disclaimer: I do not own FFVII:DoC, Squeenix does.

A black new life

He was unconscious.

Lying under ton of rubble, pinned to the ground by rocks that had dropped down on him, Nero lay sleeping.

Spit out by the lifestream, which hadn't been able to handle the G-substance that oozed from his soul, he was now doomed to existence again. Only, in his current state, he wouldn't survive very long.

When his body had formed again in the ruins of Sector Seven, the darkness that remained in his body had taken away some of the stability of the rubble, and a whole pile of rocks had tumbled down onto him. Now he was half-buried under the steel-stone rocks, his left arm crushed, his right leg and arm broken.

His metal wings were sprawled on the floor, but luckily enough only slightly dented. The pointy edges twitched as his mind was resetting.

Somewhere in Edge, at the new WRO base, Shelke stormed inside Reeve's office. The Spanish-type leader turned around from his many computers with which he controlled Cait Sith, and cast the huffing frail girl an inquiring look.

"What's wrong Shelke?"

Shelke breathed in deeply to regain her breath, then stammered some almost inaudible words. Reeve only understood the parts 'Lifestream' and 'Lifeform' out of her ramble. When he looked a bit weirdly at her in his usual friendly, suggestive manner, Shelke sighed and repeated her words again.

"I just returned from the lifestream, and there was something wrong...there's been activity near Midgar, and Yuffie's picked up signs of life there...I'm worried, Reeve..."

Reeve looked at her, folded his hands in front of his chin..."Send someone over there...if you can reach..."

"Vincent, yeah...he's already there. Chaos sensed something there."

Mouth still open in mid-sentence, Reeve turned his words around and went quiet.

"...OK. That's good... I'll send a backup there anyway, who knows what it might be this time."

Shelke nodded. "Can I..." "No. You can't go. Please stay here and try to find out more through the Stream, if it's not too dangerous right now. Ok?" Reeve answered.

Shelke looked at her feet. She wanted to help Vincent, but Reeve was right, she'd waste time anyway by going to Midgar first...the gunman 'd probably already be there...

Midgar, entrance to sector seven+

A red cloak whooshed through the deserted waste. Vincent gracefully made his way through the rubble, following his instincts, senses on high alert. His gun ready in its holster, Vincent had nothing to fear, but the memories of battles still lingered, and the presence he felt was somehow familiar...he didn't dare lay his finger on it, but he expected trouble.

At least, he had his cellphone ready this time.

The sun was beginning to set already, and the place was bathed in a reddish, soothing sunlight, calming his senses and pleasing Chaos inside him. As Vincent advanced, he became more and more aware of the strange aura that was located in the corner of one of the huge ruined buildings, but the closer he came, the less of a threat it seemed.

His black hair was blown in his eyes by a soft evening gust, warm from the remaining heat of the metal everywhere, and his pupils shrank and widened every time he crossed through a shadow. He advanced in utter silence, only sometimes a soft 'ching' could be heard resonating over the place when his tip-toed boots scraped a rock.

It was one of these evenings he'd be able to stay up all night, and live now that he was redeemed of his past...it felt good to be free.

He skidded to a halt when he entered the building Chaos had directed him to. Now stepping into the darkness slowly, he spotted a glint of polished metal in the far corner of the room, illuminated by the glow from the sun that shone through a broken window.

Vincent's heart skipped a beat. His keen ears caught a weak sound of a breath, and his sixth sense stood on edge by the aura of darkness there.

When after five minutes, nothing happened apart from the breathing slowing to almost stopping and then starting again, Vincent approached the rubble.

His eyes widened when he followed the metal bar and finally saw the prone form of his former enemy and even, if only for a moment, ally, Nero.

TBC

Ok, it's short, but it's kinda the default chap. Later chapters are longer... and getting longer every time...