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.

(End of One Battle…)

Astrid watched as Sephiroth and the blonde man, whose name Sephiroth said as 'Cloud', fought fiercely.

When they landed, Cloud shouted, "What do you want?!"

Sephiroth smirked and replied calmly, "The last thoughts of Geostigma are dead. Those remnants will join the Lifestream and girdle the planet— choking it, corroding it. What I want, Cloud, is to sail the darkness of the cosmos with this Planet as my vessel—just as my Mother did before long ago." He raised his hand, the sky above turning black, "Then one day we'll find a new planet and on its soil we'll create a shining future." He glanced at Astrid and smirked, "And Astrid will make that all the easier with her special ability, won't you, sister?"

She froze, feeling all eyes on her.

Sephiroth nodded encouragingly, "Show them, sister. Show them the full potential of 'Phantasmagoria Illustrate'."

Astrid nodded, opening the Book to a blank page and closing her eyes, holding one arm out straight at her side.

"And the Planet shook with the voices of the Remnants, crying out in awe and joy as they watched their Mother's dreams realized; the Rebirth and Rise of the Great Sephiroth."

As she spoke, the ground beneath them shook with great ferocity, but she rose off of the ground, held up by an unseen force, and continued.

"The people watched in horror as the Black spread, covering their cities and lands in great sheets of Void. They shivered and froze where they stood, unable to fight the cold grip of Jenova in their veins."

"Stop!" Cloud shouted, shaking as his veins turned black, "Astrid, STOP!"

She fell back to the ground and opened her eyes, the tremors ceasing and Cloud's veins loosing the black coloring. Astrid looked to Sephiroth nervously.

He nodded, smiling at her, "That was well done, sister." He turned to Cloud, "I will use these powers at my disposal and seek out another planet, making it a utopia Mother would be proud of."

"What about this planet?" Cloud asked, scowling.

Sephiroth shrugged, "Well, that's up to you, Cloud." They flew at each other again, resuming the battle.

When entire sections of the buildings began to fall, the helicopter landed on Astrid's building and the President stepped out, waving to her.

"Astrid! Let's go!"

Astrid stood where she was, staring between the helicopter and Sephiroth.

"Go, sister." Sephiroth said as he and Cloud landed beside her, exchanging blows, "You'll be safer there. You're of no use to me dead."

Nodding, she ran to the helicopter, taking the President's hand and jumping inside. He held her close to him as they took off, silently hugging her. She was largely uncomfortable with this, seeing as she didn't really know him beyond the fact that he was 'the President', yet another, smaller part of her found it comfortable; familiar. It was this part of her that overpowered her judgment on the position, so she remained where she was; in his arms, watching the battle below through the glass.

Cloud and Sephiroth devastated the battlefield, slicing whole chunks of buildings away with little effort and using them as weapons against each other; even as smaller battle areas at some points.

There were times when Sephiroth seemed to be saying things to Cloud, but the thick glass and the roar of the helicopter blades prevented Astrid from hearing anything. And, truthfully, she wasn't too keen on hearing, either.

It soon happened that Sephiroth seemed to be overpowering Cloud, and this lasted for a short time before something happened within Cloud and he stopped Sephiroth's attacks completely. She watched in shock as something happened within Cloud and his strength doubled.

Sephiroth flew back as this change took place, but it made no difference. Cloud swung his sword forward and let go of it, its components breaking as it flew and each piece separating into hundreds of smaller swords. Cloud followed his swords, taking each one one, twice, several times and attacking Sephiroth with each blade.

When the Limit Break was complete, Cloud landed on the ground and stared up at Sephiroth, saying something Astrid opened the helicopter door to hear.

"Stay where you belong… in my memories."

Sephiroth, who was dangling in the air like a marionette, smirked slightly, "I will… never be a memory." And with that, he was enclosed within his one black wing, which faded away a moment later to reveal a beaten Kadaj.

The helicopter landed as the boy fell and Astrid shot out, "KADAJ!"

She ran to Cloud and took the boy from his arms, laying him down on the ground and charging her shaking hands with magic. She ran them over his body repeatedly, focusing all of her will on 'Cure3'.

She heard footfalls run up behind her and she knew both groups were standing there, watching her.

"Astrid, what are you doing?!"

Astrid didn't answer, continuing to run her hands over Kadaj. "Damn it, wake up!"

"Astrid, stop."

"NO!" She jumped to her feet and spun around, drawing her sword and pointing it at Cloud, "I'll fight you myself! You're not taking him away! I won't loose another brother!"

There was a shot and a bullet tore through Cloud's shoulder.

They all turned to see Loz and Yazoo standing at the other end of the building, the boys leaning against each other for support.

Yazoo dropped his gun, "Ugh… We'll all… go together…" He fell limp at Loz's side.

Loz grinned, "Together… we'll play…"

"LOZ! YAZOO!" Astrid dropped her sword and ran to them, pushing their arms aside as they raised them to attack. "Stop, damn it!" She pushed them to the ground and started healing them, her bloody hands trembling even more than before.

"Why are you doing this?!" Tifa screamed, "They're not even your brothers! They're remnants!"

"They're like Marcus!" Astrid screamed back, standing and spinning to face them, "And I won't fail them like I did him! They need me, and kin or not, that's good enough for me!" She then fell back down by the boy's sides, continuing to heal them.

For a time, the area was silent.

Then, Cloud was standing beside her, kneeling and setting down Kadaj, "It'll be easier if they're all in one area."

Astrid looked up at him and smiled, "Thanks, Cloud." She turned to Kadaj and started healing him.

Kadaj's eye opened and he looked at her, "Sister… your Geostigma was healed… You aren't one of the ascended anymore."

"It was never about Jenova." Astrid muttered, switching from Kadaj to Loz, "It was about you three."

"But we're apart of her, sister." Yazoo said, coughing up a bit of blood, "And we must obey her call."

She continued to heal them, silent.

"Sister." Kadaj grabbed her arm when she came to him and he looked at her seriously, "Stop."

Astrid stared at him, "But…" When he coughed and a wound on his chest reopened, she leaned forward. "Kadaj!"

He held out a hand, "No, sister. This is how it has to be."

Loz and Yazoo nodded, "We failed Mother… it's only right we pay."

"Besides," Kadaj grinned at her, "We wouldn't fit in in this world, anyway."

"Let's go, brothers." Yazoo said wistfully, closing his eyes, "Mother is waiting."

They all closed their eyes, their bodies beginning to break apart.

"Kadaj, no!" She leaned forward and tried to grab him, but he was intangible to her.

"Loz! Loz!!" He opened his eyes slightly and glanced at her, then shut them again.

"YAZOO!" He smirked.

"It's not your fault, sister." Kadaj said, reaching out and, summoning his strength, grabbing her hand, "Just let us go."

She stared at him, crying as they continued to break apart.

Kadaj squeezed her hand, "Later, sister."

And they were gone.

………

Astrid smiled as she watched the children jump into the water, splashing around and celebrating as their Geostigma was healed. After a few moments, she turned and walked out the door, stopping when Cloud called out to her.

"Catch."

She reached out and caught the glittering green orb, looking at Cloud in confusion.

"The 'Teleport' materia he used to bring you here." Cloud called, nodding to her, "Thought you might want it."

She looked at it, then looked back to Cloud and nodded, smiling, "Thanks."

"Don't be a stranger, kid!" Cid called, waving to her.

"Yeah, 'cause if you do, we'll have to hunt you down!" Cait Sith shouted, "And I know where to find you!"

"We're worried about you when you disappear, so please don't do it anymore." Red XIII smiled.

Vincent just nodded to her, smirking.

Astrid smiled and shook her head, "Don't worry, things are going to be different now. I can feel it." Waving to them, she turned and walked out the door, hopping into the helicopter waiting for her a few paces away.

"Hey, Elena. Tseng." She hugged the two Turks, smiling, "I missed you guys."

"Same here." Elena smiled, nodding, "Sorry we didn—"

"I know, I know." Astrid waved her off, rolling her eyes, "Nothing I haven't heard a thousand times over from the other three." She threw Rufus a look as she sat down by him, "Though not as much from this one."

Rufus shrugged, smirking, "Why should I have to if it's already being emphasized by everyone else?" He nodded to Reno, who started the helicopter and steered it into the air.

"So, where to?" Reno called over the microphone, glancing back.

"Healin."

"Edge."

Rufus looked at Astrid and frowned, "Edge?"

Astrid nodded, "There are a lot of kids who still have Geostigma, Rufus. They're going to need as much help as they can get."

"But there's a cure now." Rufus said, his frown deepening, "Cloud and the others can just take them to get it."

"Ah, but where will they all go? Most of them don't have parents." Astrid leaned back, smiling, "And I do believe Healin has the proper facilities to house quite a few children…"

"No." Rufus's eyes widened, "You are not bringing children to the Lodge. We're living there right now."

Astrid rolled her eyes, "Which makes it all the better. We can't leave a whole bunch of kids there without adult supervision… we're going to need to be there. Besides," She grinned at him, "Think of it as a way to get back on Gaia's good side."

"Leave that to Reeve! I'm a business man!"

She shrugged, "Then why not sell Healin to Reeve and let him use it as a shelter for the kids? Then, you can fund him like you have been doing and he can add on entire wings." She closed her eyes and smiled, "Think about it. Healin could become a sanctuary for all of the children of Gaia who need somewhere to go."

Rufus scratched the back of his head, "Sure, maybe later, but not right now! We have no where else to go!"

"Of course not right now, but not too much later." Astrid frowned, "Those kids need a home, and there's no healthier environment then a cabin in the woods, secluded from fuel emissions and nestled away safely from beasts."

"You're going to be adamant about this, aren't you?" Rufus asked, sighing.

Astrid smiled, "Yep. I am."

"Great." Rufus sighed, glaring at her, "You're going to make an annoying wife."

She blinked and stared at him, then smiled and nodded, "Damn straight." Astrid leaned back, crossing her arms, "But not for a while. You're going to have to work for it and do it proper. This is not how I want to remember your proposal."

Rufus scoffed and rolled his eyes, smirking, "Who said anything about your suitor being me? I could have been making a reference to your marriage to another man."

"And if I married another man, who would you marry?" Astrid asked, quirking a brow, "I can't think of any other willing females who would be crazy enough to let you court them."

The Turks rolled their eyes and smiled. 'It's good to see those two back together again.'

"So, I never got a straight answer." Reno said, "Edge or Healin?"

"Healin." Astrid said, leaning back and closing her eyes, "I just realized I'm really tired… I need some sleep before I start worrying about anyone other than myself."

Reno shook his head and laughed, "You got it."

The helicopter fell into a weary silence.

Astrid opened her eyes and looked around, grinning when she saw Elena asleep, leaning against Tseng's arm while he stared ahead, content.

Her own eyes became heavy and she leaned her head back, Rufus poking her in no time.

"Let's go, Astrid. We're here."

Mumbling incoherently, Astrid stumbled out of the helicopter and through the back door of the lodge. Following Rufus tiredly, she let him gently push her into a room and collapsed on the bed, kicking her shoes off and sliding her jacket halfway down her arms before her energy was spent and she started dozing off.

She was awoken a second later by Rufus pulling her jacket off all the way, then pulling his pants and shirt off of her and slipping her into another shirt and a pair of sweats.

"Pervert…" She muttered, earning a chuckle from the man. When there was a sudden warm spot beside her, though, she shuffled closer to it and latched on, sighing contently when the warmth wrapped around her.

"Goodnight, Astrid."

"Mmmmhmhm. Nigh', Rufus."

Bah, screw that ending! That's not a good ending at all! So, I've come to a conclusion; I'm going to continue! Bwahahahahahahah! ...Just... give me a bit to formulate a good plan.

Also, a suggestion has been made for a 'Dirge of Cerberus' fic, leading me to one conclusion...

I MUST NOW BUY 'DIRGE OF CERBREUS'!! WAL-MART, HERE I COME!