Diamond in the Rough (FFVII Dirge of Cerberus)

Chapter XVII

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."