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, DOC, and a burned copy of the original game at long last. Now put the pitchforks and torches away.

Queen's Quornor: Remember how Reeve said that they only found some files on Deepground, not all of them? Well, I'm taking that concept and running with it. And how did Zack acquire this knowledge here? You learn anything and everything when you're dead, that's how. This also explains exactly what Aerith was doing during the events of Dirge of Cerberus. I certainly do like OCs, don't I? Sorry, comes with being a fantasy author. Oh, and anybody who has played FFVII should know who 'Failed Specimen' is! The refernce to the Wutaians and the war is from my fic "I Knew Him Before."

Something You Oughta Know

Byran inwardly crowed with victory as he came out of the teleportation portal, still holding tightly to Olivia. He was on Gaia! He had survived the trip! And Livia was still alive, too; she was struggling against him as he took in his surroundings.

They had landed on a flat, grassy plain in the middle of nowhere. There was nothing but a sea of grass to the north, the south, and the east, and a range of mountains loomed dark and distant to the west, so small against the horizon. He didn't know where they were or how far to the nearest town, but he didn't care. Events had been set in motion. When they were over, Ken would be dead and Laura would be his.

"Lemme go!" Livia fought to get away, terrified of him. Bryan knew it; he savored her fear like a sweet, rare delicacy.

Intoxicating, is it not? Knowing that you have total power over something else, something that could tear you apart under different circumstances? It is the ultimate drug, having absolute control over something so powerful, so dangerous.

"I agree. Totally." He was stronger than the seven-year-old; he could control her easily. "So where are we supposed to go?"

A small mountain hamlet called Nibelheim, located in the mountains you observe before you. I have already arranged for transportation; they should be arriving momentarily. A whirring noise reached Bryan's ears, a sound that reminded him of a helicopter's rotating blades. Here they are.

Livia stopped struggling as a helicopter appeared in the sky above, her gaze fixed on the unexpected sight. It hovered briefly, the gun mounted on the front swiveling to point away from them, then dropped. It settled about fifteen feet away from them, and the door on their side opened. Four men got out and flanked the opening, their guns pointing skywards towards the rotating blades. They were an impressive sight, utterly motionless and silent in their charcoal-black bodysuits, the bright blue phosphorus striping the front and sides providing the hint of luminescence. Bryan couldn't get a glimpse of their faces through the helmets they wore.

As impressive and intimidating as the gunmen were, they were nothing compared to the woman that followed. She was tall and nearly identical to a woman of woman of Japanese or Chinese descent, with long black hair blowing wildly in the wind from the chopper's blades, the purple highlights lining the strands practically glowing from the lights on her companions' uniforms. She was dressed in a kimono of black and deep violet silk, cut short at the legs to allow freedom of movement. The wide sleeves characteristic of the garment had been reduced to only one; the seam where the left sleeve should have hung was ripped and frayed, suggesting that it had been torn clean off. There was a pair of sickle-swords strapped to her back, and three long daggers in a leather garter on her left thigh. Lean and perfectly sculpted, the woman moved with the lethal grace of a hunting cat, the lazy sensuality of a predator. Her eyes glowed with an eerie purple light as she approached.

"So you must be the ones Weiss told us to find," she purred, her voice as the musical notes of a flute played alto. "You are Bryan Hanover and Olivia Kerrington, correct?"

Bryan nodded. "We are. And you?"

"I am Azami the Royal of the Tsviets, one of Deepground's most elite fighters." She smiled coldly, a quick flash of pristine white teeth between plump ruby lips. "I hope you shall cooperate with us as we travel to Nibelheim. I would hate to have to punish you or the child for a mis-step."

Be sure to obey her every command, boy. Hojo's voice had a smug tone to it that rankled, but Bryan knew he was right. This woman could kill him with one swat. She is of a level of power comparable to that of Specimen 15 or the Failed Specimen. Fully capable of dismembering you at a moment's notice if you have second thoughts.

Bryan smirked. Second thoughts, when I am so close to getting Laura? Never!

Azami bent over, her purple eyes examining Livia closely. The little girl stood defiant, but Bryan could feel a fine tremble quivering along her body. This exquisite female was unnerving her, badly. "So. You are the one destined to receive the last of the J cells, as Weiss foretold." She reached out and fingered some of Livia's silky silver hair, a malicious little smile twisting her heart-shaped mouth. "Hail Weiss."

The soldiers repeated her call, far louder and sharper than she had. "Hail Weiss!"

Still rubbing the hair between her fingers, Azami looked into the girl's sapphire eyes. Her own orbs flashed a brighter purple, and Livia gasped, then went limp in Bryan's grasp, sagging towards the ground before he yanked her back upright. She stared straight ahead with glazed, unseeing eyes, unresponsive to the shake he gave her.

"Yes. I can see him inside her, primed and ready for his resurrection. All he needs are the J cells to act as the catalyst." Azami stood up, yanking the lock of hair off Livia's head with a quick, forceful jerk.

Livia never even flinched.

"Come, child. Let us go to Nibelheim. There, we shall give you your Reunion with fresh blood and ancient power." She tossed the strands of bloody hair away with a careless gesture and held out her hand. To Bryan's amazement, Livia walked stiffly forward and took Azami's hand, following her into the chopper without a peep. He followed, and the gunmen got in behind them.

"What did you do to her?" he inquired, settling across from Azami and Livia.

The Eastern woman smirked and pulled the girl onto her lap, smoothing some hair away from her unblinking eyes.

"Made her a bit more cooperative and manageable, that's all. It will not last forever, so do not worry. She will only be like this until we reach Nibelheim."

LKLKLKLKLKLKLKLKLKLKLKLKLKKLKLKLKLKLKLK

"There are some things you will need to know about what's going to happen." Zack steered the truck through the twisting, winding road through the canyon. "I know that you already know a lot of what's going to happen from that Dirge of Cerberus game, but there's a few things that the game can't tell you."

"Like what?" Laura asked, polishing her shotgun with a piece of soft cloth.

"Like the sixth member of the Tsviets."

...The sixth Tsviet? What? Reeve said there were only five!

"Some things don't translate from reality to game, and vice versa. This Tsviet is one of them, because she isn't directly involved with Omega."

"So tell us about her. What does she have to do with us?" Kadaj didn't look up from picking at a stray thread in his bodysuit.

"Her name is Azami Kiryu, or rather, it used to be. She was one of the Wutaian young people given to Shinra for training and subsequent military service in exchange for peace after the war. I don't know the specifics, but somehow she caught Scarlet's attention when she reached Second Class SOLDIER. Scarlet had her entered into the Deepground program, and she was erased from most of Shinra's databases. Her family in Wutai was told that she had died in a terrible accident, and that the remains were unretrievable. To the rest of the world, just like Weiss, Rosso, and all the others, Azami was dead."

Why am I not surprised?

"Quiet, Laura. Let me finish."

...Shutting up.

"Azami had more shit done to her head than the rest of the Tsviets. So in addition to her fighting skills - skills worthy of a First Class, I will admit - she's got some really unique abilities that would keep Weiss under control, if she were so inclined to turn against him. Mind blasts, thought-reading, mind control, telekinetic powers, and latent energy control. Definitely someone you'd want to keep on your side, no matter what the cost. Like all the Tsviets, Azami received an assigned color and surname when she proved herself worthy of their ranks. She is now known as Azami the Royal, her color being purple and all. It'd be more accurate to call her 'Azami the Heartless;' only Rosso the Crimson comes close to her in terms of sheer ruthlessness and lack of humanity. Azami likes carnage and pain; she's very good at torture both mental and physical. You could even say that she gets turned on by it; seeing someone else in excruciating pain seems to act like some kind of sick aphrodisiac to her. I hear she actually raped a few of her victims when she led the attack on Junon.

"The really bad news here is that the reason she isn't in the game is because she's the Tsviet Weiss put in charge of Sephiroth's resurrection."

Kadaj and Laura both froze. A monster like that in charge of their precious baby girl...

"That's why we have to hurry, and why me and the other two were sent back. While Aerith does everything she can to make the Planet not accept the sacrifices Deepground is feeding it, we're supposed to prevent Sephiroth from going on another rampage. Kill both threats, basically."

"But what if we're too late?" Laura demanded. "What if Livia merges with Jenova's cells before we can get there?"

"Start praying that that doesn't happen," Zack replied grimly.

"Question: what exactly is latent energy control? Kadaj asked. He's trying to calm me down, changing the subject like this. Knows me all-too-well, definitely.

Zack seemed to know it too. But then again, he can read my mind anyway, so... "Well, it's actually pretty easy to explain. You see, everything is filled with latent energy. The stuff that makes up what everything is made out of, that's pure energy. It's pretty calm, normally; balanced out and everything. But when you tease that energy, tickle it, aggravate it, the result is a small, but extremely powerful, explosion."

"Like a bomb?"

"Yeah."

"And she can do this at will?" Kadaj asked, his voice rising slightly with every word.

"Not really. She has to concentrate on it, meaning she can only do it when she isn't in the center of the target's attention. It takes a few minutes to tease the energy up to the point where it'll explode. If she doesn't keep at it, the energy'll go back to its latent state."

"Can she do that to people?" Laura asked quietly, afraid of the answer.

"No, thank the Planet." Zack guided the truck carefully around an outcropping of rock, then took off at top speed the moment they were out of the canyon. "She can only do it to inanimate objects and materia."

So she can't blow me or Kadaj or any of the others up. That's a bonus, at least.

"But you'll still have to contend with her other abilities, along with her fighting skills," the ex-SOLDIER pointed out. "And she's damn formidable. Would give me or Seph a really hard time, if we weren't at full strength."

"If she's that strong, then why doesn't she turn against Weiss and lead Deepground herself?" Kadaj asked.

"Because she's indebted to him. Weiss personally released her from her cell, and even engaged in a relationship of sorts with her for a time, before they both were put into the Deepground program. They were fuck-buddies; seems that she still cares about him, kinda like Nero does. They're both so loyal to him, that he could do anything to them and they wouldn't turn on him. She and Nero are allies of a sort because of that; they both act as Weiss' bodyguards when he goes out around the rest of Deepground, even from the other Tsviets. His right and left hands, I guess you could call them."

"And you trust no-one more than you do your right hand," Kadaj muttered.

"So we'll have a big fight on our hands, to sum it up," Laura stated.

Zack kept his eyes on the road ahead. "Just keep thinking of your daughter, and each other. That'll give you all the strength you need.

"Worry and love for your friends and family is sometimes all that keeps you going when it comes down to the wire."

And nobody knows that better than you, Zack.

"Damn straight."