Diamond in the Rough (FFVII Dirge of Cerberus)

Chapter XVI

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.