I know it's shorter...MUCH shorter...than the first chapter, but I have a hard time dividing things up sometimes.

Again, this is NOT a CloudxOC story.

Comments, criticisms, and such are appreciated. No flames, please, since I'm working hard on this.

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII or Advent Children characters that make appearances in this story. I have characters of my own that are mine; you should be able to tell them apart.

Chapter 2

Upon reaching the gates, Cloud gazed up at the locks, unsure of how to open them. He walked up to them, touching the stone, wishing it would open for him.

"Oi! Are you mad? You can' go out there!" A shout from above brought him back.

"What?" A girl with slick black hair jumped down from the tower above, startling him slightly.

"Look, if you're gonna fight, you gotta do it from up 'ere. You'll get killed in a split second fightin' 'and-to-'and with those things." Her dialect was strange and made it a bit hard for Cloud to understand, but he grasped the overall meaning.

"Well, I'm not really trained so much in ranged weapons as I am swords. I'd rather fight them head-on."

The girl gave him a stare that made him mad and uncomfortable at the same time. "What? You don' know 'ow to use these?" She held up a double-barrel, long-range riffle, clearly ancient by the rust patches and ancient construction.

Cloud shook his head. "I prefer swords." He held up his own weapon, the girl's eyebrows shooting up when she saw it.

She gave a low whistle. "Tha's one of those new, fancy ones, init? I've 'eard of 'em. Pretty powerful."

Cloud nodded slightly. "Can you just open the gates for me? I'm here to help."

"'ow can you, a foreigner, be of much 'elp to us?"

"I…was a SOLDIER. First Class." It hurt to lie again, but Cloud knew that was the only way he was getting answers. He knew everything from before…it would all come as easily as his own past…if it were true.

"SOLDIER?" The girl's shock was doubled. She gave him a once-over before turning back to the tower. "'ey! Open the gates, will ya? This guy's 'ere to 'elp!"

"What?" A man looked over the side of the tower. He, too, held a riffle like the raven-haired girl.

"Jus open the damn gates!" she yelled, sprinting toward the ladder. Once up, she waved to Cloud, signaling he could proceed through.

Outside, however, was something he was not expecting.

There were two things: one, it was not fiends attacking the town, as he had expected, but people. Humans. Other living beings that were fighting against this nearly-defenseless town.

The second thing drew his attention away from the battle, a light radiating from the field to his right.

When he set his eyes on it, he knew who it was.

It was her.

Golden hair, floating loosely around her ankles as she aimed carefully; a single blue eye showing from under her bangs, the other hidden by a patch—blind, he couldn't tell, but it seemed like it—with a swirl he swore he'd seen before; dark green tunic top, edged with gold; dark grey pants that reached the ground.

Then, the wings.

Not so much wings as wing, now, though, he thought. Where a pristine, white wing was before was a bloody stump, still moving feebly with the other. A cross-section of a bone was visible, the marrow a foamy red-white. Now, with only one wing, he didn't know how she'd manage anything.

One eye, one wing: she was one. One girl to change everything.

Every shot was precise and accurate, her will and anger channeled into the bullets as she fired, her perch from atop a crumbling wall within perfect view of the entire battle.

Cloud shook himself, slashing at the nearest soldier who tried to attack him. Running into the middle of the crowd he quickly executed a limit break that rid the field of many.

But for every enemy that fell it seemed like two took his place.

They would never end.

Shots rang out from above him, suddenly increasing in number, though it did not last long. Cloud guessed her model could only handle rapid-fire for so long before it returned to single-fire shots.

The battle wore on through the night, Cloud amazed at the strength and dexterity of all the men fighting. He saw a few women, too, their faces twisted with rage and fire that he quickly extinguished, convincing himself it was for the town that took him in.

Dawn came, the sun desperately attempting to break the clouds, but to no avail. The rain continued to pour as the enemy finally retreated. A cheer went up through the crowd as they realized they had actually won—with fewer casualties than expected.

All because of a wondrous man and his sword.

"You will not be able to leave, you know."

The voice sounded so familiar, but he knew it wasn't her. Ayden was in the church, praying. He had heard her as he left.

"Why not?"

"The water is rising quickly. You passed over a bridge to get here, no? The river was high enough as it was, and now it will be overflowing. There is no way back to the cities except over those bridges, and I assume they are washed away by now."

Cloud sighed, feeling slightly defeated, despite the fact he had just helped win a battle.

"Do not worry, Cloud. You have a room at the church, right?" The golden-haired girl kneeled in the mud where a black case lay, disassembling her gun and placing the pieces neatly inside along with a pair of handguns and metal stars.

"You've got quite a collection there."

The girl smiled up at him, clicking the case shut. "I do. It has been years since my father gave me my first gun. Ever since, I have been training my body and mind, keeping my eyesight sharp to help protect my town."

"Is there anything wrong with your eye?" Cloud asked, suddenly very curious about what lay under the dark purple eye patch with the odd swirled pattern.

Taking a step backward, the girl placed a protective hand over it. "It is nothing. My eye is something that needs to be protected, nothing more. I do not generally tell people my secrets." She turned to leave, but Cloud wasn't about to let her.

"Please, I must leave. I have other things to tend to." She sounded irritated now. Cloud didn't mind.

"I don't care if you have to go build an airship—I want to know about your wings." The only other time he'd seen wings like that was Sephiroth's, and he only had one. "And how will you be able to fly like that?"

To demonstrate, the girl flapped the still-intact wing once and lifted herself up a couple of feet. "My wings will work even if there is only one." She landed softly, turning again to leave. This time she wasn't about to turn back.

"Wait!" Cloud reached out. "Can you at least tell me who you are?"

She smiled over her shoulder, an enigmatic grin. "Yes. I can tell you that. I am Riva."

So it wasn't who he thought it was.

Unless…

He dashed back to the church, slamming the doors open and running into the chapel, where he saw Ayden, turned away from him, hair down. It swished around her ankles as she hummed, lighting some candles.

"Oh, Cloud." She turned and smiled, noticing him. Suddenly, she blushed, looking down at her clothes—bandages wrapped tightly around her chest and abdomen, binding herself, and dark grey pants. "I apologize for my current state. I was sleeping up until about an hour ago."

Something told him it was a lie—there were blue-black rings under her eyes that betrayed insomnia.

And then something else caught his attention: a dripping patch of what looked like the mutated geostigma he had seen the day before.

"Is that…?" he began. Ayden quickly covered her arm with her hand, the discharge leaking off her hand and onto the stone floor.

"I am fine," she said stubbornly.

"No, you're not. It's geostigma, and you need help. I'll call Cid and have him bring the airship so we can get you to Edge.

"I said, I am fine!" Ayden cried, suddenly dashing out of the room and down the hall.

Cloud flipped his cell phone open anyway, dialing Tifa's number first.

"Strife Delivery Service—"

"Tifa, this is Cloud. I've got a problem here," he said quickly, cutting her off.

"What's wrong?"

"There's still geostigma out here, though it's not like before. It's much worse, in a sense, though I can't convince the priestess here to let me take her to the church. She's stubborn and convinced that her 'goddess' will save her."

"It could be true."

"Tifa, be reasonable."

"What religion?"

"I don't know."

"Is there a book somewhere, with something about it?"

"She mentioned one earlier…" Cloud looked around the chapel, his eyes settling on a book marked with the same sign as he had seen on Riva's eye patch. He flipped the cover open, jaw dropping as he read the first page. "Tifa!"

"What?"

"Their goddess…it's…Jenova!"