Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children and PlayStation are owned by Square Enix and Sony, respectively, meaning they do not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original Final Fantasy VII or Advent Children storylines (such as Rayne, Marcus, and Kale) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.
Okay, so DragonessWarrior has done me a tremendous favor in pointing out something in this chapter. I call 'Bahamut SIN' 'Bahamut TREMOR' because, according to some resources I've been using, the 'SHIN' to 'SIN' was a mistranslation and it should have been 'TREMOR'. I just wanted to stick with what the original writers wanted... Sorry about that. Should have put that in sooner.
Thank you, DragonessWarrior!
(Battle)
Edge was in turmoil. People were running left and right, trying to escape whatever was going on in the plaza. There were roars and screams, and then there was the sound of tearing flesh.
When she couldn't ride Misha any further into the crowd, Astrid stood in the saddle and jumped onto a fire escape, climbing over the railing and up the ladder. From the top of the building, she ran to the edge and looked down into the plaza, staring in confusion down at the children forming a circle around the monument of Meteor.
"Denzel!" Astrid heard Tifa's voice shouting in the crowd, eyes focusing in on a woman pushing her way towards the monument and running to one of the children. "Denzel!" She shook his shoulders, "Denzel!"
Frowning, Astrid looked to the other side of the monument, where Loz and Yazoo were being confronted by Reno and Rude.
There were screams and Astrid looked to where Tifa was, about to jump down when she saw the woman was cornered by one of the dark hounds. She had braced her feet against the ledge and was tensing to jump when she felt a spike of something in the back of her mind. Obeying her instincts, she turned her head to look at a nearby building, eyes widening when she saw Rufus confronting Kadaj.
"Damn…" She looked between Rufus, Tifa, and the Turks, frowning, "Where do I…"
Then, Kadaj lifted his hand and shot an orb of green light to the sky. There was a great roar, and a huge summon descended from the sky, heading straight for the monument.
"Looks like that question has been answered for me." She moved to jump again.
'No, sister! Come! You are needed.'
Astrid's mind was wiped of everything, and she was suddenly clueless on what was going on and why she was about to jump off of a building.
'You aren't going to, sister. I need you to come to me.'
The name came to her mind quickly, leaving her lips without her even trying, "Kadaj." She may not have known what she was doing, but she knew she had to go to him. She had to listen to him.
Astrid turned and jumped to where the voice had come from, launching herself from one building and landing on the next. She didn't even find it strange or shocking that under normal circumstances, that feat would have been far beyond her reach. She was only thinking of Kadaj.
She finally landed on his building, walking over to him, "Brother."
Kadaj looked away from the man he was talking to, smiling to her, "Hello, sister. So good of you to join us." When she reached them, he raised a hand and pointed to the man in the white suit and the wheelchair, "Sister, this is the President; the man who is hiding Mother from us."
Astrid nodded and looked at the man, "Charmed. Now, where is Mother?"
The President gapped at her, "Astrid?"
She frowned, "Have we met?"
They were interrupted by a roar and they all turned to watch the giant dragon descend upon the city.
"Bahamut TREMOR seems to be having fun." Astrid said wryly, grinning.
Kadaj nodded, "That he is." He reached into his sleeve and pulled out a materia, holding it out to her, "Would you mind keeping an eye on him? He's supposed to be digging out that statue in the center of the plaza and looking for Mother."
Astrid nodded, taking the materia and putting it on the bangle on her wrist, "I'll do that." She nodded to Kadaj again, threw a look the President's way, then walked over to the edge of the building, jumping down onto a lower building and looking down into the plaza.
Bahamut TREMOR was digging away at the monument, tearing it apart piece by piece.
"Dig around the base." Astrid murmured, blinking, "Uproot it and throw it all to the side. Mother is probably buried underneath."
Despite the fact that the beast was so far away and she had barely spoken, Bahamut TREMOR obeyed immediately, shifting his focus to the ground around the statue and digging up pounds of dirt at a time.
She watched it work for a bit, scowling when a group of people challenge Bahamut TREMOR to a battle.
"Kill them. They are impeding the search for Mother."
Bahamut TREMOR roared and lashed out, making the group dodge.
What started as a small group of only three people grew dramatically in a matter of moments, and suddenly there were a total of eight people fighting the summon.
"Destroy all of them. Show no mercy."
The dragon was about to attack one of the females when a man with a giant sword flew at him, his blade slicing the dragon in his side and knocking him back.
Astrid scowled, "Fly above and dive-bomb them. They won't be able to counter that."
Bahamut TREMOR obeyed, roaring and soaring into the sky, circling the plaza and charging his energies.
Hearing Kadaj scream angrily behind her, Astrid turned and walked away, muttering, "Do whatever you must to kill them. I'll be back." She ran across the rooftop and jumped back up the skeleton building, frowning when she saw Kadaj and the President pitching over the side of the building, shooting at each other. "Brother!"
She ran to the edge and looked down, watching as they fell, still shooting. There was a screech and she turned, watching as Bahamut TREMOR fell from the sky, disintegrating.
"Bahamut!" There was a blast from below and she looked down, eyes widening when Kadaj shot a blast of energy at the President, screaming, "BROTHER!" Angry and torn, she turned to the plaza when Bahamut TREMOR screeched again, jumping off of the buildings and landing between the beast and the party that had defeated him.
They looked at her in shock, "ASTRID?!"
She stood, drawing her sword and glaring at them, "You will pay for impeding our search for Mother!"
One of the people, a girl with a giant shuriken, stumbled backwards dramatically and screamed, "WHAT?!"
Ignoring her, Astrid glanced back at Bahamut TREMOR, frowning as he disappeared completely. She then turned back and glared at them again, "You'll regret that!" She drew her gun and held it out, shouting, "Arise, Bahamut ZERO!"
The party stared at her, then crouched into battle positions.
"Astrid, no!"
She turned, frowning as another group, this one consisting of four people in blue suits and the President, ran into the plaza, shouting at her.
"Don't do it, Astrid!"
Astrid tightened her grips on her sword and gun and roared, "WHY DOES EVERYONE KNOW MY NAME?!" There was another roar from above and Bahamut ZERO descended, his gigantic form taking up much of the sky.
"Sister!"
Astrid froze and looked, blinking when Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo rode up beside her on their motorcycles.
"Let's go!" Kadaj shouted, holding up a black box, "We have Mother! It's time!"
She nodded and sheathed her sword, running to them. Letting the summon dissipate, she slung her leg over Kadaj's motorcycle and slid on behind him, clutching the machine tightly with her legs and turning to point her gun back at the people in the plaza. It was only when they had picked up speed and were flying down a highway that she turned back around and grabbed Kadaj around the waist; one hand still holding her gun.
There was the roar of yet another motorcycle and one of the people from the plaza, the blonde man with the large sword, appeared beside them suddenly, his blade swinging at them.
Loz drove up beside them and held out his arm, blocking the blow with Dual Hound.
"Go and finish the ascension!" Yazoo shouted, driving up on the other side of them and shooting above their heads, "We'll take care of him!"
Kadaj nodded and sped ahead, taking a separate exit as Loz, Yazoo, and the blonde man descended into a tunnel.
"Sister!" Kadaj shouted, glancing back at her, "Reach into the bag behind you!"
Nodding, Astrid turned and turned, digging around in a leather bag until she felt something familiar. She pulled out the Book, smiling excitedly to Kadaj, "Brother!"
He smiled, "A gift! Welcome to the family at last!" He faced forward again, leaning closer to the bike and speeding up, "Use it to defend me if they come so I can finish the ascension!"
Astrid leaned forward with him, pressing the Book between his back and her chest, "Alright!"
They pulled to a stop in front of a church, Kadaj getting off of the motorcycle and walking inside. Astrid followed him.
"Wouldn't it be great irony," He said as they walked, looking down at the black box, "To first destroy his sanctuary?"
Astrid nodded, "It would."
Kadaj turned to her and smiled, "Watch closely, sister. I'm going to bring Mother back." He opened and box and looked down, his eyes widening. "No…"
Astrid stepped closer, her breath hitching in her chest.
It was Mother's head, but it had been drained of all fluids. Nothing was left but a dry husk.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Kadaj screamed, clutching the box to his chest, "MOTHER!"
There was an explosion behind them and they looked to the door, where the blonde man had crashed through on his motorcycle. Kadaj glared at him and threw a blast of magic, knocking over a pillar and blocking the man's path.
"Let's go, sister!" They both jumped through the window and ran around front, mounting the motorcycle.
The blonde man was on the ground, now, pitched over with his arm showing, severely injured and blackened by Geostigma. Then, rain started to fall, dousing the entire area.
Kadaj and Astrid winced, the boy revving his motorcycle and speeding off.
Astrid frowned as they rode, staring down at her arm and pulling her sleeve up. Her arm, which had earlier been black like the man's, was now healthy and pink.
A short time later, Kadaj stopped his bike and dismounted, climbing a mountain of rubble. Unsure, Astrid held onto the Book and climbed after him.
"Brother." When he didn't answer, she frowned, "Kadaj!"
"What?!" He snapped.
She frowned, "What do we do, know? Where are we going?"
"We're going to begin the Reunion when he gets here." Kadaj said, looking down at the box, "We won't need more than this." There was the roar of a motorcycle and they both looked down, Kadaj smiling at the blonde man. "Brother! I am with her at last!"
The blonde man scowled and jumped, making it to where they were in a single bound. "So what's going to happen now?"
Kadaj's smile grew, "Heh, Mother's going to tell me."
The man shrugged nonchalantly, "I guess a remnant wouldn't really know."
Kadaj shrugged back, glancing down at the box, "So what if I'm a puppet? Once upon a time…" He charged his magic, glaring at Cloud, "You were, too!" He drew Souba, charging the man.
Astrid stumbled backwards, watching them fight. There was a loud drone overhead and she looked up, eyes widening at the airship floating in the sky. Something crackled and a voice, gruff and male, screamed.
"Damn it, Astrid, get out of there!"
She just glared at the airship, clutching the Book closer to herself.
"What the hell's gotten into you?! Why are you helping them?!"
"They're my brothers! Why wouldn't I help them?!" She screamed back.
Another voice, this one female, said back, "No, Astrid! Marcus was your brother! Kadaj and his gang, they aren't! They're remnants of the man who killed your brother!"
Astrid lowered her head and stared at her feet, "You don't know what you're talking about." She looked back up and screamed, "They're the only ones who really know me!"
"No, Astrid, they're not." A calm, male voice said, this one emanating from another point. She turned and looked at the helicopter that flew up, the President hanging out the door and looking down at her, speaking through a microphone, "I am."
Kadaj landed beside her heavily, bleeding profusely and falling to his knees. He grinned at her, though, saying, "They're lying, sister. We are the only ones who know you… who really know you." He then turned to the blonde man as he approached, his eyes narrowing, "My Reunion… Bet you're dying to watch…" Kadaj stood as best he could, turning and running towards the nearest ledge. He jumped, shoving the box to his chest.
The blonde man ran to the ledge, jumping after him.
Kadaj landed on another building and turned to the blonde man, but it wasn't Kadaj. It was him.
Sephiroth.