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. Song ain't mine, either. It's Within Temptation's.

Queen's Quornor: Nope. No comments from me this time. You'll just have to read it yourself to find out what happens!

Connecting

Shinra Manor remained a crumbling, decaying monstrosity of a dwelling-place. It frightened and tempted young children, and its hollow walls seemingly echoed the cries of so many tormented victims. A silent reminder of the terrifying experiments and dark tragedies that had once gone on beneath the very feet of the villagers, so many years ago.

It was to this lonely outpost of misery that Azami now led Olivia and Bryan. There was no fear of observation; Nibelheim had long since been harvested and cleansed. Nobody remained to witness their arrival.

The Deepground soldiers' boots clicked across the cobblestones as they approached the mansion, following the Tsviet and the entranced child wordlessly. Bryan trailed after them, curiously examining the empty buildings and the squeaking, loney windmill in the center of the village.

Nibelheim had become a ghost-town.

Azami kicked in the front door of the mansion nonchalantly, one hand already on her curved swords. Almost as if she expected something to attack them. Sure enough, a thing came shooting out at them, a creature with a smiling jack-o-lantern head and serrated white blades for a body. It went straight for Livia, who stared dully ahead while death came fast.

The soldiers didn't have a chance to fire their weapons. Azami spun, there was a ring of metal, and then she was sliding her swords back into their sheaths, a tiny smirk playing about her full lips.

The creature simply fell apart in mid-air.

Bryan felt his eyes widen at the display. Yes, Azami was magnificent. Ken would never be able to stand up to her and live. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, Laura would be his the moment they crossed blades.

"Come. We must go up in order to go down." Azami took Livia's hand once more, the little girl not protesting as she was led up the stairs.

Bryan followed their lead, smiling evilly at the mental image of the silver-haired pretender lying broken on the floor, drowning in a pool of his own blood.

Soon, my love. Soon.

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Tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear, Laura looked at Yazoo and Loz as the truck bounced over the road. They were only a few miles from Nibelheim and Kadaj was currently at the wheel, driving while Zack took a nap in the passenger's seat. The resurrected clones had not said anything to her since she had climbed in the back. They merely watched her with unreadable yellow-green eyes, curled up together on the other side of the truckbed.

They hadn't said anything, actually. Even Kadaj had been unable to get a verbal response out of them. How much damage had Jenova wreaked upon their minds and hearts since Laura's death?

"Can you talk at all?" she asked, looking at them. Yazoo lowered his eyes and hid behind the curtain of his hair. Loz drew his knees up to his chest and rocked slightly, comforting himself.

Jenova, you goddamn bitch! "Do you remember, the times we shared?" Laura inquired gently. "The weeks I spent with all of you were some of the best of my life."

She laughed as a fond memory pushed to the forefront. "Remember my first morning with you? The pudding war? I can't look at vanilla pudding without remembering it anymore."

The brothers perked up, watching her with interest now.

"You looked so funny with that stuff running down from your hair, Yazoo. Like a hair treatment gone horribly wrong. And you wre Pudding Man, Loz. I don't know how I managed to avoid getting hit with pudding for so long." She smiled. "It was even better afterwards, when we were all taking baths. I loved playing Truth or Dunk, and even though I'm married to your brother I have to admit, you both are fine male specimens."

Laura leaned back against the cab, gazing skyward. "There was never a dull moment around any of you. Remember some of the discussions we had? You and I spent an entire afternoon just listening to each other's cds, Loz. I would never have guessed that you and I had the same musical interests. You really loved Evanescence and Saliva, remember? Then there were the books you and I talked about, Yazoo. How many boring chores did we get through by telling each other about our favorite books and stories? I lost count."

She looked at them. Yazoo and Loz made no motion, no sound. They merely watched her.

I wish I knew how to help you. You're family, the brothers I never had. But I don't know how to bring you back, the men you used to be.

With a sigh, the brunette leaned her head back. Unbidden, a song rose to her lips, and unconsciously she began to sing.

"Where are the heroes in my time of need? Is my cry not loud enough, or have they gone all numb? They just stand and stare, out of the rain, thinking but not acting that they're not to blame. Falling and crawling, a fight to stand up. Memory still haunts me in the dead of night. Over and over, I felt so small. But one day I'll be stronger, and you better watch out."

From the corner of her eye, Laura saw the brothers stir, listening to her with great interest. Remembering how her song had calmed Kadaj's nightmare, she began to sing with greater purpose. Maybe...

"I will overcome your violence their silence. Although, it can't be undone, I will overcome. Knowing that I'm not the only one, I will overcome. It's the only way to carry on. Where are the saviours afraid of the toll? Sorry, do my nine inch nails slash your soul? Such heroes throwing stones straight at the one who is standing alone. Twisting and turning, it's always the same. Truth is never honest when you're to blame.

As she sang, Loz scooted closer and closer, almost timidly. By the time she was on the second chorus, he had ducked beneath her arm and was leaning against her, his head pillowed on her breast and his hands latched firmly on her opposite hip.

Yazoo was slower to approach, creeping closer but yet remaining distant. Does he remember the things Jenova made Kadaj make us do? Is that what's wrong?

Laura continued singing, but held out her free hand to the long-haired clone. I never blamed you, Yazoo. We were all at her mercy. We were all her prisoners.

""Pushing and pulling, never give in. One day I wish you'll see you're not so beautiful within. I will overcome your violence, your silence. Although, it can't be undone. I will overcome, knowing that I'm not the only one. I will overcome.
It's the only way to carry on."

After gazing at her hand for a long moment, Yazoo finally crept forward and curled up beside her, resting his head on her lap in the manner of a child. Laura ran her fingers through his hair soothingly while she finished the song.

"Run and run. Run and run. I will overcome their violence, your silence. Although, it can't be undone. I will overcome, knowing that I'm not the only one. I will overcome. It's the only way to carry on. I will overcome."

As the final notes faded into the wind, she felt hot warmth soaking into her chest and thigh.

They're crying...

Brothers...

Laura had no words of comfort to offer in the face of their tears. So, she merely kissed both their heads and held them close, praying they understood that, despite the things they had done under Jenova's influence, she still loved them.

I'll help you find yourselves. Somehow, I will.

I promise.

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"Here it is." Azami smirked victoriously as she opened a false door in the stone-and-mortar wall. "The last of the J cells are below us. I can sense their power."

She is indeed a magnificent specimen, a triumph of science! Hojo crowed victoriously in Bryan's head. I only knew the cells were here because I have watched over them all these years. She sensed them almost immediately! A pity that her powers will be lost when my experiment has concluded, but I should be able to access them through Omega, once it has awoken.

The four soldiers went through the doorway first, trotting down the stairs with guns at the ready. Azami remained behind with Livia and Bryan, only descending when it became clear that the wooden planks would support their weight.

"My lady," Bryan ventured, unsure of how to address her. "Can I ask you something?"

"You may," she granted with a graceful nod of her head.

"What exactly are J cells? I've heard you speak of them several times, but I don't know what they are or what they do."

The Tsviet snorted and tossed her long black hair. "Who has not heard of the cells' originator? Even in Deepground, her name is legendary. You must have lived further underground than I, to have never heard of the Dark Harbinger.

"Jenova is her proper name, and she is this child's grand matriarch." Azami jerked on Livia's arm in emphasis. "A source of power equal to that of Omega, enough strength to destroy this planet if given the resources and opportunity. To have seen her unleashed, when first she arrived on this miserable spit of rock..." The purple eyes closed, and a wicked smile spread across her lips. "It would have been magnificent. Unfortunately, the Ancients sealed her in a stone tomb, where she entered a sort of catatonic stasis to wait out the eons until her discovery at the hands of Shinra. Their scientists mined her for her cells, used them to strengthen thousands of men and women to create SOLDIERs. The cells below are the only parts of her that remain, as Shinra had her body destroyed after their power was broken."

"Why do you want to use them on Livia?" Bryan inquired, following the Tsviet into a hewn stone corridor.

"Because Weiss desires that she receive the cells, the the prisoner within her body be awakened from his long sleep. And what the Emperor desires, we do. It is not a difficult process to grasp." Azami lifted her head, her eyes glowing for a brief moment. "Enough questions. Come, child. The cells are straight ahead." She ran her long nails through Livia's silver hair, a sinister smirk twisting her lovely visage. "Your true self will taste freedom once more soon. Very soon."