This is my version of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. Square-Enix owns everything but the story itself here. Even so, most of that is based on the trailers and what not (I've started writing this before the movie came out so if there's any discrepancies to what you'll be seeing on screen, don't flame me about it). Enjoy the chapter and please review if you haven't.

Ok, I admit it. I don't know Japanese and because of that, this story will be really screwed up in comparison to the real movie. I'm really sorry. Yes, despite the fact that I graduated at the top of my class, attended college before high school, and was valedictorian, I was dumb enough to forget the many important Japanese words and trailer screenshots. I am dumb and stupid. Now that I got a nifty trustworthy synopsis with translations, I realize how different this story is. For example, did you realize that Loz has not one but TWO weapons? He owns the Dual-Hound claw-thingy (no better description) AND a gunblade that looks identical to Yazoo's. Another thing, I HAVE NO FREAKING CLUE WHO THE WHEELCHAIR PERSON IS! Ok, enough with my self-confidence bashing rant. I'll try to make the story go along and stick with the plot from now on. I feel bad enough to edit the whole damn story… Grrr… More work… But, ever the lazy one, I'll make another story (Yes, more icky work for me…) that will as best as possible mirror how the movie actually goes. I WILL CONTINUE WITH THIS STORY (if my reviewers kindly request)! I'll just have another one that may be a bit more on-track with Advent Children. This sucks… Twice the work…

--- On the road ---

Cloud could see the Midgar in the distance but paid no attention to it. Though the green landscape changed into barren wasteland, his attention lied elsewhere. 'Sephiroth… Is he back? Are those three trying to bring him back? If so, how and why? Too many questions…'

His thoughts returned to the pictures that Reno and Rude had shown him. He wondered how these three were able to survive so long. It was almost impossible for someone not to spot their unique appearances and uncanny resemblances to the crazed ex-general. He knew that if Avalanche had ever heard of them, the whole group would pursue and most likely, eliminate them. There must be some unknown party that have helped them and kept the world from knowing about their existence. 'Who would help them? How were they hidden from us for the past two years? What could the benefits be from using them?' More questions were raised by his pondering mind.

"Damn!" He cursed as he zoomed past the sign before him. Instead of making the left turn to Midgar, he went straight ahead toward the Healing Sanatorium where Geostigma patients get diagnosed. Cloud slowed the Fenrir down and eventually stopped to clear his mind. 'Damn it! I can't drive like this. I'll crash before I get back… I have to stop… Only for a little while… Maybe I should call Tifa and let her know about his… No… Not yet… I'll call her and let her know where I am… I'll tell her the rest later… Maybe tomorrow…'

When Cloud was calm enough, he extracted a sleek black cell phone from his pockets and dialed the number for Final Heaven.

--- Midgar ---

Tifa looked at her empty bar. It's so sad to see all the people outside and none of them coming in. She longed for company and felt so lonely right now. Then again, she didn't want too many people to poison themselves, cutting their lives short due to her service. Bittersweet the moment was.

She rearranged some of the glasses lining her countertop. Doing chores had become her new hobby. Nowadays, she would clean every inch of the house at least once. If she didn't have to watch the orphans, she'll probably clean it three times a day!

'Hmmm…' She wondered as she wiped the tabletop again… and again. 'Cloud's coming back soon… We're gonna be back together… Just a few more minutes…'

Ring! Ring!

Her dreamy thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her phone. 'Maybe it's no one… Wrong call… Almost nobody would call for me or Cloud.

Ring! Ring!

She sighed. 'Okay… This may be important…' She put a wineglass down and made her way to the phone.

"Hello? Strife Delivery Service." She answered the call.

"It's me…"

--- On the road ---

"I'm at the four way between Midgar and Kalm." Cloud continued, looking at the metal sign. 'I should have been paying more attention to the road…'

"Ok… Ummm… Why did you call?" Tifa asked, sounding a bit hopeful.

'She still likes me… That dream… It's not true…' Cloud breathed a sigh of relief before answering. "Well, I just wanted to clear my mind…"

"So you decided to call me? Awww… That's nice…" She teased.

"…Whatever." He didn't want her to know about his feelings yet…

"Ok… So you are coming back right?" She stressed on the last word. 'She really is looking forward to this afternoon…'

"Don't worry about it… I'll be there." Cloud replied with confidence. "Ummm… I have to go…"

"I understand…" She said.

"Yeah… Unless you want to keep talking to me and I'll stay here?" Cloud asked.

"No no… Just go!" She yelled in mock anger.

"Fine. Fine. I'll see you later. Bye."

"Bye."

Cloud revved up the motorcycle and backtracked, making the right turn into Midgar.

--- Outside Midgar ---

The three lined a small ridge outside of Midgar, all perched on top of their motorcycles looking like sentinels. A small breeze blew their silver hair gently, causing two of them to reach up and brush it away from their faces. The third carried a worried look on his face as he watched a black shape come toward them.

"Remember. We're here to learn about Mother. He alone knows where her body is. Do not kill him but... You two should have some fun." The one in the middle smirked maliciously. He glanced at his companions to make sure his words settled in. One of them nodded almost imperceptivity. The other merely grunted and looked away, feigning ignorance.

"Yazoo! Do you understand? These are orders from Mother herself!" Their leader continued, glaring at his companion. The accused was not fazed a bit and in fact, looked even more bored.

"Sure…" Yazoo replied. "Whatever you say Kadaj…"

"Loz, look after your brother and make sure he doesn't do more than what he's supposed to." Kadaj spoke to the larger man beside him before giving the final command to the two. "Now, go!"

Yazoo and Loz sped off, unsheathing their gunblades while they went down the slope.

Kadaj sat still for a few more moments. 'Hmmm… They may need some help…' He thought before turning toward the city. 'Yes, the specimens will be freed… And I'll be waiting Cloud… I hope you're ready…'

--- On the road ---

Cloud saw two figures rapidly approaching him. At first, he ignored them for they could be anyone, normal travelers possibly. However, when he saw who were riding the motorcycles, he gasped. They were them. Well, at least two of the three. 'What do they want?'

BANG! BANG!

Two bullets whizzed by his head, one of them clipping yellow hair off. 'Damn… Trouble...' Cloud pressed the switch on his Fenrir and picked a random sword. He lined the wide blade in front of him so that the bullets would ricochet off the sword. Surprisingly, no shots were fired when the weapon-improvised shield was up. 'Are they reloading or waiting?'

The two silver haired men zoomed past and quickly turned around. They were catching up and flanking him, one on each side. "Where is Mother?" The one with a claw asked when his bike zoomed to his left.

Holding the weapon with one hand and the other steering the Fenrir, he swung it as hard as possible against the one who just spoke. He intended to deal a fatal blow by delivering an overhead chop, the intention to cleave his opponent in half. In a blur of sky blue, the wide blade descended upon the silver-haired man. Equally fast if not faster, the claw came up and met the blade, holding it at bay. In fact, it was pushing it away. 'How?' The mercenary thought before a glint of silver behind him, reminding him of his other enemy.

Breaking away with a screech of metal, Cloud pushed Loz away for a few seconds and reversed his sword.

BANG! BANG!

Just in time to catch two bullets. The projectiles were deflected away. 'Too close' Cloud thought.

Cloud continued to thrust his blade at him but the gunblade easily caught it. This opponent wasn't nearly as strong as the other he noted as his sword slowly pushed the Velvet Nightmare back.

"You're hiding Mother aren't you!" Yazoo accused, trying to push the sword away.

"What are you talking about? Who is Mother?" Cloud yelled, confused about the situation.

"Brother! Where is she? Tell us!" Yazoo demanded once again.

Cloud shook his head, indicating that he didn't know. The two looked confused for a moment before one of them narrowed his reptilian eyes. "You don't know do you?" It came out more like a statement than a question.

Cloud, glad for the reprieve caught his breath and looked ahead for a second. 'Almost there… Just five more minutes…'

"Answer me!" Yazoo yelled.

"No! I don't know who Mother is or where she is! If you're talking about Jenova, she's dead!" Cloud shouted back and leaned forward. 'Sanctuary… So close…'

"Yazoo. We must go… We're done here…" Loz said. His companion looked at him distastefully, communicating silently between them. 'Why is he still needed if he doesn't know about Mother?'

"Kadaj." Loz said, reminding Yazoo of his warning.

With a grumble, the two slowed down and let Cloud go unhindered into Midgar, letting the fleeting shapes behind them to catch up.

Rawr!

Cloud's blood froze. That did not sound natural… He turned around and saw a dozen shadowy shapes pursuing him. They appeared to be giant cats but their form is smoky, almost as if they didn't have a solid form. He noted their sharp claws and teeth, reminding himself to avoid them.

The creatures sped up. One of them leapt from his left in an attempt to knock the rider off. Cloud brought his sword up and when the beast met edge, it disintegrated into black dust. 'What the…'

He couldn't think as the others tried to attack as well. Cloud fought them the best he could and slew four more. Yet, in the process, he earned himself several scratches and one deep wound on his leg. All of the sudden, the beasts stopped. 'Someone is controlling them… Have to warn the others…' Cloud thought before entering the city.

The first thing on his mind was to tell Tifa but with the dizzy feeling in his head, he got lost along the way. Eventually, he made his way to the bar. By now, he was delirious from the blood loss. 'Almost… There…'

He limped off his bike, not securing it at all and slumped against the door to Final Heaven. Cloud tried to shout for help but all that came out was a croak. The door finally opened and Tifa's face came into view. Her beautiful face filled with shock and worry was the last thing he saw before darkness consumed him. 'Tifa…'

Ok, I admit it. Action scenes are cool and all but to write them down is hard as hell. So many ideas and details but I can't fit it all down on paper… Grrr…

Everyone: You SUCK!

FreeCorpKnight: Gee… Thanks… (walks away)

To DemonSurfer:
I totally agree about the confusion part... The trailers are giving me headaches over who and what happens. I'm starting to hate Square-Enix for hiding the Wheelchair person's identity. It makes it so hard for aspiring fan writers like me. Anyways, I'm getting a lot of my information on the site. They have some good theories and stuff. Thanks for reviewing by the way!