Weiss slammed into the wall, slumping forward. His battle with Vincent ended in his defeat. Vianca was still sitting by, flinching when the man landed near her. A hologram of Hojo hovered over Weiss, and for once, his expression was full of panic, much to Vincent's satisfaction.

"Why is Omega's power fading?" Hojo questioned. "Why?"

"Weiss..." a quiet voice spoke.

Hojo looked all around in confusion. "What's going on?"

Darkness erupted at Weiss's feet. Nero, of all people, appeared, though it was more like a shadow version of him. "Weiss..."

"Impossible!" the scientist exclaimed.

Vianca gasped, that moment she saw that shadow at Weiss's feet earlier playing through her head. "So that...was Nero? When Weiss killed him, he had projected himself into his brother." Her eyes softened. "That's how desperately he sought his brother's approval and love."

Hojo was beginning to throw a fit. "G-get out of me! Omega's host must be pure! Why do you think I had you create mako untainted by Jenova?! If a filthy being like you infected it...!"

"Silence!" the shadow snapped. "I'm speaking with my brother." Hojo fell silent. "Dear Weiss..."

The white-haired man stirred, thinking of his own accord once more. "Nero." He looked up at the Sable, the maddening look of Hojo no longer present in his eyes.

"Brother." Nero knelt to look his brother in the eye. "Let us become one. Let us come together, so that none may ever tear us apart." He suddenly embraced Weiss, showing complete affection for him.

Weiss smiled, accepting his brother's love. "Yes. Let us... Let us go join him."

The shadow that was Nero faded, absorbing into Weiss. Two different minds, two different consciences, resided in that one body. The shirtless man steadily rose to his feet, looking content and complete at last. Ignoring everything else, he started walking toward the pool of mako.

"No!" Hojo's hologram wailed. "Stop it! You can't! This is my body now! No! Nooo!"

Hojo's shrill scream suddenly silenced as all traces of Weiss vanished into the mako. That was it. With the two brother's joining, Hojo was erased from his host like a virus. He was gone for good, after all those years. Vianca picked herself up off the floor, stumbling toward Vincent on shaky legs. The man was quick to catch her when she started to fall forward.

"Careful. Your wounds healed, but you shouldn't push yourself."

"I know," the girl replied, looking up at him with a joyful smile. "Thanks for saving me. For the first time in my life, I really thought I was going to die. But then you showed up, and I knew everything would be okay."

The man's gaze softened. "You put a lot of faith in me. In truth, it was because of you that I was able to gain control of Chaos's power. I would've went berserk otherwise." A faint smile graced his lips, and with his arms already around her, he hugged her. "So, thank you, for giving me strength."

Vianca held onto him, her arms wrapping around his torso. She practically buried her face in his chest where it was warm and safe. His arms were gentle around her much smaller frame, and for once, he actually appeared to be...happy.

"Vincent! Vianca!"

The pair pulled apart, looking up to see Yuffie rushing in. Vincent had left her to rest after they'd been sucked into Nero's darkness earlier, but she looked to be back to her old self again. Before any of them could get a word out, the pool of mako suddenly began to flow outward, spreading rapidly like a flowing river. One of the streams went racing toward the ninja, but Vincent was quick to shove her out of the way. The mako flowed over him while Yuffie took the opportunity to jump up out of the way. Vianca too was hit by a stream before she could do a thing.

"Guys!" Yuffie shouted.

As much as she wanted to help them, the mako flooding the place forced her to flee. From the outside, everyone could see each of the reactors glowing with that bright green that was so familiar. The mako flowed out of them, each one making its way to the center until they all converged over Reactor 0 under the Shinra building. The stream gathered together, growing and forming a colossal, winged lifeform anchored to the planet. It was Omega. They had failed to stop his birth.

Though Omega wasn't alone. Crystalline structures began spreading from his chest, steadily covering a portion of his torso. Not only that, but a winged creature burst forth from his upper chest. Though his body shattered from the impact, it seamlessly pieced back together like magic. The creature that had escaped the ultimate weapon was Chaos. He appeared to be circling and hovering around Omega, roaring like some kind of monster. If he wasn't stopped, he'd end up as Omega's squire, just as the Ancients foretold.

~~~~~

Vianca slowly forced her eyes open, finding herself in total darkness. It wasn't like Nero's though, not at all. This was a natural darkness, like a moonless night. She was within a large crystal of her own making, floating inside with her hands clasped as if gravity no longer took hold of her. Her skin was shiny and black, and adorned with crystals. She didn't need any other clues to conclude that Aegis had taken over.

"Protect..." She was taken aback by the distorted voice that left her lips. "Preserve... Life is precious... Omega must not leave...or the planet will die..."

"Omega?" Vianca repeated, shocked to find her own voice also coming forth, but mixed with the distorted one like earlier. "Wait... Aegis, are we...inside Omega?"

"Yes. I protected us when the Lifestream flowed over us. I cannot allow him to succeed. There is still life on this planet, and life is...a precious thing."

Vianca looked around, seeing everything through Aegis's opal eyes. "But how can we stop him?"

"For now, I will slow and restrain him. Then I must entrust the rest with Chaos. Whether he decides to aid or face Omega will determine the fate of this world."

There was so much more that Vianca wanted to ask, but she decided to keep quiet so Aegis could concentrate. Crystals were branching out from her cocoon like veins spreading throughout Omega. Not only that, there were also black tendrils that would occasionally try to penetrate her crystal structures, but they failed every time. Vianca had to wonder though, would Vincent be able to control Chaos? Wouldn't he need the Protomateria?

"Vianca."

The girl gasped, her eyes landing on a white light heading toward her. "Who...?"

"I'm not surprised you've forgotten my voice. It has been several decades."

Tears started pricking her eyes as the light grew closer, becoming a figure in front of her bubble. The glasses, the blond hair, the brown eyes --- she recognized him immediately.

"N-Nestor...?"

The man smiled, standing before her. "It's been a long time. You're as beautiful as the day I left you."

Her tears fell, sliding down her face. "H-how...? You were..."

Nestor chuckled, spreading his arms and glancing around. "The Lifestream flows through Omega like blood flows through our bodies. That's how I'm able to see you now. I'm not the only one here."

He looked to his side where another figure of light formed. His mother smiled. "I'm so proud of how much you've grown, Vianca."

"L-Larissa..." Vianca sniffled. "I'm sorry...for what I did to you..."

Larissa's soft gaze never faded. "No need to apologize. I was aware of the risks. Raising you and Nestor was what gave my life joy and meaning. I wouldn't change a second of it. Not in a million years."

"We always knew what power was inside you," her son added. "But we never feared it. Not once. Because it was a part of you. Aegis is a part of you."

Larissa suddenly vanished when the black tendrils bound her, causing Vianca to gasp. "What... What happened to her?"

Nestor sighed. "We're not supposed to take shape like this." He looked at Vianca with a tender smile. "Listen, I don't have much time to speak with you, Vianca. I knew you'd accomplish great things one day. Your power can save the world." A single tear slipped from his eye. "Always know that I love you, and I'm always watching over you. I know...you never loved me. You never understood love or affection, or feelings in general. But I hope now, with the people you've surrounded yourself with, you can learn how to love, and what it's like to care and be cared about."

Vianca sobbed softly. "But I do! I understand! Vincent taught me! He showed me! He..." She paused abruptly, the realization hitting her. "I care about him. So much. I-I don't even know what I'd do if he hadn't shown me what life can be like."

Nestor chuckled bitterly. "I only wish I could've been the one to do all that. But alas, it was never to be, I suppose." He shook his head. "Fight for him, Vianca. You two have to combine your strength to save the planet and all life on it." A couple of tendrils suddenly wound around his arms. He didn't bother fighting them. "I have to go."

"Wait! Not yet!" Nestor looked at her attentively, seeing the girl he loved beyond the rainbow eyes of Aegis. "Nestor, I-I... I think, at one point, I did love you." His eyes widened in response. "I never understood why I was always following you, always liking the same things as you, always doing whatever you asked me to. But I know now that it wasn't just because I saw you as my guardian, but because deep down, you were my world. It just took me a while to realize it."

A smile of content tugged at the man's lips, and he gave a relaxed sigh. "That makes me so happy, ecstatic even." He closed his eyes, allowing more black tendrils to wrap around him. "Win this fight. Live your life. I believe in you, Vianca."

He vanished as soon as the tendrils constricted around him. Vianca cried, her sobs echoing within the darkness. Seeing Nestor and Larissa again, even for just a moment, had sent so many emotions bubbling up inside her --- emotions she didn't even know she had. That was the first time she'd felt her heart pounding in such a way, the first time she longed to see the people she grew attached to smile, and the first time she yearned to see Vincent again.

"Vincent..." She quietly uttered, her voice barely above a whisper. "Keep fighting. Please don't let Chaos control you. Aegis and I... We'll stay strong so that you can too."

Another light shone in the distance. Vianca watched in silence as it drew closer, forming a feminine figure. The woman floating before her wore a white dress. Her brown hair was in a ponytail, and her hands were clasped over her heart. Vianca stared at her, unable to recognize her.

"Who are you?"

The woman smiled, remaining silent. Her ghostly form moved right through the crystal barrier between them, surprising the girl. She drifted closer until she was right in front of Vianca, and from her hands a glowing orb was held.

"Here," the woman spoke calmly. "Take this."

Vianca slowly reached out, gently taking the orb in her own hands. "The Protomateria?" She looked up at the woman, remembering bits and pieces about the one Vincent had cared for. "And you...you're..."

The woman had a sorrowful look in her eyes. "I failed Vincent a long time ago. But you... You can still succeed. You can be the one to give him strength. Use the Protomateria to bring him back from his own insanity." She began drifting away back through the crystal. "Save him, Vianca." Her image disappeared as quickly as she'd appeared.

Vianca found herself staring at the beautiful, twinkling lights within the materia. "Dr. Lucrecia Crescent..." she muttered. "Thank you..."

~~~~~

"Omega has awoken," Shelke said to herself. She was still down in the safe room where she'd recently finished her mako bath. She was back on her feet, and ready to do her part. "Aegis is slowing and binding Omega from within, but for how how long she can last, there's no way of telling. And Chaos has been drawn out of the shadows to serve as a counterbalance. Or so it would seem."

She hummed in thought, an idea forming in her mind. If she could somehow retrieve the Protomateria from inside Omega and get it to Vincent, he should be able to regain control. But getting safely in and out of the ultimate weapon was the hard part. There really wasn't any sure-fire method of achieving that. Shelke's gaze wandered toward the seats with the headgear. There was a chance.

She hurried over and sat down, placing the helmet over her head. "In theory, the souls that exist inside Omega should act as a type of virtual network. It wouldn't be impossible, but maybe I could..." She silenced herself, getting the machine turned on. She sat back and relaxed. "Uplink successful. Now commencing SND."

A virtual, holgraphic form of Shelke took off through the network. She soared straight up out of Deepground and dove straight for Omega, plunging into his body. Black tendrils immediately shot toward her, wrapping around her arms and legs. It was as if Omega's body was trying to stop her, as if assuming her to be a threat. Shelke reached out, struggling to free herself.

"No... Have to...keep going..."

More tendrils went shooting out of the darkness, but they were made of glittering crystals. They moved like snakes, cutting through the black ones and freeing the redhead. The crystals then gently wound around Shelke, both protecting and guiding her deeper in. The girl soon saw the large crystal cocoon where Aegis appeared to be controlling the vein-like crystals that were spreading through Omega.

"Aegis."

"Vianca too," she corrected, smiling at Shelke. "We're both here." Vianca moved closer to the crystal separating them. Her hands clutched something to her chest, and she slowly held it out. "The Protomateria. Take it to Vincent, please." The crystals separated and created a hole to fit her hands through. With a slight smile, Shelke took the Protomateria. "Now go. Help him, Shelke."

Her crystals reformed to keep her enclosed, and she watched Skelke nod before taking off. The redhead raced back up, Vianca's crystals traveling up with her to keep the black tendrils from grabbing her. Once Shelke burst out of Omega, many tendrils chased her down. She was caught and wrapped up, but managed to break free and zoom straight toward Chaos hovering in the sky. In an instant, she was in front of him. She looked up at his snarling fangs and golden eyes, her hand pressed to his chest where she'd just planted the Protomateria.

"Take this, Vincent."

Chaos's feral expression softened as Vincent regained control. He looked down at Shelke, watching as black tendrils wrapped around her, yanking her back down into Omega. Fortunately, escape would be easy since it was only her virtual self that Omega had ensnared. With a mighty roar, Vincent was ready to fight back. With the Protomateria, he was back in control, now wielding the full power of Chaos.