Summary: Laura was just your average woman, until a freak accident involving her television set, the Advent Children dvd, and lightning strike transported her to Gaia. And that's only the beginning of the story!

Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own FFVII or Advent Children. Just a single copy of the movie. Now put the pitchforks and torches away. I also do not own the rights to Dirge of Cerberus or Deepground. If I did, Nero the Sable would not be tethered to his brother, Weiss.

Queen's Quornor: This chapter contains my interpretation of how Deepground was created. I have not used any secondary sources, only Dirge of Cerberus. Forgive me if I get some things wrong. Just to clarify, I really do need to know what kind of jobs you can see Kadaj holding down! I'm having some trouble envisioning him going to college, and I'd rather not have him flipping burgers somewhere. Ideas, people?

'History' Lesson

Laura sat at the kitchen island on one of the tall stools, hands wrapped around a warm mug of hot chocolate. Kadaj had helped her into the kitchen and made them some, working the microwave under her whispered instructions. He now sat across from her, wearing only a pair of her old blue jeans. The silence stretched between them, broken only by the ticks of the clock above the sink.

Tick.

Tock.

Tick.

Tock.

"Laura, what did she tell you?" he finally asked, circling his finger around the rim of his mug. "I've never seen you like this before."

Well, I've never been told that my baby could be possessed by an insane mass-murderer, either. It's a first for both of us.

"Aerith...told me a lot of things, Kadaj. Things about you, about your brothers. About the baby."

"What about the baby?" His voice was suddenly filled with panic. "Laura, is something wrong with the baby?"

She shook her head. "Not exactly. Aerith told me that she had removed all of the Jenova cells from you and your brothers, so you are fully human now. I don't know how much that affects your abilities, but she won't ever hurt you again." Laura took a sip of her cocoa. Mmmm. French vanilla. My favorite. "But...I got pregnant before you were cleansed."

His head rose, eyes wide. "You mean there's a possibility that our baby could be under her thumb, just as I was?"

"If the Jenova cells were passed on in your semen, then yes. But it gets worse than that."

"How could it get worse?" Kadaj rubbed his forehead tiredly. "Do you have anything stronger than this? I need a drink."

Laura raised one brow, surprised that he already had a taste for alcohol, before remembering that she had had her first drink when she was only fifteen. "It's in that cupboard. The one above the stove. Try the Irish Cream; it's really good with coffee and cocoa."

He retrieved the appropriate bottle and returned to the island, splashing a generous amount into his hot chocolate. The bottle was offered, but Laura shook her head. This baby's gonna have enough problems without Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. "To answer your question, Aerith believes that our baby could host Sephiroth's consciousness, exactly as you did." The bluntness of the statement caught Kadaj just as he took a drink, causing him to choke on the spiked cocoa. He coughed hard for a moment, then turned shocked eyes on his fiance.

"But Brother killed him! He's dead now, for good!"

The woman shook her head. "Just before he abandoned your body, Sephiroth told Cloud that he would 'never be a memory.' If Sephiroth knew there was another body with similar genetic makeup to yours, he would retreat to it. So there's a chance that our baby is hosting his consciousness, alongside its own mind."

Kadaj ran a hand through his messy silver hair. "But he only came out when I was weak, when I came into contact with her cells. Even if he is inside our baby, he won't have a way to possess it. He's trapped himself with no way to escape."

She licked her lips nervously. "But there's another problem. You know of Professor Hojo, right?" When he nodded, she continued. "Aerith thinks that he might try to transport our baby to Gaia, just like I was, with the goal of guiding him or her to Shinra Manor for another Reunion with the last remaining Jenova cells. Then Sephiroth will be born again, and there is a good chance he will try to destroy the planet again, this time using Deepground as his intrument for disaster. Their plan to resurrect Omega would interest him. If he could get inside Omega, and absorb all that power, the power of all the lifestreams gathered in a single place...

"There would be no chance for the planet's survival. None at all."

"Wait a minute." Kadaj held his hand up, looking strained and pale. "What is this Deepground? Who is Omega? I have no idea what you're talking about."

Brief history lesson. Wait, does it count as history if it technically hasn't even happened yet? I'll have to let him play 'Dirge of Cerberus.'

"Deepground was another of Shinra's dark secrets. To put it simply, they took normal people off the streets and subjected them to inhumane experiments with mako, no Jenova cells involved whatsoever. As far as I can tell, it was implemented shortly after the Jenova Project, and it was meant as a way of creating more powerful, single-minded warriors than the SOLDIER program could provide. It was kept top-secret, so very few of Shinra's bigwigs knew about it. Only Scarlet, Hojo, and Heideggar were aware of its existence, deep below the Shinra building. The last President knew, but Rufus was never briefed on the matter. As for Omega, he is the ultimate life-form, scheduled to appear only just before Gaia's final moments. He will gather all of the pure Lifestreams to him, and then take off with them into the cosmos to find a new planet, leaving Gaia an empty shell, a lifeless wasteland.

"The experiments on those people beneath Shinra worked... Too well, in fact. The Deepground soldiers forgot everything that ever made them human. The only thing they know is the art of killing. They are all highly-skilled and tough to kill. And that's just the normal grunts. They are led by a group of elite warriors known as the Tsviets. The Tsviets are all gifted with unique abilities that will enable them to climb to the top of the pile, killing all who get in their way. There are only five Tsviets, but they are all nearly as powerful as Cloud or Sephiroth, or you and your brothers, for that matter. And none of them would hesitate to kill, even if it was only for pleasure. Their names are Azul the Cerulean, Rosso the Crimson, Shelke the Transparent, Nero the Sable, and Weiss the Immaculate, their leader. Weiss is of special interest, because he also retains a second consciousness within his body."

"Well, if it isn't Sephiroth, then who is it?"

"Hojo."

The yellow-green eyes got even wider. "But he's dead!"

"Yes and no. Just before AVALANCHE killed him at the summit of the Sister Ray, he uploaded his consciousness into Shinra's computer network, essentially creating a digital twin of himself, capable of individual thought and actions. Weiss has already agreed to a kind of symbiotic relationship with Hojo, which gives him a new body that is stronger and faster than his ever was. It also means that he can tap into the Lifestream and act upon whatever he finds out, since he is literally in two places at once. So if he heard Aerith and me talking about the baby, or whispers of it somehow reach him, he will try to figure out a way to bring our child to Gaia, so he can resurrect his son and use him to destroy the planet. It would be a mad scientist's dream: the Planet's ultimate WEAPON versus the most powerful mortal being to have ever existed. Either way, the planet is destroyed, along with almost everything on it. And Hojo would be able to witness it all, where he is relatively safe from harm. Either way, he would win."

Kadaj was silent for a moment, then slammed his hand down on the table. "That bastard... Well, he's not getting his paws on the baby. I won't let him! I'll kill him before he turns our son or daughter into another Sephiroth!"

"I know you will. Aerith also trusts you to protect the baby. In fact, she gave me something to help you towards that end." Laura got up and went to the bedroom, returning a moment later with a twin-bladed katana in her hands. She offered it to its rightful owner. Kadaj reached out, hesitating a moment, then wrapped his hand around the hilt and lifted it, sliding his eyes up and down the immaculate length of the blades.

"She gave Souba to you? How did she get it?"

"I don't know. She didn't say. But she trusts you to protect us with it. As I do."

He lowered the sword, reached out and grabbed one of her hands, squeezing it tightly. "So now it's my turn to do the protecting. I promise, Laura. I won't let Hojo touch either one of you. He'll die if he tries.

"And this time, it'll be for good."