Shelke held on tight, the wind whipping at her face. She took a brief, weary glance at Vincent in his Chaos form. Maybe it was Lucrecia's data in her, but she felt safe in his arms and couldn't help but find him to be like a dark knight in shining armor. But she pushed that thought away, refusing to be like Lucrecia. She was too exhausted from performing the SND to dwell on it. Vincent finally landed far from Omega, gently placing Shelke down behind the edge of an old building.

"You're late," Shelke told him dryly, breaking the silence between them.

"Sorry about that," he replied in his deep, slightly distorted voice. He set his gaze on Omega, eyeing the large crystals that steadily grew from his chest. "I'm guessing Vianca's inside. Those are her crystals."

Shelke nodded. "Yes. She and Aegis have combined and are slowing Omega from the inside. She looked to be okay for the time being."

Vincent gave a soft sigh. "That's good to hear. I don't know what I'd do if I lost her now. She's really grown on me."

Just from the look in his eyes, she could tell he was serious. "So, Vincent, why don't you try telling her that yourself?"

The man chuckled a little. "Maybe I will." With a flick of his hand, his gun appeared in his hand, upgraded to reach its own chaotic potential. "But first, I have a story to end."

He spread his wings and took off. There were strange objects flying around Omega firing lasers at him as he neared the being. They were strangely similar to things you'd find under a microscope. Vincent assumed they were like antibodies produced to fight off the threat he posed. Their attacks were easy for him to avoid, and a shot or two from his gun, Death Penalty, was enough to eradicate them. Flying low to the ground, Vincent approached the barrier surrounding Omega, and that's when the ultimate weapon shot out a plasma-like beam of light at Vincent. It grabbed him, halting him on the spot.

But lucky for him his friends were there to help. Cloud jumped up and sliced through the light, freeing Vincent. He didn't waste a single second, continuing his advance toward Omega. It was then that he heard an explosion, and glanced back to see one of the reactors exploding. He smiled to himself, glad to know the others were doing their part. By shutting down the reactors, they were cutting off Omega's supply of mako. Vincent could practically hear their voices cheering him on as he soared up high into the sky. He looked down at Omega, hovering in place for a moment.

"Guess I have no choice. It's time...to save the world."

~~~~~

The silence was nerve-racking. Inside Omega's body, it was quiet. Vianca had begun working with Aegis to spread her crystals farther and quicker. By combining their strength, they worked better than ever. A sudden rumble from the outside startled the girl. She looked around, pondering over what could be happening. I really hope that's Vincent out there. I hope Shelke got the Protomateria to him. She gasped as strangely-shaped things went flying up past her. It was the same antibodies that were outside. Omega was producing more. Vianca was fortunate that her crystals seemed to mask her presence from them, at least for the time being.

After listening to the sounds of combat for a short while, a sudden laser shot toward her, ricocheting off her bubble. She flinched in response, looking up to see several of those strange organisms falling around her, disintegrating to dust. She gasped when a familiar winged creature flew down in front of her. Chaos hovered closer, his glowing golden gaze piercing through her.

"Chaos..." she said, wary of him just in case he attacked.

The creature smiled ever so slightly. "Well, you're half right."

The girl immediately grinned at his voice. Even with the distortion, it was definitely his. "Vincent..." She floated over in front of him. "I was so worried the Protomateria wouldn't reach you! It's such a relief to see you in full control."

"Shelke brought it to me." He paused, barely breaking eye contact as he shot down an approaching enemy. "Now come on. I'm getting you out."

Vianca's face fell. "I can't. I have to stay here. Because of me, Omega's progress has slowed considerably. I have to keep him from finishing his preparations."

The male was silent briefly, as if in thought. "Vianca, I can't just leave you here."

"You must. Only you can defeat Omega while I have him immobilized. Please, Vincent. Go." She reached out, resting her palm on the crystal wall between them. "I'll be okay." She gave a reassuring smile.

Vincent slowly rested his large claw on the crystal, lining it up with hers. "Alright. But I'll return for you." His expression softened. "I wouldn't be able to do this if it weren't for you."

He had the urge to just break through her crystals and embrace her. But he knew there wasn't time for that. With a mighty flap of his large wings, he took off, soaring back up with several laser-firing enemies on his tail again. Vianca watched him steadily disappear from sight, a longing look in her eyes.

"Good luck. Come back to me, Vincent."

~~~~~

Vincent had left Vianca with a heavy heart, but he knew he had to focus. She was doing her part, he knew that. It didn't stop him from feeling a bit guilty. It almost felt like he was letting her go, just as he had with Lucrecia. He had to bury those thoughts and concentrate. It wasn't the same as before. He was going to come back for Vianca, he was going to succeed and save her. Once he stopped Omega, he would finally be able to hold her and tell her the honest truth about how she really made him feel.

The winged male soared up, finding a strange portal-like opening above Omega's head. He flew right in, finding himself in a strange place. It was unlike anything he'd ever seen, like some kind of foreign dimension. Who he found waiting for him wasn't much of a surprise. Weiss stepped forth, two long blades in his hands. Vincent didn't have any explanation for it, but he could only assume Weiss was still the center of it --- essentially the heart of Omega.

Unlike their previous encounter, no words were exchanged. Weiss charged to attack, but Vincent shot at him. The two sped around the field at the speed of light, moving so fast that they were almost a blur. Weiss slashed at Vincent, who retaliated with gunfire and powerful kicks. Even when Weiss took control of a larger entity similar to Omega to battle, the power of Chaos proved to be too much for him. The fight was over.

~~~~~

Reeve, Shelke, and all of Vincent's friends were outside, watching Omega slowly succumb to the crystals growing through his body. He was mostly covered at that point. The ultimate weapon suddenly darkened in color, the mako glow fading from him. But all at once, a portion of the crystals were shattered as four massive wings burst forth from Omega. The wings lifted the being from the ground, and he steadily began ascending to the sky.

Everyone held their breath, watching anxiously. There was a reddish purple glow soaring up alongside Omega. Another glowing object, white in color, burst out of Omega's body and intertwined with the other. It wasn't hard to figure out that it was Vincent and Vianca up there. From afar, it was quite a spectacle, but for those two up there fighting for all of them... Their perspective was much different.

Vianca used wings made of crystal to fly alongside Vincent. They circled one another, flying as fast as they could to surpass Omega. The light they emitted was from the intensity of their powers. It made them look like dazzling stars shooting up into the heavens.

"Vincent!" the girl called, looking over at the man. "I can slow him down! Get ready to strike!"

Vincent nodded. "Got it!"

The female separated from her friend, her durable wings carrying her around Omega. She steadily circled him, creating crystals all over his body. The extra weight began to slow him little by little. It was enough for Vincent to make a move. He soared high above Omega, and Vianca was quick to join him. They both shot down like comets, cloaked in powerful auras. Vianca even formed a small spire from her hands, making herself into a crystal spear. The duo pierced through Omega's natural barrier, using all their strength to press on. Vincent roared and Vianca cried out as they plunged through Omega's body like bullets, puncturing the colossal being.

A light as bright as the sun exploded from Omega, lighting up a small portion of the planet. It was blinding. When it faded, it left the sky completely clear and devoid of clouds. The night sky filled with twinkling stars left everyone in awe and dismay. Small remnants of light fell like snow around them. They were reminiscent to the particles you'd see coming from mako. It was a beautiful sight, but something was missing --- two things in fact. There was no sign of Vincent or Vianca.

Among the wreckage of Midgar, the Cerberus charm that had always decorated Vincent's gun hung from a piece of pipe. Not far from it, Vianca's crystal pendant lay on a slab of metal. But there was no sign of their owners.