It was inconceivable. After going so far with so many depending on him. Was this where he fell?

Vincent had worked his way toward the heart of Deepground. He'd defeated Rosso, and even watched her fall to her death. He thought he'd beaten Azul too, but each time he thought he'd won, the Cerulean stood once more. His appetite for battle was insatiable. Perhaps that's what triggered Chaos to assume control. His claws were plunged straight through Azul's torso. Blood poured from the wound, coating the creature's claws. When he ripped his hand free, Azul stumbled back toward the railing of the large elevator, his smirk never once fading.

"It looks like...you were...more beast...than I." Azul chuckled, already seeing his own demise as Chaos glowed red. "I'll see you again...Vincent...in hell." Chaos let loose a red beam of energy that hit Azul, sending him falling over the railing. "Hail...Weiss!" He laughed maniacally, disappearing into the dark abyss.

It might have been a victory for Vincent, but with Chaos out of control, it was as if he was losing a battle with himself. What would happen if he couldn't contain Chaos again? Would he simply play his part in Omega's awakening? Would he be powerless to save the lives of everyone he'd grown to care for? Chaos growled and flailed his claws about, as if seeking someone else to fight. He had no idea he was being watched.

Nero stood up high out of sight, peering down at the creature with fascination. "So that is Chaos. Intriguing. Soul wrought of terra corrupt. Perhaps I should simply let him live out his destiny of destruction. He could be the only one to break through her shield."

His darkness spread around him, though he unknowingly let Shelke's phone slip from his grasp. It went clattering to the floor, catching the attention of Chaos. As quickly as Nero disappeared, the large, crystal cocoon was dragged out of the dark void to take the man's place. The cocoon fell, crashing to the floor, just barely missing the phone. Chaos didn't so much as flinch. He stood his ground, wings spread threatingly. His golden glare was fixated on the being inside the crystals. He boldly approached and started viciously clawing at the cocoon.

Aegis set her shimmering opal eyes on the creature. "Chaos..."

Her cocoon suddenly burst, sending Chaos back along with small shards of crystal acting as shrapnel. The winged creature hissed, shaking off the crystals that punctured his skin. His wounds healed right up, and he faced the onyx being covered in glistening crystals that shined with a rainbow of colors.

"Chaos..." Aegis spoke, finally forming complete sentences. "Your time has not come. You must sleep once more."

Chaos only growled at her. In an instant, he charged toward her with his claws glowing red. Aegis erected a barrier between them. Chaos was angrily clawing at the crystals, and surprisinly, leaving marks on them. Perhaps he was strong enough to actually break her crystals. But before he could, Aegis had him surrounded. Crystals stabbed and skewered his arms and legs, holding him in place despite his thrashing. Blood dribbled from the numerous injuries, yet he didn't seem bothered by it at all. The female walked toward him, reaching out to place her palm on his chest.

"The planet cannot die yet. Life is precious. It all must be protected. Go to sleep until you are called upon."

Crystals started hardening over his torso, spreading rapidly in order to contain him. But Chaos began emanating a red aura, and a wave of energy was suddenly unleashed from him. It was enough to shatter the crystals holding him, and it even knocked Aegis into the pillar in the middle of the room. The female barely had time to react when Chaos launched at her. She put up a layer of crystals over her skin right before the male knocked her to the floor and clawed at her.

Chaos was emitting energy that seemed to weaken her crystal structures. Several of them lodged into his back in an attempt at diverting his attention, but his focus was solely on the other being. He chipped away at her protective shield, and when he finally made a crack in it, he wedged his claws into it and ripped it open. Aegis stared with wide eyes full of shock, and before she knew it, Chaos had plunged his claws into her chest, piercing the hard, onyx skin. Aegis let out a pained shriek, blood splattering the winged creature. For a brief second, Vianca resurfaced.

"Vincent!" she cried in desperation.

Chaos released her and reeled back upon hearing her voice. All the crystals shattered, and the male fell back on the floor, clutching his head and writhing. A remnant of a memory flashed through his head. He saw Lucrecia outside of his tank, yelling at Hojo and crying. He heard bits and pieces of their conversation. Slowly, the demonic body of Chaos shifted back to Vincent. He managed to regain control, and he laid there, oblivious to his previous actions.

"Chaos," he uttered to himself. "Lucrecia used me to..." He couldn't keep from scowling at just how angry that revelation made him. "So...this pain is...all because she did this to me... She and Hojo..."

He suddenly realized there were droplets of blood on his clothes, looking down at them in bewilderment. It wasn't until he heard a weakened whimper that he finally sat up. He gasped when his eyes landed on Aegis laying not far from him. There was blood pooled around her, staining her crystals and her veil of golden hair. There was a messy hole in her chest, as if she'd been attacked by a feral animal.

"Vianca!" Vincent jumped up and ran to her side, kneeling to look at her. "Vianca, what..." He suddenly realized what had happened, piecing together the facts. "What have I done? I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

He lifted her up slightly, panicked. He froze when the shimmering orbs of Aegis locked onto him. She was panting with exhaustion, but despite that, she brushed his hands away and rose to her feet. Vincent backed away from her, watching her look down at her gaping chest. She traced her fingers around the wound, and similar to his own regeneration, her shiny black skin began to mend itself. The bleeding stopped, and the crystal-like skin grew back. The hole disappeared without a trace in mere minutes.

"Chaos..." She spoke, slowly walking toward him. He couldn't help but be intimidated by her even though she was still Vianca's height, which meant she was quite a bit shorter than him. "Sleep. I will protect this world from you until its destruction is nigh."

Vincent watched her carefully rest her palm on his chest. She knew Chaos was in him, and yet, he saw no hatred or spite in her eyes or expression. She looked like a beautiful angel of compassion in every aspect. He carefully placed his hand over hers.

"Aegis... No, Vianca. I know you're in there. Please come back." For once, there was a softness to his monotone voice.

Aegis's eyes suddenly faded to the pale violet hue he knew so well. "Vin... Vin...cent..."

The girl retracted her hand and closed her eyes. Her body shifted until it was Vianca standing before him. She wore a pained expression with her eyes squeezed shut. She tipped forward, but Vincent was quick to catch her in his arms. With her slumped against him, he fell to his knees with her, hugging her tight. He thought he'd seriously hurt her, but he was so relieved to see her completely uninjured, at least physically.

"Vincent..." Vianca weakly wrapped her arms around him in return, grasping onto his cloak. "My chest hurts."

The male pulled back enough to look at her. "That's my fault. I'm sorry. Chaos attacked you. You're lucky Aegis was able to help you... She saved you from me." He turned his head away shamefully. "I never would've... I didn't mean to hurt you."

Vianca smiled a little. "It's okay. It was Chaos, not you. I don't blame you at all."

"Still, I..." He kept his head turned away. "I'm sorry."

Vianca slowly pulled away from him, resting a hand over her chest where the dull aching still originated from. "Come on. We've still got work to do, right?"

He met her gaze and nodded. When the girl stood, she only just realized they were on some kind of large elevator that was slowing to a stop. She recognized the massive doorway before them that was slowly opening for them.

"Deepground," she muttered.

Vincent stood, something on the floor catching his eye. He picked it up, recognizing the phone. "Shelke."

Vianca went over to him, gasping softly. "Oh no. Don't tell me Nero got to her too."

"Nero's the one who brought you here?"

"I believe so. He caught me in his darkness, and that's when Aegis took over to protect us. I can only assume he dropped me here."

Vincent scowled at that bit of insight. "That bastard. He pit Aegis against Chaos in hopes of us killing each other." He immediately started heading for the open doorway. "I need to find him and get Shelke out of there."

Vianca was quick to hurry after him, taking hold of his arm to get him to stop. "I'm going too. You'll need a guide to navigate through Deepground."

"Alright, but don't push yourself."

~~~~~

Shelke sighed, huddled in her shield. The layer of crystals around it stayed firm, despite the magic barrier cracking underneath. Her materia glowed, and her bubble seemed like the only light for miles in that dark void. She didn't know what to do other than to give up. Her mako suit couldn't supply her forever.

"I don't know why I'm doing this," she told herself. "I will die when my magic runs out anyway."

Fragments of memories flooded her mind, and she closed her eyes to focus on them. She saw Lucrecia when she was working with Grimoire Valentine. The two were researching Chaos and discovered his place of awakening. The scenes of Grimoire's death played out in her head. Shelke felt hints of anger and disgust. Vincent lost his father because of Lucrecia's reckless behavior. She took no precaution in studying the dark matter that would come to be Chaos, and it cost Grimoire his life.

The scene of the man's final words before his death unlocked a distant memory for Shelke. She was very young, and crying uncontrollably in front of her mother's grave. There were beautiful flowers decorating the stone.

"Stop crying, Shelke." She looked over at her big sister. "It's alright. Mom just returned to the planet. We'll see her again."

"We...will?" Shelke's tiny voice sniffled.

"Of course we will. Mom said 'everything in this world flows around in a circle'. That means she'll come back someday. Mom wouldn't lie to us, right?"

Shelke nodded, trying to be optimistic like Shalua. "Right."

The memory faded to black before Shelke. "Shalua..."

She'd forgotten how much she loved and looked up to her sister. Shalua was always there when she needed her. She actually missed her. A lot. Seeing something out of the corner of her eye, Shelke turned her head, gasping in surprise. Shalua was standing there beside her, or at least, a spectral image of her was.

"Shelke. Is it alright for me to return to the planet?"

The question took Shelke by surprise, but she had a swift response. "No." Her sister looked at her with a hum. "Not...yet. There's...still so much I..."

Shalua rested her hand on Shelke's head, earning her attention. "Don't worry. We'll see each other again."

Her older sister's kind and comforting smile was the last thing Shelke saw before she opened her eyes. She was still sitting in her little bubble. "A dream? No...data. Data interference." She flinched when she felt tears sliding down her cheeks. She brought a hand up to wipe one away, looking at the droplet of water on her finger. "I didn't think...I had any...tears left."

Even with the circumstances she was in, Shelke's memories ignited a new desire to live. She wanted to for Shalua, in hopes that they would one day get to see each other again and catch up on all the things they'd missed. Even if it meant suffering with the emotional burden of Lucrecia's data, she wanted to overcome it. She had to, for there was no way she was going to hold Vincent back when his past was better left forgotten, nor would she cling to those memories that didn't belong to her.