scratching his head in confusion. He knew it was there somewhere, but his last point of view was really through the scrub and grass, his attention diverted more on clinging on for dear life that remembering his passage. Strangely enough he smiled at the memory, despite the excruciating pains of shape changing and the continuous knowledge of failure.

It was a ten minute wait of staring at his possible routes before Saria decided it was enough. "Pilin tilan, Link, meri si nox erta."Let's go, Link, I'll get us out of here. She yawned. Deftly she flicked out a pale wooden ocarina from her own pouch and started to play.

Link knew the magic that his friend wielded. She was given the title of Sage of the Forest for a reason, and music was her means of communicating with the nature spirits. The sweet melody echoed throughout the Lost Woods, calming the angry and delighting the calm.

"Il Kustice mek si'n ixo tara."The Nature spirits say we go that way. She claimed after a while of listening through music. "Si'nt jerai, tes si'nt quo naa. En fros ul xion qe ich nui ichau."We'll either find it, or we'll head back. The chances of us getting lost is one in a thousand.

She was right, for the protective magic granted from the fairies and Saria herself made sure that they avoided any traps. Given knowledge from the spirits that resided in the maze made sure that headed roughly the right direction. Weapons clanking, Link followed behind Saria's graceful steps, his faith ensured that the magic would either bring them to Termina or back to the Forest

It was a one in a thousand chance they would go elsewhere. A statistic so negligible his confidence was placed well.

Yet misfortune falls on anyone, and that period their luck failed them.

-

It was to the scenery of hilly, grassy lands did the group disembark. Each one hopping over off the red plane, they surveyed their surroundings, some in appreciation and some in confusion. It was to a short duration did everyone come to the same conclusion.

"We're lost," Cloud, the leader of the group decided to point out. "I don't think the Temple of the Ancients would be placed here."

Cloud brought his fingers up to brush aside his dirty blond hair. The most prominent feature of him was his eyes, a swirl of pale green and blue that was linked to the process of making a SOLDIER, infusing them with the mako energy that ran through the earth. Black garments were his preferred norm, symbolising his distance from the job he once had, the job he once fought against. Before he would have carried a rifle, but now his weapon was the behemoth of a sword strapped to his back.

"I'm blamin' you." Cid growled, pointing a finger rudely at a brunette with red eyes. "This is the last time I'm trusting a lady to navigatin'." He and Barret were known for their crude attitudes, but his life of smoking, wild steering and tempers granted him an attitude not to be messed with. That his sharp glance was accompanied with a sharper spear helped give that air about him.

The brunette herself puffed up with indignation. Known as Tifa, she placed her hands on her hips and gave Cid a tough glare. "Me and navigating? I was telling you where to go, but you wasn't listening!"

"Bah, you had the compass the wrong way round anyway! I was lookin' at Aeris' map!" He defended himself, shifting his finger away from her and to the girl sitting next to her.

Aeris in question blinked at that. Her eyes known for their warmth were covered briefly by her eyelids and she looked down at the diagram she had held in her hands. "This?" she tried to clarify, raising what Cid thought was a map, "oh, that was just me drawing the coral we saw." Sheepishly she hid it behind her back.

Cid groaned. "An' my point still stands. Not trusting a lady to navigatin'."

"Perhaps we should worry about that later, and see what provisions we can obtain from this island. I do believe I saw a village up north." Red VIII commented, raising his head towards the midday sun. He looked the most odd of the group, namely because he didn't look human. More of a wolf/lion mix that was streaked with red hair. Peculiarly, for one that looked most untamed he was the one who never lost hold of reason.

Barret, a dark-skinned man with one arm replaced with a gun, nodded to that. "Sounds like a good idea, and I'm starving waiting here."

It was a general agreement, and sounded understandable. Yet someone didn't want to.

"Eh heh, let's not, shall we?" Yuffie sweated out. To her back was strapped one of the largest throwing blades one might have ever seen, and being the group's ninja she didn't look like one, yellow clothes and all. "Why don't we wheel back and see whether we can get stuff elsewhere?"

"Can't," Cid replied gruffly, "short on fuel. Unless you wish to drive 'alf the way an' swim the rest, we need to stock up."

"Come on, Yuffie, what harm can it be? Unless you know what's up north." Cloud tried to reason. He turned to the group to address them on the situation, and that was the moment she chose to bum-rush him, dashing past him, hopping on everyone's heads and running away.

"What the heck?" Cid cried to her retreating form. "What's the matter with ya?"

Cloud grimaced. "Bad time to have a disagreement in the group. Anyway, she went the direction we're going, so there shouldn't be any more problems."

Before they could reorganise from the unexpected disturbance, voices were heard yelling at each other.

"You idiot, this isn't the right way!"

"What on earth are you talking about; you can only go north and south!"

"Yeah, and we're going south! You see the sun? It's behind us!"

"Well, why didn't you correct me last time?"

"I did, you just didn't listen, dolt!"

Barret glanced at Cloud. "It looks like we're not the only ones with navigation problems."

A bush to the right rustled, and a man in blue armour stumbled out. "Don't push me, you subordinate!" Angrily he turned around, readjusting his visor and helmet. He froze suddenly when he saw Cloud.

"Damn, SOLDIERs," Cid snarled, "you lot are everywhere, grabbing everything!"

SOLDIER: the elite of the soldier class, trained for the protection and upholding of the Shinra corporations. They were loved by many and hated by few, but since the death of President Shinra himself, the prestige of joining the ranks of a SOLDIER dropped significantly, more banding together as resistance against the further expansion of Shinra.

The other SOLDIER stumbled out, alerted by the noise. "Hey, I recognise that face!" He yelled, aiming his gun at Aeris. "I saw you once with the Turks! She's a runaway!"

Aeris was known for her calm exterior. She was a sympathetic, gentle girl that used to be a simple flower girl. Fighting for months however taught her the necessity of violence, as wild monsters could only respect one thing: brute force. That two men with the capabilities to defend themselves were aiming guns at her was enough for her to kindle up her magic…

…it was to her surprise that all her Materia were missing. Materia, solid essence of the knowledge of the Cetra, were now a necessity to cast magic. Condensed mako energy sealed within a chamber of experience created the perfect magic crystal, and when attached to the user bestowed powers above imagination. That every single one of all those crystals were missing was something definitely to be surprised about.

With a yell Cloud charged forward, his sword rushing towards the startled SOLDIER. In a moment of surprise, the SOLDIER's aim was too high and only grazed Cloud's neck. Solid metal cleaved right through protective armour and the soft flesh within, the SOLDIER's final screams muffled by the blood frothing from his mouth. With a quick twist he yanked his sword out and dropped the tip back into the SOLDIER's chest.

"One left," Cloud stated plainly, turning his attention to the shaking man.

"Wh- what type of monster are you?" He croaked fearfully, taking a careful step back. All his training whizzed through his mind, him trying to pluck anything that would help. Barret didn't allow him to speak any further; a volley of bullets being his answer.

Was the streaming hail half a second long, the armour would have been able to take the hits. A second, and it would have cracked, but left the person inside very much unaffected. The SOLDIER didn't stand a chance, with Barret not stopping until he saw him collapse on the ground. The bullets shredded the armour like chaff, penetrating further and cracking bones and tearing sinew. The man died before he even struck the ground.

"Damn that girl," Cid snarled, "wait 'til I can wring her neck with my own hands… I'm going after her."

Cloud considered the request before nodding. "Fine, Cid you come with me. Aeris, since you're the most unprotected without Materia I want you to stay back here with Red and Barret. Tifa, let's go."

The SOLDIERS were a delay long enough for Yuffie to reach the town and hide away as needed. The moment her foot touched the border of the town, deep inside the Mountain that was patron to their deities, a heart started beating, life returning to the body, and a single word escaped the entity's lips.

"Saria…"

-

A/N: And there you have it, the prologue of this new story. I will endeavour to describe everything as though no one has seen FF7 before, so tell me how well I'm doing. If you never played FF7 before, that's great, for your criticisms will be a great benefit to me.

But for those that played FF7, here's what's going on so far:

If you haven't guessed it, they're in Wutai (I can't remember the name of the town, so can anyone help there?) They didn't get Vincent yet Aeris is still alive For the rest of the story, the introduction of the person sealed in the Mountain will skew the following slightly: it'll end with a battle against Sephiroth, but the in betweens will be changed for originality and fluidity.

Please review your opinions on this. Oh, and this story is dedicated to the works of:

H7: Act 1: Trial of a Man

Yanslana: Castle in the Sky

And as it will appear slightly later on… Icy Mike Molson: The Road Less Travelled.

This story is dedicated to them for the inspirations their stories have created. Any similarities to an extreme degree would be purely coincidental with those stories or anyone else's. If anyone is suspecting plagiarism, please bring proof of it and I will happily (sadly) take this story down.

Thank you.