Upon reaching the foyer of Shinra Manor, Vincent suddenly dropped to his knee. A throbbing pain had him gripping at his chest, groaning and grimacing. Why did that keep happening lately? Vianca went to his side, reaching a hand to his shoulder, but stopped just before touching him.

"Vincent?" She was about to question him, but paused when she looked up at the redhead that pushed open the front doors. "Rosso."

The Crimson strolled right over. "Well, well, we meet again. This is perfect. I so wanted to see you, my love." Her gaze landed on the other female. "And Vianca dear is here to watch the fun unfold as well, I see."

Vianca remained silent, but Vincent stood once the pain subsided, his focus on the woman. "Deepground. What are they attempting to do with Omega?" He cut right to the chase, not at all interested in idle chatter with that psycho.

"I don't know, and to be honest, I don't care. But this is what Weiss desires. And what Weiss orders, we do. It's very simple. If he desires the awakening of Omega, then that is what all of Deepground desires. We could care less what happens to the planet. But all this matters little to me. It's not every day you are given the chance to cleanse the world of all life. Just the thought sends a chill of excitement through my body. The Deepground soldiers were born and bred to kill. We were chained to a destiny of servitude. But then, three years ago, we were freed from our chains. But waiting for us was darkness lit only by the faint glow of mako. And what do you think we did when we earned our freedom, hmm?" A wicked laugh erupted from her. "We killed. It was how we were raised. That is all we knew. And so I bathed in the blood of a thousand soldiers. And I enjoyed it. I reveled in it. And when I finally stepped out of the abyss, I craved for more."

Vianca gave a quiet sigh, turned, and starting walking up the stairs. "Blood. Killing. That's all Deepground cares about lately."

Rosso laughed at the girl. "But of course, dear. I always forget that you are a Tsviet only in name. You did not experience what the rest of us did. You're too soft. You don't even require mako to survive. Your uniform is only for show, it serves no function."

Vianca stopped at the top floor, leaning against the railing only to frown at the Crimson. "If I'm such an outcast, why did Weiss awaken me from my slumber?"

"He had need of you, Vianca. You are one of a kind. A precious gem to Deepground." She chuckled with amusement. "You have no idea of the true power you hold, my dear. But Weiss, he saw your potential."

Vincent grabbed his gun and pointed it at Rosso. "If you have nothing relevant to say, then I'll just have to silence you."

"I'd like to see you try, darling!"

With an impish grin, she leapt backwards out of the front doors. Before Vincent could give chase, a large robot crashed into the building, leaving a massive hole in the wall. The gun equipped on it started shooting, though Vincent was quick to avoid the gunfire. With a frustrated sigh, Vianca sat idly on the railing above, forming a thin wall of crystals between her and the action. Stray bullets clinked against her barrier, but she mostly just watched the man below with fascination. His speed and agility were extraordinary, a testament to the experimentation and the addition of Chaos in his body.

She debated on whether she should jump in to help, but he seemed to be doing fine on his own. She was still unsure of whether it was a good idea to pick a fight with Deepground when they still believed she was on their side. It was the first time she had to make a big decision on her own, so she wanted to at least think it through first. For now, she would let Vincent handle situations like those.

Rapid gunfire reverberated throughout the mansion. Vincent was doing well in picking out the weakest points of the robot. With his excellent marksmanship, he actually disabled the gun the machine was using. He moved in closer, becoming a red blur as he jumped on top of the robot and fired multiple rounds right into its core. He then leapt off it before it blew apart. His gaze moved up to where Vianca sat, and she smiled at his victory. The girl suddenly gasped as her eyes darted past him, and Vincent was quick to twist around in alarm. Before anyone could react, Rosso's hand was buried in Vincent's chest.

"Vincent!" the Diamond cried in a panic.

He'd been taken by surprise, staring down at Rosso's arm. In one swift movement, the woman yanked her arm from his body, pulling the Protomateria out with it. It glowed a beautiful blue with light specks swirling within it, but it also dripped with blood. Vincent crumpled to the floor, gasping for air as blood poured from the gaping hole in his chest.

"I'm sorry," the Crimson said in a mocking manner. "Were you not expecting that?"

Vincent laid face down on the floor, contorting and gasping for breath. A red aura surrounded him, and he uncontrollably shifted into Chaos, but in mere seconds, turned back to normal. He wasn't the only one losing control though. What Rosso didn't notice was that Vianca, on the floor above, was clutching her head as a power within her started clawing its way out. Just the sight of the Protomateria had caused her to lose it. Her skin darkened to black like onyx. Crystals spread over parts of her body, and they shimmered with a rainbow of colors. Her hair grew out and shined a light, golden blond adorned with crystals. Even her eyes glittered with every color of the rainbow like opals.

(Here's a picture to show you.)

"Ahh... So, you cannot control the beast without this." Rosso chuckled at the pitiful man at her feet. "Well, there will be no need for it when I'm done with you!"

Before she could grab her weapon to finish him off, crystals erupted under her. She jumped back quick enough to avoid being impaled. She wasn't only alarmed by the attack, the normally transparent crystals shined more beautifully than ever, like opals with a multitude of colors in them.

"What?!" the woman growled. "Vianca, what are you-"

She stopped mid-sentence when she turned her gaze up to see a strange but beautiful being standing on the railing. With a neutral expression, the being took a step off only for crystals to rapidly grow from the first floor up to her level. It crumbled away as soon as she stepped onto a new one, climbing them down like a staircase. Rosso moved back a bit with concern.

"It can't be..." She muttered. "Weiss was correct. Inside that pathetic girl...this whole time...Aegis."

Aegis locked eyes with the Crimson, staring her down. When her feet touched the floor, she moved between Vincent and Rosso. For the wounded man on the floor, he only got a brief glimpse of the being before his vision went black. Aegis pointed to the Protomateria in the woman's hand.

"Protect..." she spoke in a light but distorted voice. "Preserve... Life is precious..."

When she started moving closer to Rosso, the woman slashed at her with her weapon only to be deflected by a wall of crystals. She could tell it definitely wasn't Vianca anymore. The crystals moved too quickly and precisely to be hers. It really was Aegis standing before her. Rosso was about to attack again when a large shuriken flew between them, halting them both. Aegis staggered a little, clutching her head as a figure in a moogle cloak jumped in, attacking Rosso. Vianca and Aegis were both struggling for control, and finally, Aegis gave in. The girl's appearance returned to normal, but she collapsed from exhaustion.

The figure facing Rosso suddenly threw down a little bomb that burst with a blinding flash of light. It was only for an instant, but it was long enough for the stranger to get Vincent and Vianca out of there. Rosso looked all around once she could see again, even rushing outside, yet still couldn't find any sign of them.

"Wutai flea!" she yelled with fury. The woman brought her fist down to the ground, the impact shaking up rocks and dirt as she screamed with pure rage. "If you manage to survive that wound...I'll make sure you don't survive the next one! And Vianca...she'll pay for this!" She exhaled slowly to calm down a little. "But no matter. The end is upon us."

~~~~~

"Are you certain? She's really the one?"

"I'm 100% certain. Aegis sleeps within her. She's the source of the girl's power. But for Aegis to be born now of all times."

Vianca sat on the floor with her knees pulled up to her chest. Silently, she listened to the scientists in the other room. She wasn't supposed to be there, not at the tender age of twelve. The grown-ups had told her to stay in her testing room until their current analysis was complete. But Larissa was overseeing the tests, and she was the only mother figure Vianca ever knew. The young girl picked her head up upon seeing someone quietly approaching.

The blond boy adjusted his glasses, crouching beside her and holding a finger to his lips. Nestor was sixteen at that time, but he was bright for his age and studied under his mother. He gently took Vianca's hand, pulling her up before leading her away.

"Nestor, I don't understand," she quietly spoke up once they were out of earshot. "What's an Aegis? Why is Larissa so concerned about it?"

The boy stopped to look at her, their hands still connected. "It's just...a really important subject for my mom." He smiled sweetly. "You're still too young. We'll explain it when you're just a bit older, okay?"

Vianca smiled innocently and nodded. "Okay."

Unbeknownst to everyone in the Deepground labs, a terrible incident would follow. When Vianca turned thirteen, the experimentation to enhance her powers further was a success, but at a price. The girl stared in shock and horror, blood pooling on the floor. Her crystals had grown beyond her control, sprouting from the floor, walls, and ceiling. In the center of it all was Larissa, her long blond hair caked with blood and hanging freely from the ponytail it had been in. The crystals formed long, thin points that stabbed her from multiple directions, stringing her up like a puppet.

"L...Larissa..." Vianca's light voice echoed in the quiet room. "How did...? Why did...?"

She couldn't form a single sentence, her eyes glued to the scene. Blood flowed down the crystals like rivers. Larissa's hand twitched, and with blood spilling from her lips, she weakly lifted her head. Vianca was greeted with a kind yet sad smile.

"Vi...an...ca..." the woman choked out. "Don't...blame...yourself... It was...an...accident..."

The white-haired girl stepped closer within reach. "Larissa, I'm sorry... I don't know what happened. I don't understand how I-"

She stopped mid-sentence when Larissa's bloodied hand reached out to touch her cheek. "Its...okay... I'm just...returning...to the...planet..." The life in her eyes was fading fast. "Nestor...will...look after...you... And remember...that I...love you...no matter...what... You and Nestor...are my reason...for living..."

Larissa's hand fell, hanging limply. Vianca reached up, cradling her face in her hands. She didn't care that blood painted her cheek, or that more of the dark red liquid could get on her. She just wanted a sign of life. But despite holding her head up, the woman's eyes were dull and empty.

"Wait, don't leave. I don't know what love is. You have to tell me." Vianca would've been crying if she understood the gravity of the situation. "Larissa? Please answer me. I don't know what to do if you don't tell me."

"Mom!"

Vianca turned her head, her sorrowful gaze on Nestor. The boy was out of breath from running, and his eyes were already wet with tears. He started crying as he took shaky steps forward, unable to look away. Vianca released the woman's head, and to her surprise, Nestor pulled her into a tight hug. She stood there and let him hold her and sob into her shoulder. She didn't know what else to do.

"Everything will be fine, Nestor. Larissa said she was returning to the planet. We'll see her again some day, and then she can tell me what went wrong."

Nestor didn't move or look up from her shoulder, but he had quieted a little. "Vianca..." he sniffled, his voice trembling. "I'll finish my mom's work. I won't leave anything incomplete. It'll be you and me, okay?"

"Okay."