"Well shit," Zack said. "…how have we not noticed? Can we… how do you do something about that? We can't not, don't you dare say there's nothing. There's something. We just don't know what yet."

"I don't have to be Reeve to tell you shutting the Reactors down needs to be a last resort and then some," Veld said. "They run everything in Midgar, and generators will only work so long."

"I don't think it matters. If Jenova's already here, then stopping the intake and leaving it stagnant isn't going to help," Aerith said. "You can't sift a bunch of cells out of a reactor and even if you could… they were just a conduit, weren't they, Chaos? A way for her to physically break through to a place that's not entirely physical."

"An awkward but not untrue explanation," Chaos agreed.

Now that he'd led them to the problem, he seemed somewhat less inclined to carry on. Whether that was worth comment on his name and nature, or if he was once again biding his time, Veld didn't know but he didn't care for it. He had enough dramatics from Vincent to last a lifetime and didn't plan on waiting around for more from his resident WEAPON. "So, here's a question - what can she do there? Because it sounds like a 'conduit' is needed for actual action. Sephiroth, first. Now the Restrictor."

Chaos made a thoughtful sound. "With a very limited cell mass, I would hardly say Jenova is at full power, to say nothing of the decay and instability over time. The Calamity will unquestionably be reaching out to the puppets that ShinRa has so kindly provided, to manipulate to serve her desires, in so much as Jenova is capable of 'desiring'."

"The Restrictors first, then. With the proximity to Reactor Zero and their level of cells, that's a no brainer," Zack said.

"I would be inclined to agree," Chaos said. "The SOLDIERs would also be inclined to put up more of a fight, I think. From Valentine's observations, it doesn't seem they're as inclined towards such levels of wholesale destruction."

"…er… no," Zack said slowly. "I was not currently under the impression the Restrictors were either, even if they were a little kill-happy with their subordinates."

"How hard do you think it would be to convince them it's their idea to fight for their 'freedom' now that Hojo is gone?" Chaos asked curiously.

There was a very uncomfortable silence.

"…we need to know every entrance and exit to that city," Kunsel said slowly. "And I have a sinking feeling that information is either going to be hard to come by, or harder to do anything about."

Veld made a quiet sound of agreement. "Both, probably. I'll look into it."

"Jenova's really going to sit there and hit that beehive with a stick until they wreak havoc, huh?" Zack grimaced.

Chaos blinked at him, a hint of a grim smile curving his lips. "It's a net win no matter how it goes: if Deepground gets free and takes over, Jenova manages to take the Planet as originally intended. If you all manage to suppress them by killing them off, even more Jenova cells enter the Lifestream, strengthening her. Even a stalemate, where Deepground and SOLDIER wipe each other out, ends with Jenova strengthened exponentially."

Zack swallowed against a dry mouth. "Yeah? Well what do you suggest, sunshine? You're the WEAPON of the Planet, here. You can't tell me you're going to roll over for this parasite."

Chaos' smile was not nice, and it was not kind. But oddly enough there was comfort to be found in how bloodthirsty it was; if the WEAPON was out for blood in an ancient grudge, none of them would stop him. "Oh no, that's not my intention at all. Jenova is weak now, a mere shadow of the Calamity that nearly decimated the Cetra. Still formidable, don't misunderstand, but off kilter. She will be destroyed, or in the very least contained and disposed of."

"Great." Zack chose to be encouraged despite the little chill that smile gave him. "So, what changes that cheery little 'she wins no matter what' scenario?"

"She wins in every scenario where it's merely her against ShinRa's forces," Chaos said. "And she has minor triumphs, regardless. But if you work with me, I can keep those spirits from properly joining the Lifestream and feeding her. Cut her off from gaining more power, and her threat remains limited."

Aerith shuddered, and pressed closer to Cloud. "And do what with them? What with her? She's still there, even if she's weak. And we're not killing off the SOLDIERs and shoving them in limbo, so she's still a problem."

"You know, I appreciate that particular vote," Zack said.

"That would be where you come into play," Chaos said. "And your little 'useless' materia."

Aerith's hand went to her ribbon, a small frown on her lips. "My materia?"

"It is a relic of times past, one of the last remaining originals," Chaos said. "The White Materia casts Holy. And it will be Jenova's undoing. Now as it was meant to be back then. She's weaker, now."

"Weak enough for one half Cetra to wipe her out with a spell she's never used?" Aerith said skeptically. "No pressure."

"You will not be operating alone," Chaos said patiently. "But perhaps you have a point. We need to practice. And there may be benefit from having another hard hitter or so on our side."

"Pity our hardest hitters are out of the picture," Reno said, glancing at Zack.

Zack grimaced, looking down at his hands. "Yeah, that's… not sitting real well with me, not gonna lie. Fighting's sort of our thing. If there was any way around Jenova's bullshit, keeping us out of her grabby hands so we could focus… we'd make a difference. I know we would."

Kunsel squeezed his shoulder a little, then tighter on reflex when he saw Chaos' speculative look. "What."

"…there may be a way…" Chaos smiled faintly, gold eyes gleaming.

"Oh I'm not going to like this, am I?" Zack predicted.

"Perhaps not," Chaos said, smile spreading into a grin. "But every oracle deserves a team of paladins."

"Oracle?" Aerith side eyed him warily.

"Paladins?" Zack arched a brow. "I mean, I rolled a druid once but -"

"Zack," Kunsel muttered, squeezing his shoulder, then sliding down to hold his hand.

"Right, shutting up." Zack took a deep breath. "Kinda. Explain this… oracle and paladin business."

"An oracle is a mouthpiece for the gods," Chaos said. "One whom speaks prophecy, in normal times, but can also simply be used to speak with them or for them. And, in extreme cases, take action for them. When the Calamity came, many lines were marked by the Powers and used as conduits before they realized they needed to actually take action themselves."

"…am… I descended from one of those lines?" Aerith asked slowly.

"No, your line were lorekeepers," Chaos said. "But my host is of a line that can teach you."

In absence of Vincent's actual presence, eyes turned to Veld, who looked thoughtful. "…he did say he was from a line of priestesses… being male broke the chain, so to speak. He's gifted with magic, but he can't… do things."

"Correct, though it did ensure I did not seek his death," Chaos said. "If I had to be bound to a mortal, there were worse choices."

"I'm sure he's flattered," Veld said dryly. "So, you want to teach Aerith to commune with the gods to gain… some sort of additional blessings and or powers to help her fight Jenova. I'm going to go out on a limb and say the paladins are guardians to make sure nothing gets to her while she's doing that, because Jenova will not want her to succeed."

"You would be correct," Chaos said approvingly.

"…you implied that was related to us," Zack said.

"The Powers may not have been able to wipe out Jenova at full strength at the time of her arrival," Chaos said. "But they can cleanse a handful of tainted humans and fortify them to do battle."

"…oh Benji is going to kill us," Zack whispered, grinning. If he didn't, if he thought about this too hard, he might not be able to handle it. "Oooookay. So. You're making us paladins. Cleaning the Jenova out and stuff, and… 'fortifying' us to do battle."

"What that entails will be left to the Powers," Chaos said, shrugging. "Aerith will likely need to make an appeal on your behalf first, but should they approve -"

"Should they?" Kunsel repeated.

"I cannot speak for the Will of gods," Chaos said. "I am a WEAPON, no more no less, and have been rended from my place in the Lifestream, out of contact with them for decades. While that is not terribly long, not long enough that their opinions should have changed much… I would be a fool to presume to make promises on their behalf."

"Yeah, well, if they can't do the fighting they're going to need someone like us," Zack said firmly. "I say we go for it."

Aerith bit her lip, eyeing Chaos a long moment in silence. "…what do we have to do?"