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.

Queen's Quornor: As of now, "Fallen Angels" is going on hiatus. No, I do know where I want the fic to go. However, I'm having serious issues getting there. It will be continued, but not at this present time. But this idea, as well as one involving Reno, just won't leave me alone. So, I hope you guys don't have too much of a prob with OCs. Because that's exactly what you're getting in this fic. Oh, and Kadaj's age has been jacked up to 18. Just because that's what I keep thinking of him as, ever since I first saw the movie.

Welcome to Gaia

Laura grimaced and held the phone away from her ear, as far as her arm could stretch, trying to listen to the irate bellowing issuing from the earpiece without deafening herself. "No, Mr. Harris... I know, Mr. Harris... It'll never happen again, you dickless bastard..." she muttered to herself, perfectly aware that her boss could not hear her over his own tirade.

The screams continued unabated, accusing her of robbing the company of its most promising young intern. Laura rolled her eyes, and patiently waited for her boss' voice to give out. When the volume decreased somewhat, she put the phone back to her ear.

"Mr. Harris, may I point out that he was the one sexually harassing me. The police report of his attempted assault, and the restraining order I filed against him, should provide all the proof you require concerning his intentions towards me. He did show promise in this line of work, that is true. But if he had not left the company, then one of your best commercial writers would have ended up, at the very least, the victim of a rape. Is that what you want?"

There was an irritated sigh on the other end of the line. "No, Kerrington, it is not. You know such a thing would have been a stain on the sterling reputation of this company. However, I do wish that you had come to me before going to the authorities. I could have solved your dispute with Thompson without usage of a restraining order."

Laura bit back the scathing retort dancing on the tip of her tongue. I did go to you, more than once. More like a dozen times...

"Regardless, your actions have robbed the company of a talented young man who could have sold many products for our clients via his commercials. Therefore, you must be punished." There was the intake of breath. "Two weeks suspension with no pay. See you in two weeks, Kerrington." There was a click as the phone was hung up.

Laura sighed and put the phone back in its cradle. Two weeks' suspension without pay for protecting herself from a would-be rapist. Hooray for sexist money-lovers.

She crossed the kitchen to retrieve her sandwich and drink from the island, and went back to the sofa in the living room, stepping over her backpack as she did so. She had just gotten back from her yearly trip to the Adirondacks with her old friend from college, Denise, and had yet to unpack her things.

Somehow, it just didn't seem worth the effort at the moment.

She took a bite of her BLT and flipped the movie back to 'play,' trying to forget the phone call that had just made her day. Of all the movies in her collection, this one could probably do the trick: Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. Denise had gotten her hooked on video games, Final Fantasy in particular, and 7 was her favorite of the series. She loved the storyline, the tragedy of the main characters. She also loved beating the shit out of the various critters she came across in AVALANCHE's travels.

Once she had found this movie, it had quickly become her absolute favorite. She empathized with the characters, especially the three Remnants, and so the movie always prodded an emotional response out of her.

Laura knew exactly what it was like to be used and thrown aside by the one person you were supposed to be able to trust the most. She knew it all too well indeed...

Her gaze roamed across the expanse of her apartment, the paintings on the wall, the vases on the mantle above the fireplace, the tasteful furnishings she had purchased with her own hard-earned money. Money she had gained through talents her mother had labelled 'totally useless.'

Despite the horror that was her mother, Laura had done all right.

A peal of thunder boomed outside. Another storm was on its way.

Onscreen, Cloud was speeding across the plains of Midgar. Laura took another bite of her sandwich, eyes on the television. Her favorite characters were due to arrive soon.

The window lit up, illuminating the room like a miniature sun before abruptly fading away. A stinging spray of cold rain was blown through the open window behind the couch, making Laura shiver. Damn. Forgot I left it open. She got up and shut the window, then rubbed her bare arms. Her white tank top was definately not intended for warmth.

Yazoo and Loz were now chasing Cloud on their motorcycles, shooting and punching at him as opportunity allowed. On the cliffs above, Kadaj was talking to someone at Healin on his cell. Laura always suspected it to be Reno. Rude just...didn't shout.

Becoming completely engrossed in the movie, Laura didn't notice the sheer violence of the storm outside. Lightning was stabbing down from the sky at near-constant intervals, the crash of thunder providing a continuous tempo to the natural lightshow. Rain was pouring from the black clouds in buckets. And so, when a stray bolt of raw electicity struck the apartment complex, Laura was completely unprepared for the following blackout.

Cursing loudly, she got up to try and find some candles. That was a feat in and of itself, considering that she could hardly see her hand in front of her face. Now where did I put the frigging candles?

"Whoa!" Her foot hit the strap of her backpack, sending her tumbling to the floor with a painful thud. She glared in the general direction of the offending bag, then had a sudden thought. There was a flashlight in there somewhere.

Laura dragged the bag closer and began digging through the clothes, cds and player, and assorted camping gear. At last, her fingers came into contact with the desire object and closed about it, dragging it out and flicking it on.

The poweful beam of light pierced the darkness as easily as Cloud's Buster Sword would Loz's bike (damn blackout had interrupted her favorite part!) on the dvd, shedding light on the mysterious gloom that had become of her apartment.

There were the candles! Laura got them out and produced a lighter, touching flame to various wicks and scattering the wax pillars throughout the room. That done, she collapsed back on the sofa and lifted her backpack onto the coffee table. Maybe she could listen to some music on her Discman. She started sifting through the contents once more...

And then ducked and yelled as her apartment exploded into light.

The brightness faded a moment later, and Laura uncovered her head, looking around with dazzled, blinded eyes. What...the FUCK...was that?

Lightning must have struck the fire escape or cable wire or something outside the window. It was the only explanation she could think of.

As the spots faded from her vision, Laura noticed that something was very strange in her apartment.

The television was on, but nothing else was.

She slowly stood up and walked around the coffee table, sitting down on it to stare at the television screen. The screen was a bright, flickering gray with black lines crawling across the glass; to Laura's bewilderment, they seemed to be moving in a pattern.

She leaned closer, fascinated by the almost...geometric shapes the lines were making, then jerked back as the screen flashed.

It flashed again, then again, more quickly.

Laura tilted her head, puzzled. Televisions weren't supposed to do that.

The screen was flashing almost every second now. The illumination was giving her a headache. Laura's fingers tightened on the strap of her backpack as she fought back a sudden wave of nausea. I thought my migraines were over...

Just as it flashed one more time, brighter than ever before, she closed her eyes.

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

"Hey! Hey, wake up!"

THere was a hand on her shoulder, shaking her roughly. The voice was deep and masculine, strangely familiar. It was this familiar tone that had brought her back to the waking world. Groaning softly, Laura raised a hand to massage her aching temples.

It was then that she realized something. Her surroundings were...wrong. There were stones beneath her back, digging into her spine. She could feel the warmth of sunlight on her skin, wind stirring her hair. How did she get outside? And furthermore, where was she? She lived in the middle of New York City; there were no real, open, natural areas for miles. Central Park didn't count.

Dread a cold stone in the pit of her stomach, Laura opened her eyes.

There was a face silhouetted above her. Squinting, she could just barely make out a few key features. Spiky, slicked-back hair. Long sideburns.

Glowing green eyes with slitted pupils.

A soft gasp filled her throat. She knew that face.

Loz, from Advent Children.

Scrambling, she managed to roll away from him and get up on her feet, ready to defend herself if necessary (the only good thing Valerie Kerrington had ever done for her daughter, to enroll her in ju-jitsu classes). She knew full well what he was capable of.

This can't be happening. He can't be Loz... It's not possible!

Loz stood up and approached her, the same slow grace she had admired in the movie. In his right hand was her backpack, and his expression was surprisingly friendly. Laura watched the play of his muscles beneath the leather bodysuit, the way the sunlight gleamed off his Dualhound. Her dreams, her imagination, had never been this good. There was no way it could be real, but there was also no way it was anything else.

What the hell is going on? Am I really on Gaia?

"You dropped this." He offered the backpack, the gesture completely non-threatening. Laura took it from him, clutching it to her chest like a teddy bear. "Who are you? Where are you from?"

There was no harm in telling him, was there? Besides, if she told the truth, maybe she could get some answers. "Laura Kerrington. I'm from New York City."

Loz looked confused. "Where is that?"

"New York state." She wanted to laugh at the baffled expression on his face, but shock wouldn't let her. He really doesn't know... He's never heard of New York before...

Then that must mean...

"You aren't from around here, are you."

The statement surprised her. She had never, ever believed Loz was all that intelligent. He just seemed like a big meathead in the movie, heavy on the brawn but sadly lacking in the brains department. "No. No, I'm not."

He made a hmmm sound and started walking back to his bike, which was parked only a few feet away. "Need a place to stay?"

"Yeah." She brushed off her jeans. Her white tank, alas, was beyond saving until the next washing. "But would your brothers be okay with you bringing a girl home with you?"

Loz rounded on her, eyes wide and stunned. "How do you know about my brothers?"

She didn't answer, knowing she had made a mistake.

"Tell me!" He raised the arm with the Dualhound, the handle flipping into his ready hand. A threat if she'd ever seen one.

Laura slowly dropped to one knee and began sifting through her backpack, searching for something to prove that she meant them no harm. She kept her movements slow and deliberate, not wanting Loz to take anything as a precursor to an attack. She was a black-belt, but seriously doubted that she could take him. She knew what he had done to Tifa, after all (or would? What time was this, anyway? If he was still alive, then the Reunion hadn't happened yet, right?), and knew she didn't want to be on the recieving end of an assault like that.

After a tense moment, she found what she was looking for and dragged it out to show him.

The Advent Children movie soundtrack.

Loz examined it, then handed back to her wordlessly. She noticed that his hand was shaking slightly. Did I scare him?

"Stay there," he commanded, reaching for his cell phone. Laura made herself comfortable on the ground while he punched in a number.

"Yeah, I know you said not to call until I got there, but I've met someone." Apparently whoever was on the other line said something indecent, for Loz's cheeks turned a bright pink and he looked away from the woman on the ground. She smothered a laugh when she noticed the look on his face. Is he really blushing? "No, not like that! There was this woman on the plains, and well... Look, can I just bring her to you?" He looked at her as he spoke into the phone, then at the cd case in her hand. "She might know something about Mother and Brother. She's not from our world."

He nodded after a moment. "Okay. I'll bring her then." He put the phone away and looked at Laura. "Since you seem to know about Kadaj and Yazoo, would you like to meet them?"

Laura felt a shiver of apprehension tingle along her spine as she nodded silently.

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

The landscape whizzed by at impressive speeds, far too quickly for Laura to take anything in. She clung to Loz and moved closer to him, a little afraid that she would fall off the back of the bike. He was a capable driver, but the sheer speed at which they were traveling worried her a bit.

How did I get here?

The last thing she remembered was the televison flashing really, really bright. Was it possible that the lightning strike had allowed for dimensional rift, transporting her into the world of the dvd, the world of Final Fantasy VII?

Damn. Sounds like something off the Sci-fi Channel.

Now that she was here, how was she supposed to get home? And while she was here, she mused, was there any way she could prevent the events of the movie? Stop Kadaj from becoming Sephiroth, stop Yazoo and Loz from committing suicide?

Stop the youngest Remnant from dying?

There had to be a way. She hated that he would be used like that, then thrown away like a piece of garbage. She'd save him, save all three of them, from that if she could.

But how?