It was achingly quiet and painfully bright. Slowly, the white began to give way to an odd darkness, pinpricks of fixed light like stars all around them. Crisscrossing streams of glowing energy made it impossible to make out anything below waist level as they increased in frequency and density.

It's warm, was Aerith's first thought. Comforting. The glow was the same glow as mako but she knew instinctively that that was not quite what it was. They were wading through the Lifestream itself on some other plane of existence than the mere mortal world.

All that remained of the cavern they'd left behind was the massive sculpture. The podium it stood on alone was easily as tall as Zack, and the statue on top of it was at least twice that. There was no sign of the tree or materia, but she had a feeling they were more closely connected than they knew.

There was a brilliant flash of red off to the side, and it was as much that as Veld's exclamation of shock that had the group turning at once.

There was a man leaning heavily on Veld that she did not immediately recognize. The short black hair and bronzed skin were unfamiliar, but those eyes… they didn't have the glow of mako, but they were still red. Combined with the familiar suit, it dawned on her that she was looking at Vincent. And behind him…

"Chaos…" Aerith whispered.

The demi-WEAPON was easily a head taller than Vincent, gold eyes gleaming in stark contrast to silver skin. Reddish black hair defied gravity in ways even Cloud and Zack's didn't dare. His smile showed off dangerously sharp, elongated canines. "Yes?"

"You're a lot to take in, bud," Benji said, more interested in the varied pieces of golden armor and the truly massive black wings. Not feathered, not like the wings Genesis and Angeal had had. These were more like bat wings, with the strength of a dragon.

Chaos chuckled and folded his wings back. "Welcome to the Lifestream. Do mind your manners, and be grateful for any gifts graciously bestowed upon you."

"That's the most reverent I have ever heard you," Vincent observed, standing straight once again without Veld's help.

"Perhaps you ought to consider what would warrant such a thing," Chaos said evenly, seeming in much better spirits now that he was on his home ground.

"Perhaps," Vincent murmured, looking around thoughtfully. After a moment, his eyes also locked on the statue. "…an anchor point?"

"Between planes, yes," Chaos agreed, flicking a wing in at the statue to draw attention to it. "But more than that."

"Was that a materia?" Cloud asked.

Chaos simply smiled as everything around them flashed white. There was the distant chime of bells, like the most delicate wind chime being blown gently by a breeze, and when their vision returned it settled to stillness once more. Not that anyone noticed, their eyes glued to a figure that stood in place of the statue.

The Goddess Minerva herself stood before them in a blaze of golden glory, light golden hair like the first stirrings of dawn over pale skin with the same tint. At a distance, it was impossible to be sure what color her eyes were but Aerith would have bet on more gold or possibly silver. Her headpiece was no delicate tiara. It looked more like an ornate battle guard, as if it was merely missing the rest of the helmet.

Her gown was beautifully made, like the lighter green streams flowing around them, but it was undeniably battle dress complete with armor over her chest and arms. It was a style long gone, some of the items not recognized by any of the humans present, but the scepter in her right hand and the full body sized shield leaning against her left side left no further questions. The Goddess was ready for battle.

So, when Chaos bowed? They all took the cue to do so.

She laughed, soft but audible in the quiet of this endless plane. "Humanity never ceases to amaze me. Perhaps you are worthy of your inheritance after all."

Aerith dared to flick her eyes up and was immediately caught in the Goddess' gaze. The sense of dormant power was breathtaking, filling the space around them in a way she'd only felt in Leviathan's presence. Even then, it was different. He'd been filtered through a mortal vessel… there was no filter here but what she decided to impose herself.

Aerith looked back down.

"You have nothing to fear," Minerva said. "You come offering your service and I would not strike my own. Rise and look upon me; I am your protector and guide. Together, we shall at last destroy the Calamity."

Aerith felt Cloud squeeze her hand and straightened slowly, resisting the impulse to look around at the others. Were they as shaken as she was?

"What is your will?" Chaos asked simply, watching the rest of the mortals straighten as well, one by one.

Minerva looked to him with a small, fond smile. "My Will is the Planet's Will - to be freed of the Calamity's parasitic presence once and for all. Weakened as it has become, the task is no longer impossible. The hardest part will be truly destroying it, and not merely 'killing' it. Without eliminating all of its cells, it would merely fester until it was strong enough to strike again. From the Lifestream that is a dangerous position indeed."

Chaos nodded thoughtfully. "Thus they will be purified and receive the gift of your blessing."

"Yes," she said, so very simply but with breathtaking impact.

Frankly, Aerith had been expecting… something. Some trial, some 'proof' of their worthiness, some price to pay for her help.

'Who's helping who here?' Cloud pointed out, his telepathic voice a balm amidst the chaotic flow of the Lifestream and its loud jumble of indecipherable thoughts. 'They can't do this without us or they would have already.'

He made a good point, but she still had trouble believing it would be that easy. Nothing was that easy.

"…there a catch to that?"

Of course Benji was the one to voice what was clearly on all their minds. Of course.

Drew still hissed at him, flushed red in mortification. "Benjamin."

Chaos' chuckle was a bass rumble in comparison to the dulcet tones of Minerva's soft laughter. There was a collective sigh of relief that Benji's question hadn't just landed them in hot water.

"You are very brave," Minerva said.

"Look, I'm gonna be straight with you. The last time I didn't read the fine print before signing myself up for somethin' they shot me up with mako an' alien cooties," Benji said. "I mean, I'd still do it, an' I'll still do this. But I'd sort've like to know what I'm signing up for."

"A fair request," she said gently. "Most would not dare to ask me if there was a price to be paid."

He laughed sheepishly, running a hand through his hair with a shrug. For all his boldness, it was a little hard to maintain eye contact with the legit ultimate Goddess of Gaia. "They all tell me I'm special."

"You are," she agreed, and not with the sense that she was poking at him quite the same way he'd intended. "Not many would be able to do what you have come to do."

He nodded, sobering a little at the reminder. "So… what happens now? This… purifying stuff?"

"Most of you are contaminated with the cells from the Calamity," she said, "but on such a small scale I am able eliminate them. I will purify you and free you of its influence. I will also teach Aerith how to perform the same task, as there will be others in need."

"What do we do?" Benji asked.

"Stay still, and do not fight it," she said. Her smile was kind, but worryingly apologetic. "This may not be pleasant. The Calamity will not easily relinquish its hold."

He nodded and visibly braced himself, a gesture that was followed by the other SOLDIERs and Cloud. No one knew what, exactly, to expect.

'Pain' probably should have been expected. It was a deep, internal, body-wide burn that started at the core and flushed through them with a feverish heat.

At Aerith's side, Cloud went down, hitting his knees with a cry and nearly vanishing under the thick layer of the Lifestream flowing around them. The rest of the SOLDIERs, far more accustomed to pain, hissed or grimaced but held to their feet. Zack, in fact, managed to come over to haul Cloud upright, bracing him. "'S'ok buddy. Breathe."

Cloud wheezed, clinging to him with what was no doubt a white-knuckled grip under his gloves.

Aerith fluttered at his side, looking at her friends. They were pale with pain but determined to bear it. She just wished she could do something.

There was blackish wispy smoke coming up from their skin now, thick and oily. As it rose into the air, wisps of Lifestream to quickly rose up and engulfed them until they'd smothered them into nothingness. Aerith shivered, feeling all that ugliness from Jenova coming to the surface, then the Lifestream snuffing it out. Rending it apart in ways she didn't really understand even as she watched it.

The Lifestream was also starting to wrap around the affected men, though it appeared less inclined to try and strangle them. If anything it appeared to be more of a… a caress. Far gentler, like the soothing rub of a hand across sore muscles.

It was clear, from the collective sighs of relief, when it succeeded in chasing away the pain. There were no more wisps of black and the Lifestream began to settle around them.

"You have been purified," Minerva declared. "Your bodies cleansed of the Calamity's taint. And now, you will be made into warriors of the Planet."

"Super," Zack wheezed, too wrung out to care about protocol at the moment. "Can we take a minute?"

Minerva smiled, unexpectedly fond. "You may."

"So, fff-" Benji caught himself, flushing at the thought that he'd nearly sworn in front of a Power. "It's a lot."

Drew managed a choked, exhausted sort of giggle, braced on his knees and panting. "Yeah."

"Rest," Minerva said patiently. "We have time."