Hearts and Mirrors Hearts and Mirrors (Chapter 4/4), a final fantasy vii fanfic

"Hearts and Mirrors"
Part 4/4
By Jonatan L

Congratulations! You've reached the last part!

Vincent was dimly aware of something slapping him in the face. As he resurfaced from his unexpected swim in the depths of unconsciousness, he opened his eyes... and looked up into a small, worried face.

"You can stop that now," he whispered.

"Ah! You're awake!" Yuffie exclaimed. "I thought you were, like, gonna be out for weeks!"

There was a short, muffled sound that was probably Cid trying (and failing) not to laugh at hearing his own words repeated. Vincent blinked and tried to sit up. He managed, after a few tries. "How... How long...?"

"Not even five minutes," Yuffie told him. "Did you, like, know your shirt is in pieces?"

"I am aware of that fact, yes," he said dryly. Looking down, he found that most the seams had split in places, and the cloth itself had suffered several tears. His left arm was left bare up to the shoulder, revealing several ugly scars over the metal glove.

Vincent was not pleased. He had spent much time and money on the clothes he was wearing - unstable molecules, capable of changing their shape on a mental command from the wearer, who, in this case, happened to be Vincent. However, even to unstable molecules, damage such as this... was not easy to repair. And this damage was, in fact, the reason why he wore these clothes. Before he got them, he either had to strip naked before Changing, or ruin whatever clothes he was wearing. This was almost enough to irritate him.

That would all have to wait, he knew. Before he could worry about clothes, he had to make sure they all got out of here... "Well... Shall we go?" He got to his knees... then stood up. Yuffie, wisely, did not try to help him.

"Is everyone able to walk?" Vincent wondered, looking at his companions.

"The only one who's been incapable of that in the past few hours would be you," Cid said. "You wouldn't happen to have a cig, would you?" Vincent did not answer, and Cid shrugged. "Forget I asked..."

"Yes, I think I will," Yuffie quipped, imitating Vincent's voice - and doing it quite well, too. Cid chuckled. That was something Vincent could say... that was, if he had been the kind of person who would bother to answer at all.

"Curse... it... all!" Kane brought his fist down hard on the tabletop. In defiance of all probability, the latter broke, although one would probably assume that if anything would be breaking, the old, scrawny man's hand would be a prime candidate.

That is, one would assume it, unless one knew of Kane's new-found power.

He could 'see' the place where the Materia had been lying... He could 'see' the energy it had left, as clearly as he could 'see' the Materia itself...

As he could have 'seen' that Materia, had it been there.

Those two... those two from the dungeons... How could they have taken it without him sensing it? How could they carry it around without him sensing it? Confound it all! Gripping the frame of the table, he pulled himself up, standing. Standing! His legs had been destroyed, irreparably destroyed, in his battles for the sword, and he could stand - he could walk! He had the power to make it so...

So why hadn't he felt the Materia being carried off?

Damn.

He took a few seconds to curse Ghaediss for his incompetence. The creature's sadistic streak had probably been what caused the two to escape in the first place; indeed, what made it possible for them to escape. If the dumb beast had only had the sense to obey orders!

Never mind that now... I haven't got the time.

I shall have to use other methods.

Should he retrieve the pilot's spear? Could it be enough...

No. He must have another way; one that would certainly succeed. It wouldn't do to use inferior power... Yes... And in his head, the solution to this problem, this minor problem, was taking shape right now...

"Do you really think he'll make it?" Novo asked Susanna.

She started. "Me? But Novo, you-"

He didn't let her speak. "I can't tell. I want to know what you think. Think; Susanna, believe. Do you believe he'll make it? Have you any hope at all?"

Susanna was silent for a while. "Yes... no... Novo, I don't know! It's all... confusing. He's so much more powerful now than when we left... In only a few days... I honestly can't tell, Novo. I honestly can't tell."

He smiled. "Now you're thinking with your head, Susanna," he reprimanded. "What does your heart say?"

"It's... quiet," she sighed. "It doesn't... say anything at all, Novo, I... am scared. This feels bad..."

"You feel it too, huh..."

"I thought I was the only one!"

"I'm... scared... too."

They stood in silence for a while, Novo to the right of the door, Susanna to the left.

"We have to help him," Novo said finally. "He has been fighting for this a long time."

"We have been fighting too, for a long time..."

"I know. Oh, I know..."

Novo reached out into the space between them, without looking, and found Susanna's hand there. He took it, and held on hard to it.

"You sure this is smart?" Cid asked Yuffie as they walked. "I mean..."

"Well, mister, what would you suggest?" the Shinobi retorted. "I mean, like, what?"

Cid couldn't answer. He wanted to say, 'Let's get the hell out of here, pronto!', but couldn't. That crazy old man still had the Ultima Weapon. In the wrong hands, that sword could cause incredible destruction... and who knew what else he had? He had spoken of four other artefacts... and if they were anywhere near as powerful as Ultima Weapon, the world could be in deep shit. No, he knew, he could not say to get out of there.

"You're right," he sighed. "We probably have to take it back..."

"Atta boy," Yuffie grinned, winking mischievously. "And between you, me, Tifa and Vince, we oughtta be able to kick his ass - hard!"

"Don't count me out," Kai reminded her. "Or, for that matter, Novo and Susanna."

"That reminds me," Cloud said. "Who are these two? I have heard their names... but nothing more. It would help things if you could provide some information."

Kai thought about it for a moment. "Okay," he said, "I'll try... First of all, as you know, Kane has rediscovered magic, true magic. He commands it... and so do Novo and Susanna. It has been years since we last met... I assume their powers have grown in that time. When we last met, however, they were both primarily black mages - meaning they use mainly offensive spells. I believe Novo knows a few healing spells... and Susanna is more into, well, enchanting things. She has a spell that allows her to fly, for instance..."

"Fly!" Yuffie exclaimed. "Wow!"

"Something like that, yes," Kai replied dryly.

"However, we seem to be missing something," Vincent said. "Novo and Susanna... and you, Kai. Your relations to Kane seem to be rather similar..."

Kai stopped walking, turning his head to look straight at Vincent, actually managing to look him in the eyes. "What!" he hissed.

Vincent calmly looked back until the mage lowered his gaze. "It is quite obvious."

"Like, I don't get it!" Yuffie complained.

"There is no need for you to understand this. It is Kai's sake to speak of it... if he so chooses." Vincent kept walking, leaving both Kai and the others behind.

"Stop." Kai walked after the shape-shifter. "I'll tell you... while we walk.

"I am like them, yes... I am Kane's 'child'. He created me."

"You mean, you weren't, like, born?" This, of course, came from Yuffie. Kai shook his head.

"No. I was... created. A creature born from magic... holding part of Kane's power.

"As you can probably guess, I, too, am capable of using magic. Not as powerful as my... As Susanna and Novo. I rely on Materia for my magic, most of the time... whereas their powers are enough to rid them of the need for these stones..." Kai lifted one hand, the sleeve falling back to reveal a black iron bracelet with several orbs of Materia attached.

There was bitterness in his voice; no one could listen to his words and fail to hear this. As to why, no one could tell.

"I was Kane's firstborn," he continued. "A bit of a disappointment, I think." The last part was delivered with something resembling dry humour. "Both to myself and him, more's the pity." At this he seemed to suppress a laugh. "Anyway, I have a few years that they haven't had... but that's about it. I also have my Materia and a few semi-useful magic spells... but they are true mages."

"Exactly how good are they at magic?" Tifa wondered. "You can be a 'true mage' all you want... It's not the weapon that counts, Kai, but the hand that wields it. Even the Ultima Weapon would be near useless to someone who could not use it."

"That is true," Kai agreed, "but you cannot hope to beat them with superior knowledge. I know Kane has trained them himself... and they both studied on their own, as well. I can only assume that they have become rather stronger in these years."

"You're saying we don't have a chance?" Yuffie wanted to know.

"I never said that, Yuffie. I am merely suggesting that we proceed with caution... because, to all my knowledge, Novo is one of the most powerful mages to have lived on this Planet for a thousand years, second only to Kane himself. Susanna isn't far behind... She is weaker, or at any rate she was, the last time I saw them together, but not much."

"Sounds pretty hopeless," Tifa sighed. "We don't have much Materia, and fighting magic with the weapons we have now, well..."

"I have plenty to go around," Yuffie grinned. "Though I doubt any of you could use my stuff, so that's pretty much ruled out, huh."

"I have a throwing knife," Kai said. "Since I will probably be relying on my magic - such as it now is - you might as well use it, Cloud..." He handed Cloud a small, short-bladed knife. The former mercenary looked at it critically, doubting that it would do him much more good than his fists, but kept it; it might come in handy. "It isn't much," the mage excused himself as he saw Cloud's expression. "But I hardly ever use weapons..."

"It will do," Cloud said. "It will have to do."

"What the - I can't believe this!" Susanna's mental exclamation snapped Novo out of his reverie, and he turned his head -

"Kai!" And with him, the two, the girl and the pilot, they had captured in Cetra... and the man and the girl Kai had been with before; he recognised them from Susanna's description. And that man! How had they been able to break Susanna's spell? "Why would they come here...?" He knew the answer even before she replied,

"The sword we took from him..."

"Novo. Susanna," Kai greeted them, stopping a good ten metres from them; as far away as the corridor would allow him to be. "You haven't changed too much."

"In some ways, no... and yet, in other ways, we have all changed far too much," Novo replied, in his characteristically half-sad-half-mocking voice. "Kai, please... I ask you to leave. I do not want to fight, but unless you leave, we will have to kill you."

"I know..." Kai's voice, unlike Novo's, held only sadness. "But we have to enter."

"Then -" Novo blinked.

"Novo! Come inside... quickly!"

"What is it Novo?" Susanna asked worriedly. "Novo!"

"Ss... Susanna! I must go... Please take... care of this, and... Susanna... Make sure you survive." "Novo! But what... why?" She looked at him pleadingly. "Don't leave me!"

"I... must. Master... calls me." Novo hung his head.

"I... I..."

"Susanna..."

"Yes. Farewell... Novo!"

Susanna knelt and embraced him. Novo calmly returned the embrace, stepped away... then drew closer again, and kissed her.

"Stop it!" Kai made an angry gesture, stepping closer. "Novo, she's you sister, for the Planet's sake!"

"His sister?" Yuffie exclaimed. "Grossness!" And still... I have seen her before, I know it! If only I could remember... Remember!

Novo slowly drew away from Susanna. Turning his head slightly, he smiled. "Yes... and no. Not any less, or any more, then you are my brother, Kai."

Kai looked down and into the floor, not replying. Novo continued; now addressing Kai's companions. "We were created at the same time... by the same man..." He paused. "Twins, you would say. Yet, our genetic patterns, our cells, our blood, are all different. We both share some of Kane... but that does not make us his children in the true meaning of that word. We are only... creations. I am not a man of woman born... I have no father. I have no mother. How could I have a sister?"

"Novo! At once!"

"Yes, Master..."

"What are you saying?" Kai asked.

"I must leave. Farewell... al of you!" Novo flashed bright blue-white, and when the light vanished, he was gone. Susanna stared at the place here he had been.

Then she wiped a tear from her cheek, and stood up. Fixing her eyes on Kai, she spoke slowly, carefully. "It seems... we have to take care of this... on our own, Kai. So..."

"Susanna..."

"Kai..."

No one else existed. They looked into each others' eyes... remembering...

It had not always been like this.

Once upon a time...

Once upon a time, they had been friends...

"This doesn't have to happen..." Kai said finally. "We don't have to fight. Let us pass... Please, Susanna. I don't want... don't want to hurt you."

"I... don't want to hurt you either... Kai." Susanna shook her head slowly, silver hair falling down over her face, hiding it. Please... Novo! Why... "But I have to." She raised her head, shaking the hair from her face. Her Mako blue eyes blazed with determination. "I will fight you."

Kai nodded. "I think I knew that..." he said softly. "Then... forgive me... Susanna."

Susanna did not answer. Instead, she twisted powers... just like... that.

Her feet no longer had contact with the floor. She was floating in the air.

"Stay back," Kai warned the others. "This is my fight... I have to do this alone. Stay back."

Vincent held out his arms, blocking the corridor, and backed down, taking the others with him. "Go ahead," he whispered.

Kai touched an orb of Materia on his bracelet. From out of nowhere, a wind started blowing... His hair fluttered upwards, and suddenly, Kai was lifted off the ground, standing on a short pillar of compact air. He pulled off his pack, throwing it towards Vincent and the others to get it out of their way. "So..."

Susanna nodded. "All requirements met... "

"You're wrong. This is not a duel, Susanna. All requirements may be met, but the other things... no. But nevertheless, it must commence... for good... or for evil."

He launched the first attack.

"Yes, Master..." Novo bowed.

"Stand... in the point of the star!" Kane commanded. "I need your power! You must stabilise the spell... the fifth power, the Materia, is gone!" Kane had left his wheelchair, and was sitting on his Materia throne. "Do it! Otherwise the magic will overload... kill us all! Hurry!"

Novo sighed. "Yes, Master."

He stepped into the pentagram, feeling the currents of magic energy running through him. It was getting worse... He stepped out into the fifth arm of the star. Much worse... He stopped inside a painted circle, in the very outmost part of the point, and suddenly everything was pain. Power surged... flowing from him, sucked into the spinning vortex of magic surrounding the Materia throne. As the eye of the storm, Kane sat, untouched, a small but victorious smile on his lips. Novo thought he heard the sorcerer whisper, almost hiss, "Yess...!"

In the two star-points closest to Novo were golden boxes, plain, nondescript boxes with indeterminate contents. The other two points held golden boxes, as well, but through the lid of each box, a sword had been thrust. One of the weapons had a wide, semitransparent blue blade and plain, black hilt, and was emitting an eerie blue light; the other one was silver-bladed and golden-hilted, and was glowing almost white as magic coursed through it. Blinking away tears of pain, Novo tried to focus... tried to see that sword... but he failed, and soon the spell intensified, leaving him unable to move at all.

And in the middle of it all, Kane was smiling. Maybe now, after all this wait, he should finally realise his dream!

Kai crossed his forearms in front of his face, feeling heat as Susanna's fire spell washed over his protective shield. They were very evenly matched, much to his surprise - he had expected to be outclassed by the true mage. Not so. She was deflecting his attacks; he was deflecting hers, and they could go on until they both collapsed from exhaustion.

That was not an option. They would have to get this over with quickly... as he could, even now, feel Kane working inside that door, casting the spells to set off his strange machine The machine hooked up to the Ultima Weapon... and four other, unknown, artefacts...

Susanna could not be allowed to stand in the way. Much as he wished there was another way, he realised that to get in, he would have to take her out... no matter what.

He had just passed through her last spell. That should give him time enough... to do what he needed to do.

He concentrated his power inwards, into himself, then through himself, through the air above and around... and into then living earth below him, drawing the Planet's own powers up and into himself... at the same time reaching up, through the stone roof, through the air, and into the heavens above, binding the Planet's power to the force of the air. Summoning fire from within his soul completed his spell...

"Susanna... I'm sorry!"

Black soulfire crackled through the air between them...

Novo stiffened, his muscles tightening, as he not heard but rather felt the power flare outside the circular pentagram room, even through the spell Kane was weaving...

And he hoped, he wished...

"Susanna!"

Susanna screamed. Unknown power surged within her, and, acting only on instinct, she lashed out, striking, shattering, the onrushing flame of soulfire. The power died down, falling through infinity in a rapidly decreasing spiral.

For several seconds, Kai and Suanna stared at one another, both betraying disbelief, anger, and not a little fear.

"You... you truly used... that... against... me," Susanna whispered, the sound of her words filling the silence until it seemed as loud as a thunderclap. "You... Kai! You used the soulfire against me!"

Kai, his hands shaking, closed his eyes. "I knew... as soon as I let it go..." He never finished the sentence.

"Yes... I have no doubt you did..." Susanna's shock and disbelief were slowly turning into anger, pure and untainted rage. It was not visible in her face, but her words betrayed her feelings... that, and her eyes, which were blazing like twin stars. "You used soulfire... against me..." She slowly raised both hands. Pure darkness crackled around them. "I guess... this means all bets are off... Kai!"

"Yes... unfortunately..." He just looked at her. "One of us will have... have to die here, right." It was no question, and she did not answer.

She only pointed her hands at him and let the spell fly.

Kai watched as the darkness tumbled through the air, slowly, so slowly... It was almost standing still.

A scream brought him back to reality. He fulfilled the movement he had started just as he saw Susanna start to lower her hands, his reflexes throwing him to the side, out of harm's way, and the black cloud of soulfire passed only centimetres from his head; close enough for him to feel the nightmarish dark Art locked within its simple shape.

The scream did not end. He turned... and the world seemed to slow down again...

The spell travelling through the air... closing in on the others... Too fast, too far, impossible for him to stop...

He could see... Yuffie falling to her knees, screaming - in pain? Terror? He could not tell...

Vincent turning away from the ninja... seeing the spell... raising his gloved hand...

The spell touching the golden metal...

-Snap!-

Time returned. Vincent was thrown back, slamming into Cid and Cloud, who were trying to catch him, and throwing them all to the floor.

Kai turned to Susanna. She was staring - not at him; past him. The pain, the shock, in her face was deeper, greater then he could ever describe.

Yuffie screamed.

Kai brought his hand up, acting like in a dream. A simple ball of force flickered and blinked, taking shape...

He threw it. The surprise barely had time to register in Susanna's mind as the ball struck her, throwing her head back. Again, the world slowed down to him, and he saw...

Susanna being thrown backwards...

a few ruby-bright drops of blood flying...

Susanna's eyes wide open in shock...

-Snap!-

Blood splattered on the white stone. Susanna's still body struck the floor, the force propelling it away from him, sliding on the smooth stone.

Kai turned his back on her, his wind spell fading away, lowering him to the ground.

Slowly, he walked towards the still, black-clad and red-cloaked shape on the floor.

Yuffie screamed.

Kai knelt down. "Vincent..."

He touched the man's forehead. "You'll be remembered... as a hero, Vincent Valentine."

"Is he dead?" Tifa's voice was quavering.

"No one... nothing can survive that spell... He knew. He took it... for you."

He could not make himself feel sadness. All he felt was emptiness.

Yuffie screamed.

And Vincent stirred.

Kai was on his feet even before he realised it, a step away from the shape-changer. "Impossible!"

"To Chaos..." Vincent spoke, his voice barely audible, "...that was... nothing." He sat up. "Yuffie!"

As he spoke, her scream was cut off, replaced by silent, gasping sobs. Vincent stood up, turning his red eyes on the Shinobi.

"Go," he hissed. "Go! If you want to stop Kane... you must go. Now!" He pointed to the door.

They did not question his order - for it was an order, seemingly impossible to obey.

They headed for the door. Even before they started walking, Vincent dropped to his knees, enfolding the shaking girl in his arms, rocking her gently back and forth.

The door opened at Kai's touch.

"I remembered... I remembered!" Yuffie whispered as she clung to Vincent with strength born out of desperation. "Wutai... the killing! I remember her! Vincent... I don't want to remember this! I don't want to remember!" She started crying again, burying her head against Vincent's chest. "I don't want to remember this!"

I know... I know so well... He stroked her hair comfortingly, speaking softly. "Hush. You can make your way through this, Yuffie. You have the strength."

"But.. I don't... want to remember this! All this blood... all this death..." As if speaking of them made the memories clearer, she cried harder, her grip on him tightening.

Vincent knew that Yuffie's strength was not enough to hurt him. Seeing her broken like this did hurt, tearing up old wounds in his heart... or what was left of his heart. Tearing up old wounds, and cutting new ones. Deep wounds.

And they hurt. Oh, how they hurt.

"You will be strong," he told her. "You must. The strength is inside you... Find it. Use it."

The words were empty.

He fell silent.

Sometimes, one has to realise that it is what is beyond the words that is important.

Words have limits. Much as they can hurt, or heal, there will always be times when words reach their limit; when words become useless, leaden weights, holding you down.

The heart knows no such boundaries.

For Vincent, the words had reached their limit. All he could do now was to stay with her... stay, hold her, comfort her...

And hope that somewhere deep inside, she would know what was in his heart, beyond the confines of words.

"What is... happening in here?"

Tifa's question went unanswered. They all asked themselves the same question, and no one could answer it.

Kane was seated on the Materia throne in the absolute centre of the room, hands on the armrests, eyes closed, appearing to the world to be sleeping. Power swirled around him, the greenish blue of Lifestream mixed with something else, different but likewise powerful. Cloud's Ultima Weapon, half its blade encased in a golden block of metal, stood on the other side of the room, in one of the pentagram's points, glowing strangely blue; to its left, in the next point, was another sword, blazing pure white. Two of the other points held golden blocks like the ones supporting the swords, but empty. In the final point, the one closest to the door and to the right...

Kai spoke first. "Novo!"

Novo did not answer. A wind seemed to be blowing around him, tossing his clothes and silver hair about, hiding his face for the most of the time. They could see him looking at them, however; looking at them, with infinite sadness in his eyes. He knew, that much they could see; knew everything that had happened.

No one could feel pride or joy over their victory. They knew what he felt, and although he was their enemy, although he would most likely try to kill them if given a chance, they suffered with him.

Novo...

He could hear the voice, but did not bother to answer.

Novo! The circle is completed... the power I need has gathered... Dispose of these intruders. Novo... obey me!

Something tugged at his consciousness...

Obey me, Novo... You must do as I say! Listen to my voice, Novo, and obey...

He fell. The world returned, and he saw his enemies standing there, so near that he could almost touch them...

"Novo."

Huh?

"Novo, can you hear me?"

...Kai.

"Novo, Susanna is dead. Dead, do you understand? He can't hurt her anymore. You don't have to do as he says. Help me instead. Help me put an end to this... let's do it together, Novo."

Dead? You are indeed a fool... If she was not, I would know her life... but I don't. She is gone... I knew long before you did... Yes, Kane cannot harm her now... and his orders mean little to me... However... "I do not need an order to kill you, Kai. Yours was the hand that ended Susanna's life... and for that, you will die. Did you really believe that I would do otherwise?" Even though the storm of magic had died down, Novo's hair and clothes floated upwards, as if a wind was blowing from below. He was reaching for something that had always been there, as long as he could remember, always. It was a blinding ball of radiance, locked within his heart.

Locked.

Now he released it.

His eyes closed, he could not see the looks of astonishment and fear on his opponents' faces; he could only hear their gasps, and a softly murmured curse.

He no longer looked human. Having shed the disguise he had been maintaining for so long, he was now taller by a head than most normal men; moving with a cat-like grace never meant for mortals. His features seemed elfin; eyes slanted, ears drawn back and pointy; cheekbones high, teeth longer and sharper.

He opened his eyes. The men called Kai and Cid were standing in front of the others, one with magic blazing at his fingertips; the other wielding a weapon the power of which rivalled even the artefacts Kane had gathered for his spell.

They were not a threat to him. Novo rose from the floor, levitating easily; the deed as natural to him as walking. Magic surged within him, and he channelled it - like thus. Pure force exploded from the ground, disturbing the carefully painted marks on the floor and throwing the two men off their feet like ragdolls. Kai stumbled and fell on his back; the pilot recovered, spun and landed on his feet, spear pointed at Novo's chest. Meanwhile, Cloud and Tifa were circling around to get behind him... Novo smiled. How foolish... A gesture, and fire flashed; a wall of flames blocking the two humans' way. They jumped back to avoid getting burned, and Novo turned his attention on the lancer.

Cid was going for the sorcerer's heart, his aim flawless. Had Novo been there, he would have died. However, the mage had vanished; Cid's weapon pierced only air, and the pilot slid on the smooth floor, the expected impact failing to happen. Before he could recover sufficiently, a blast slammed into his shoulder, spinning him around and throwing him into the wall. Coloured lights flashed before his eyes as his head struck the stone, and Cid slid down, struggling and failing to stay awake.

Novo turned around again, barely dodging a bolt of lightning from Kai's hand, shielding off another spell, a simple fireblast, from the spiky-haired mercenary.

He bared his teeth in a mirthless smile. "Kai..."

"Novo." Kai did not seem afraid, although he must surely know he was outmatched; that Novo had several times his strength.

Novo did not hesitate. His hand shot out; lightning crackled around the black-clad wizard. Kai gasped, falling to his knees, putting one hand to the ground to keep himself up. "Novo..."

"It is your turn now..." Seeing them advance towards him, Novo blocked Cloud and Tifa's advance with another wall of fire, locking the two sorcerers in a separate part of the great room. "I will end this now..."

"Novo... it was not... my wish to... fight," Kai managed, holding his chest. Blood dribbled down his chin as he spoke. "You... chose to fight. No... not me."

"You are deluding yourself!" Novo snapped. "It was your choice as well; yours, as much as mine! If you had not come here... If you had staid away from us! If you had staid away, nothing of this would have happened!" He almost shouted the last sentence. Now he lowered his voice again, almost to the point where Kai could not hear it. "You chose to come here. You chose to kill Susanna. It was your choice, Kai... Always your choice. I..."

But whatever Novo was going to say, he never got to say it. Suddenly, a strange wind pushed the wall of fire towards them, ripping it into pieces, and threw the two sorcerers against the wall; held them against the smooth stone surface. Try as they might, they could not break loose.

Once the firewall had collapsed, they could see that Cloud and Tifa were pushed against the wall as well, close to the box that held Ultima Weapon. Cloud must have tried to retrieve his sword, but the blade was still stuck inside the golden block.

"I think that is quite enough."

That was Kane's voice; calm and reasonable, as usual.

"I believe you have done quite enough."

Kane stood up. His gaze passed over the four intruders and Novo - and with it, a burning sensation, as if the man's eyes radiated intense heat.

"Your fight has thrown my spell out of balance. It was not an immediate failure... for I can see. Not completely, but some of my sight has returned to me..."

As he looked at them, they saw that his eyes were no longer black. They were blue; not Mako, but a very human kind of blue.

"I can see..."

There was a pause.

"Yes, I can see... But your interference may have deprived me of my last chance to fully restore my body. Therefore..." The wind suddenly increased in strength, pressing the five harder against the wall. "Therefore, I will kill you," he stated simply.

No one doubted that he could.

Kane smiled. He could see them - dark blurs, against the white of the marble walls. The artefacts had survived. He only had to kill these humans... and cast the spell again. It could be done.

But first...

He raised his right hand. One of the golden boxes split open, the sword inside spinning lazily in empty air. The silver blade shimmered with an inner light; the golden hilt reflected and enhanced the glow, encasing the weapon in a golden-silvery white cocoon.

Kane moved his hand slightly. The sword stopped spinning and shot towards him, the hilt slapping into the palm of his hand. His fingers closed around it...

"This sword... is Excalibur," he proclaimed. "By retrieving it from its ancient resting place, I gained more power than I believed possible. What could be more fitting... than destroying you all with this very blade?"

"Master..." Novo hissed, struggling against the magical wind.

Kane smiled at him. "Yes, my Novo. Death is coming to you, as well. You are no longer needed. Perhaps... you should go first?"

"You... you will destroy... yourself," the silver-haired sorcerer said slowly. "Master... cease this... at once!"

Kane closed his eyes. "Darkness..." He opened them again. "Light. I don't need you anymore. You would only get in my way... so I have to remove you. Easy to hear it, isn't it? I wonder if it's as easy to experience... Shall we find out, Novo?"

"You are insane!" Kai spat. Then he coughed. Think I'm... dying. "You can't think you'll get away with this!" Have to distract him... long enough...

Kane smiled again. "You are pitiful... my son. You were the first I created... and you turned against me. You, my firstborn! I will kill you last, Kai..."

He raised Excalibur. "But you, Novo... you are first. Look into my eyes, Novo... and see your death!"

The sword started its descent. Novo struggled in vain against the mage-wind holding him to the wall.

Kai's world slowed down again, for the last time.

So... I'm dying...

The sword glinted, almost frozen in motion. Novo's beautiful, alien-cast features betrayed no fear... only guilt, sorrow, and anger.

Maybe he has a chance...

I won't make it that far. That last spell... It had been more than simple lightning. He was badly wounded; worse than he could heal.

Then maybe... I can do one last thing...

"Novo! Finish it!"

Time returned. The sword was a blur, cutting through the air on its way to Novo's heart.

But the mind is faster then the hand.

To the other four, it looked as if Kai had turned into pure light.

The sword came closer...

The light-shape that had been Kai thinned... the light spiralling towards Kane...

And closer...

The light flashed into a laser-like ray...

And closer... piercing skin, flesh...

The light struck. Kane screamed in pain and surprise as the air seemed to ignite around him, fiery explosions pummelling him mercilessly. Blood and bone fragments peppered Novo, who fell to the ground, the wind that had been holding him to the wall fading and disappearing. Kane, too, fell; his right arm a bloody stump, torn off just above the elbow.

Excalibur tumbled through the air...

Kane rose. He looked down at his severed arm, then at the place where Kai had been, and then laughed.

Everything seemed to freeze at that sound. The only one moving was Kane, standing there, just laughing.

"That young... fool."

He held up his left hand, fingers spread, in front of his face. "Young fool!" he repeated, and laughed again. "It seems... the more my body suffers... the stronger my mind. The fool! He could not have realised... the power he released... all I needed!" Kane was overcome by laughter again. "It was all I needed... to see!" Everything was clear - he could see colours, shapes... everything! How he had done it, he did not know... but Kai's dying spell had released an incredible amount of magical power, and some of it had drained into Kane himself.

And he could see.

He kept laughing, starting to levitate, higher and higher.

There was a clink! as Excalibur embedded itself in the floor. Kane floated higher... and higher...

"Stop!" Novo whispered. "Must... stop!" The spell, and the shock of losing his arm, must have destroyed what reason Kane had had left. Novo could feel the spark of reason fleeing him even as he spoke. "Mas... Kane! Stop!" Novo struggled to his feet. He was so weak... weak! The sword had cut his heart... barely scratched it, but strength was draining away from him. Still, he had the strength to levitate -

Kane gestured. Invisible force slammed into Novo's battered body, throwing him to the floor. Novo fell, and did not move again.

Tifa gasped. Cloud's knife fell on the floor, tinkling against the stone. Then all was silent.

The silence lasted for what seemed like hours. Cloud and Tifa stood helpless, looking up towards the mage. Kane looked back, a look of amusement on his face; the glint of madness in his eyes.

Then the door slammed open. Three pairs of eyes turned to see...

They had been expecting Vincent. Instead, Yuffie stood in the door, a boomerang ready in her hand. The expression on her face was no longer one of despair. All that was visible there now was rage. Vincent stood behind her, pistol in hand. His features were, as always, unreadable, but his red eyes glowed with what must be interpreted as anger.

"So..." he whispered. "You are Kane. You are the one behind all this."

Kane smirked. "Yes," he hissed, "I am Kane... I am the one behind all of this!"

"You ordered that attack on Wutai..." Yuffie said.

Kane nodded energetically. "Yes... I rather believe I did..."

"Bastard!" She had thrown the boomerang so fast that only Vincent had seen her hand move. The weapon was halfway through the air before Kane could react.

Raising a shield of pure mental force in the way of the spinning weapon, he laughed.

Then his laughter stopped abruptly as the screen shattered; the weapon bursting into pale, blue fire. Kane dispelled his levitation spell, allowing gravity to pull him down, but the boomerang reversed its direction, heading down. Kane tried to dodge again, re-casting the spell of flight, but the weapon clipped his shoulder, near his now-useless right arm. Yuffie's hand shot out to catch it as the boomerang returned to her, the pale flames licking her fingers but leaving no trace of their passing. Kane staggered backwards, sinking slowly towards the ground.

"You will... pay for that," he promised.

"You murderer!" Yuffie threw the boomerang again. Kane, now aware of the power coming towards him, snapped his fingers, and disappeared, only to reappear quite a bit to the right, out of the weapon's way. The boomerang spiralled to the ground, only to be caught by Yuffie. "Die!" She threw again, and Kane teleported out of the way again, smiling.

"Calm down, Yuffie." Vincent laid his hand on her shoulder. "Calm. Use the Materia I gave you..."

Yuffie snarled something wordless, bringing up a special green Materia orb. "This is for Wutai!" she shouted, thrusting the Materia at Kane. A green ball of flame sped towards the one-armed sorcerer, exploding into a raging inferno just as it reached him.

Kane was trapped in the middle. There was no way he could dodge an attack of that kind, and the magic slammed into his defensive shields like a battering-ram. Kane floated upwards, carried on the spell's force, his clothes and skin tearing.

As great as the spell's power was, however, it was not enough to finish him off. Too soon, it passed, the raging inferno of green fire smashing through the roof, showering everyone inside with stone fragments. Vincent hurriedly cast a shielding spell, deflecting most of the falling debris. Kane merely watched as his own shield pulverised everything that touched it.

"Cloud! Tifa!" Vincent hissed. "Look to Novo and Cid! We will try to keep him occupied!"

"Got it!" Cloud replied, running over to where the pilot and the silver-haired mage lay. "Tifa! Check Novo's wounds," he commanded, at the same time touching the healing Materia and sending a substantial pulse of healing energy into Cid. The pilot did not seem badly wounded, but Cloud needed to be certain.

"Look at this!" Tifa called. "He's... he's..."

Cloud picked up the sword Kane had called Excalibur on the way as he headed over to where Tifa was kneeling next to the unconscious Novo. "What is it?" he asked, holding the sword up. Behind him, a powerful spell lanced from above, only to be shattered by a magic shield.

"It's nothing like that! Look... look!"

Cloud looked.

Novo was turning back into a child. He had a few physical wounds - most notably, a deep but short cut over his heart.

"I'll..." Cloud raised the Materia, but hesitated. Tifa nodded; he nodded back, and completed the spell. Faint bluish-green light floated into the boy's wounds, seeming to merge with his flesh, regenerating it. Within seconds, Novo's wounds were healed... and Cloud turned to watch Cid. As the room shook from another burst of Ultima, the pilot slowly sat up, rubbing the back of his head.

"Shit!" he muttered. "What the hell happened?"

"We're fighting Kane!" Cloud said. "Kai... died to break Kane's spell... Kane's wounded, but he's still strong! We must help..."

Cid silenced him with a wave of his hand. The Venus Gospel had fallen near him; Cid now took it in his hands and used it as support to get to his feet. "Kane's up there, huh..." Kane cast some kind of fire spell, and Vincent countered it with ice; the two blasts cancelled each other out, fizzling and fading into nothing with a loud hiss.

"You're the only one who could get that far..." Cloud shouted over the noise. "Can you do it?"

"No way!" Cid shook his head. "That fucker's at least twenty metres up! I couldn't get that high if my life depended on it!"

"All our lives may depend on it!" Tifa told him. "Cid, you've got to try! No one else can reach him..."

Cid flinched as a violent explosion knocked a large part of the wall out. "Very well..."

"You'll do it?" she asked. He shrugged.

"Can't do more than try... but still - yeah, I will try."

Tifa and Cloud backed away as Cid squinted at the hovering sorcerer, took aim, and started gathering power for the jump.

Cid had tried to explain to them what he did. No one had ever understood what he was saying; except maybe for Red and Vincent, but they had not bothered to ask in the first place, so he had no way of knowing. In simple words, he reached out with his mind and gathered energy from the air and the earth beneath him, then projected himself away from that energy. It seemed simple enough to him, but the others seemed incapable of grasping the idea.

He had recently discovered that he did not need to use that power to go up. He could use it to project himself in any direction - which was what he had done in the Forgotten City, during the fight with Novo.

This time, however, he wanted to go up. And so, as soon as he had gathered all the power he could hold, he let it propel him upwards, towards his enemy...

Nothing else moved while the pilot shot towards the flying wizard; Vincent and Yuffie ceasing their attacks as to not hit Cid, and Kane not bothering to strike at this insignificant attacker, who he knew was no threat.

He was right. Cid reached high, higher than he had expected to reach - but that still was not enough to reach Kane. After ten metres, he felt the power fading; after fifteen, it was gone. He hung there for a split second before gravity understood what was happening and started to pull him down towards the ground again.

He saw Kane smiling at him as he started his descent.

He was well aware of the danger. He had spent a great part of his strength going up. That meant, he had almost nothing left to cushion his landing. However, Cid chose to ignore this fact for the time being, and instead of worrying about his own safety, he channelled his last power into his hands, and threw his spear.

Kane had no time to parry. The weapon, slightly off-balance since Cid had thrown it while falling, cut a deep furrow across his chest, scraping his ribs, and just barely missed his throat. Kane, surprised, lost hold of his levitation spell, fell, and recovered, starting to rise again. Cid, meanwhile, fell towards the floor... which looked very hard to him, seeing as he was falling with no way to slow down.

He hadn't needed to worry. As the spell-fight had stopped, Vincent had changed his shape, and now Chaos took flight. The demon expertly caught Cid in the air and returned to the ground, where he set the pilot down, and immediately took off again.

Kane watched him approach, with a small smile on his face.

"The legendary Chaos..." he said slowly. "So you think you are a match for me, demon?"

Vincent, of course, did not bother to answer. He had kept the Ultima Materia in his hand while he Changed; now he unleashed the spell at close range.

At close ranger, however, he could clearly see the bubble of calm, undisturbed air around the sorcerer. Outside it, a roaring inferno of greenish flame... and inside, nothing.

A shield... A very powerful one...

Still, he was not limited to magic. Dropping the Materia, letting it fall to the floor, he readied his claws... and Kane laughed, a sound even Vincent could not hear through the subsiding rage of the Ultima spell. The sorcerer rose higher through the air, floating out of the demolished tower.

Well outside, he stopped and turned to look at Vincent.

"So you've followed me this far, eh?"

Vincent remained silent, beating his wings and waiting.

"I am not a fool, whoever you are. Do you expect me to stay and fight you?" He grinned. "No, I'm not that stupid. Like this -" He indicated his right arm, or what was left of it "- and weaponless, I would stand no chance. So, if you don't mind, I think I'll let someone else do the fighting for me..." He dug in a pocket with his left hand, finally bringing up a red Materia orb. Vincent dove for his enemy... but it was already too late. "Come forth!" Kane commanded.

The air filled with mist. Vincent flapped his wings to stop his advance, and backed off, observing the mist.

It was already solidifying...

...into the shape of a dragon.

A white dragon... This must be the beast Godo spoke of. Then this dragon was weaker than Leviathan; not very much so, but still weaker. That was good... All Espers were powerful, certainly, but some were more so than others.

Now, all that remained was to find out whether his own powers were enough to defeat this dragon... while trying to survive the spells that Kane would no doubt be throwing in his direction during the fight.

"Destroy him, Dragon of Mist!" Kane commanded.

The dragon hesitated.

"Destroy him!"

The command struck like a whiplash; even Vincent could feel it.

What... Who can have the power to control an Esper like this...?

He had never heard of a human actually controlling an Esper. The opposite had been known to happen, if exceedingly rarely so, but still...

His thoughts were interrupted as the dragon finally submitted to Kane's command and attacked. Vincent folded his wings and dropped towards the ground as a bolt of lightning burned through the air where he had been. Chaos' powers or not; he did not want to get in the way of something like that.

As soon as the attack passed him, he opened his wings again, gliding under the dragon. Before the Esper had a chance to react, he raked it across the chest and stomach with his knife-sharp claws; red blood splashed him, and the dragon roared in anger and pain, turning sharply to breathe another lightning bolt at him. Vincent dodged, but that brought him inside Kane's reach, and the sorcerer hurled a ball of ice at his back. The spell struck, and Vincent felt a sharp pain between his wings.

The next thing he knew, he was falling. Shaking himself, he brought his wings into order, catching the air to bring him higher again. The dragon dove towards him, spitting lightning and slashing with its claws. Chaos waited until the Esper was just a couple of metres away, then launched himself forwards, grabbing the dragon's snout and slashing at its eyes with his claws, but the dragon seemed to have anticipated something like that; it shook its head and snapped its jaws, almost catching Vincent's leg between its teeth. The ex-Turk let go and fell back, awaiting the dragon's next move.

It didn't come. Esper and demon looked each other in the eyes, and Vincent felt...

"Help..."

What? "Help... me..."

"Dragon..."

"Fight! Destroy him, you fool!" Kane shouted, and, as the dragon still hesitated, launched a Flare spell at Vincent. The demon's hide provided some protection from the flames, but the impact still hurt; too much for Vincent's taste. He turned slightly, trying to observe both the dragon and the mage at the same time. Too much here... Must fight them one at a time, he realised.

But then, there was no one there; no one except for the crazy old mage and his Esper slave.

Maybe then he could risk it...

Vincent turned around fully, ignoring the dragon for the moment, and raised his hand. "Kane... burn!"

Flames leapt from his hand, slamming into the mage's shield. Kane backed away, a look of surprise on his face. Vincent followed his attack up with another volley of flames, striking at the man's shield like hail against a roof. Kane staggered and sagged, sinking slowly towards the ground far below them. Allowing himself to sink lower, Vincent followed, throwing a third flame barrage towards the sorcerer. Kane stopped his descent and held out his hand; the shield seemed to focus into one point, a barrier only large enough to ward off Vincent's flame spell.

Chaos backed off. He is weakening... But that did not mean he was defeated. And there was still the matter of the dragon... Vincent looked up. But the dragon... It was just hovering in the same place, massive wings beating, watching the battle.

This clearly irritated Kane. He occasionally glared angrily at the Esper, but never for long; never long enough to give Vincent an opening.

Something happened in the air. Then, suddenly, Kane staggered backwards, and his slow descent speeded up somewhat. The dragon bared its fangs and growled, bright bluish light flickering behind the dagger-sharp teeth.

A battle...?

That meant Kane's control over the dragon was slipping... Maybe, if he waited long enough, the Esper would break free, and possibly help him... Vincent dismissed the thought as soon as it appeared. It was useless... since he did not know how long he would have to wait, or if the dragon would indeed turn on Kane... or if he could survive long enough by just waiting.

That last thought was a major problem, he realised as Kane clenched his fist, mumbled a few words, and thrust his hand, palm up, towards Chaos. A rainbow of colours exploded towards him, and Vincent dodged and ducked, but was too slow. The ray struck him a glancing blow on the shoulder, and he tumbled towards the ground, dazed... Inside him, Chaos' spirit fought to wrest the control of his body from Vincent as it felt its host weakening; Vincent fought it down with a supreme effort of will, at the same time breaking his fall by aligning Chaos' wings properly, and started to rise again, slowly and painfully. Dark blood trickled down his arm. The wound was too far down his back for him to be able to see it, but he could tell it was serious... but even a wound that would be fatal to a normal human might not be enough to slow Chaos down.

He ignored the pain. It was hard, but he was a master of the art. And slowly, the two combatants closed in on each other again...

"Do you think he'll make it?" Tifa asked.

No one answered. Cloud was helping Cid sit up; the pilot was cursing under his breath, and not paying heed to anything else. Yuffie was standing next to the Materia throne, her knuckles whitening as she gripped her boomerang; staring up into the sky, even though there was nothing there to see. Tifa sighed. "What are we going to do?" she tried.

"Not a whole bloody lot we freakin' can do, is there?" Cid spat. "Shit! Shit, shit and shit!" He held out his hand. Venus Gospel, which had fallen on the floor in the other end of the room, shuddered, and leaped to him, the haft of the spear slamming into the pilot's palm. At the same time, the long blade almost decapitated Cloud; he dove to the floor to avoid the edge, which whistled as it sped through the air.

He was not the only one who was surprised. "Fuck!" the pilot exclaimed, throwing the spear to the ground.

"When did you learn to do that?" Tifa asked as Cloud picked himself off the floor.

"Never knew I had learned it!" Cid blurted out. "I mean, I... Shit! we don't have time to do this!" He grabbed the spear again, and leaped to his feet, again using the weapon to steady himself. "Why are we sitting around here? Get a damn move on!"

"Cid, Vincent is flying. So is Kane. We can't follow them up there..." Tifa looked up and past he jagged remains of the marble walls. "So what else can we do?"

Yes, what else indeed? Cid slumped back against the wall, while Cloud shook his head sadly.

Tifa sighed again.

And Yuffie kept standing where she was, motionless, eyes boring deep into the blue sky over them.

Mist overlooked the battle below her with impassive green eyes - the only speck of colour on the otherwise white dragon.

She was worried. How long had it been since the last time?

Beneath her, one great evil faced another evil. This was all well - after all, if evil was necessary, what better way for this evil to occupy itself, than to fight other evil?

The problem was, she was uncertain. Uncertain about which of these evils was the most powerful one. Which one was the most evil.

She should destroy both of them. But that was far beyond her power; to fight both these evils would surely result in her defeat, her 'death'.

That meant, she would have to deal with the winner.

That presented yet another problem. If the mage won, the one who had held her captive... would she be able to escape his clutches this time?

But his power was nothing compared to the other one...

Mist felt fear - fear! - at the sight.

The demon's appearance was not, in itself, formidable. There were many beings in the world whose appearance was more awe-inspiring than Chaos.

It was not the appearance that frightened her.

Unlike the man who possessed the power at the moment, Mist knew the true power of Chaos.

Now, even being an Esper, even being a dragon, she did something as human as wish that she had never heard of this being.

Chaos was a being created from the powers of the elements. Earth, Fire, Air, and Water... All tainted by the evil of the first human who had ever wielded the power, Garland, whose name lived on in the Espers' memories; a constant reminder of what might happen if such power fell into the wrong hands.

Chaos was evil.

Mist's only consolation was the fact that although evil was the Chaos power' nature, it did not have to be the wielder's. And if the wielder was strong enough, if he was good, then even Chaos would have to submit to his wishes.

But the chances were slim, to say the least.

And so, Mist continued watching... and preparing.

Vincent dodged Kane's next attack, a rainbow-coloured ray similar to the last one. It passed so close he could feel the wind stir.

Enough was enough. He would have to do more... much more.

He muttered a short incantation. Kane's eyes seemed to grow larger as the demon finished its spell...

This was one of Vincent's most well-guarded secrets. Along with the power to change his body into Chaos', and he spirit of the demon inhabiting his heart, Vincent had also received something else.

This 'else' was the ability to control true magic.

It was a part of Chaos' power. When he inherited one, he got the other - there was no way around it. He rarely used the latter gift, though - even though it was, in fact, a gift, not - as he thought of the Chaos power - a curse. Still, he had the power - and now it might just be what he needed.

Red light flickered around his hands. Instinctively, he thrust them at the robed magician. Dark flames shot from his fingertips, radiating intense heat, and splashed against Kane's hastily-gathered shield, parting before the seemingly impenetrable mental barrier, and finally faded out into nothingness.

"So you are a mage, as well," Kane said conversationally. "Ah. I might have known."

Then he snapped his fingers and threw a bolt of lightning, apparently without even concentrating. Vincent, surprised, took the bolt in the chest, and was thrown back, but as it had been hastily constructed, the bolt was weak and did not cause him much trouble.

That did not mean it did not hurt. Again, he had to fight a battle inside his mind instead of outside it, as Chaos once more tried to take control, and Kane seized the opportunity to concentrate on his next spell. He launched it just as Vincent emerged victorious from his battle with Chaos' mind, forcing the ex-Turk to frantically try to dodge.

But for the first time, Vincent completely failed to avoid the spell. Kane had had the time to prepare fully, and the pain was excruciating as Kane's Ultima ignited the air around him. The green flames, so much more than normal fire, threatened to tear him to pieces; burning but not burning, clawing at both his mind and his body. He felt something break, and one wing suddenly hung limply by his side.

He fell.

Kane's laughter followed him, and suddenly, all Vincent knew was darkness, as a power much older and stronger than either him or his opponent tore its way through his consciousness and seized control-

High above the battle, Mist's wings missed a beat. This power...? she wondered as she struggled to regain control. It must be... Chaos. But why is it that it surfaces now, after all that...

Sadly, she had no answer.

Yuffie gasped and fell to her knees. "V...vince...nt," she managed.

"Yuffie? What happened?" Tifa ran over to the shinobi and knelt down next to her. "Yuffie! Are you all right?"

"...no!" Yuffie whispered. "I'm... not!"

As if all this was not enough... "Cloud," Tifa commanded, "I need the healing Materia."

"Not... that. It's not... that." Yuffie struggled against the cloud of darkness that threatened to consume her, but could do nothing but halt its advance. "It's... Chaos!"

"Chaos? Vincent?" Tifa asked, bewildered. "Is this his doing? But why?"

Yuffie tried to answer. No, she wanted to say, and yes! It is Chaos... but not Vincent! Not Vincent - never, ever Vincent...

She owed him her life.

"Vincent!" she cried. "Vincent!"

But he did not answer.

Slowly, she sank deeper into the darkness... and knew that this time, if she let it swallow her, there would be no way out.

"Vincent!"

Who was that...?

He recognised this darkness... this un-light of evil.

He had carried it inside for a long time. Ever since that day...

No... Cannot... let it end like that. Chaos was in control. He would have known even without the darkness. Chaos... alive, under its own control...

It could destroy the Planet. Sephiroth had been nothing to what this, the most ancient of evils could do.

If he let this happen, he would have failed. He would have failed them all.

Aerith...

Yuffie...

Lucrecia!

"Never!"

The light came from out of nowhere; suddenly it was just there. He gathered it about him, and it burned through the darkness, leaving tattered shreds of darkness hanging in its wake, reaching the surface... breaching it-

"Kane..."

"He's awake! Tifa, Cid, ready..."

Momentarily forgetting about Yuffie, they turned to face their enemy. After all, if they ignored him to tend to their wounded, they could all end up needing healing. "Master... Kane..." Novo tried to open his eyes. Dried blood held them shut, and he clawed at his face, scraping the blood away.

Finally... He opened his eyes. "Kai..." He coughed. "Kane!" The memories struck him, and he sat up - only to feel a sharp blade against his chest.

"Not so fast," someone ordered. It was the bearded man with the spear... and that spear was what he had felt. Novo looked up at the two men and one woman standing around him. The men were holding weapons - the spear, Venus Gospel, and Excalibur. The woman held a piece of Materia, practically crackling with power.

No...

"Please... let me..." He tried to rise. The spear stabbed painfully into his skin, and he fell back. "I am not a threat to you!" he pleaded. "Just let me get up."

The man with the spear sneered at him. "You wish. Give me half a reason to trust you."

"I know... my master has lost control," Novo whispered. "He drew more power than he could hold... it drove him insane! I must... help him."

"You're telling us you want to help our enemy?" It was the spiky-haired man. Novo could clearly hear the confusion in his voice. "We are threatening your life, and you tell us you intend to fight for our enemy? Who would do such a thing?"

"I would." Novo's voice sparkled with authority. "I do not intend to fight for my former Master. What he does now... what he is now... is not Kane."

Novo fixed the swordsman with his gaze. "I intend to bring him out of his madness," he stated, "even if it means I have to kill him to do it. I owe him that much."

Cloud looked down, at the boy who was not a boy. "Why should I trust you?" he asked finally; a simple question indeed, Novo thought, but oh so hard to answer.

"Because I tell you so," he said.

This was not a good answer, he knew, but it was the best he could find.

"That's not even half a reason," Cid said. He increased the pressure slightly, the spear cutting into Novo's skin. "I think we should just kill him..."

"That would make you worse than we have ever been," the silver-haired boy told him.

"Have I ever told you I'm doing this because you're bad?" Cid countered. "I could be doing this for fun for all you know!" To Cid's dismay, he was enjoying himself. This... creature... had caused him so much trouble... And now it was at his mercy. It would be easy, to just -

But he's right... damn him. Can't do it.

He lowered the spear. "Get up, damn you!" he shouted. Cloud and Tifa spun around, surprised, and Novo jumped back, equally surprised.

"Cid, what are you doing?" Tifa demanded, fumbling with her Materia. "We can't just let him go!"

"Then what?" the pilot counterdemanded. "What are we going to do? Stay here and point sharp things at him? Kill him? You go ahead, Tifa. I'm going to help Vincent... if I can." And with that, Cid headed for the door, kicked it open, and was gone.

Tifa and Cloud looked at each other, then stepped back. "Okay," Tifa sighed. "You can get up... but keep in sight, get it?"

"I understand completely," Novo replied as he rose to his feet. "However... I cannot comply." Before either Tifa or Cloud could react, he twisted reality around himself, and vanished in a flash of blue light.

Chaos roared. Its flight halted, it beat its wings furiously, clawing at the air as the mental duel climaxed. The roar intensified, and the stone building shook.

Novo almost fell as he landed on top of the broken tower walls. He stared at the scene in awe -

Kane had been fleeing, knowing he had no chance against the demon. Now he stopped and turned, looking at his adversary.

"Kane... Master"

"Novo." The sorcerer turned to his former servant. "Have you, too, come to fight me?"

"No." The silver-haired man, once more having abandoned his childlike guise, shook his head. "I have come to help you."

"Help me... Help me?" He laughed. "I don't need help anymore, Novo! Never again!"

"You are dying, Master. Please, stop this."

Vincent heard the words as through a thick blanket. Chaos' will struggled against his, but now he knew he was going to win.

Chaos roared again, in wordless anger. Then, suddenly, the demon was gone; replaced by a man, pale and dark-haired, clad in black and red.

He fell...

She had seen enough. The battles had told her everything she needed to know, and now Mist made her move. Her body, dissolved into mist, started to reform, and she dove...

The man was unconscious when she reached him, not fully ten metres above ground. Gravity tugging at her, she pulled back, rising again, carefully holding the dark-haired man in her claws.

"Damn!" Tifa spat. "What the hell..."

"I wonder if he lied... or if he told the truth," Cloud muttered. He lowered the sword, letting its point rest against the floor. "We..."

Suddenly, Tifa gasped. "Cloud!" she exclaimed. "Yuffie! She's... gone!"

"Gone?" He spun around. There was no trace of Yuffie anywhere. "Did he take her?"

"Novo? No, I don't think so..." She shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe he did. What are we going to do now?"

"Maybe we should follow Cid..."

"Do you know the way out?"

"...no."

Unexpectedly, she smiled. "Me neither. Come on, Cloud... let's go."

"Cid... this way."

He whirled around, holding the Venus Gospel up do deflect an attack that he knew would not come. He recognised the voice. "Yuffie? What are you doing?"

"I'm going to help Vincent." She seemed strangely calm. "This is the way out. Follow me."

"You sure?" he asked as he jogged along.

"Yes."

Cid frowned. Not like her at all... Maybe...

Nah... But he would be careful, nevertheless. Very careful.

Yuffie ran. She could feel the exit - never mind how, but she felt it, and that was all she needed to know. This way... then that... now this way... and this... and finally, the open door. She slowed down, and heard Cid, behind her, do the same, panting and wheezing. Walking slowly towards the opening, she heard him mutter angrily, but paid it no heed; it was what was outside that mattered now.

She was just in time to see the white dragon swoop down from the sky, barely catch Vincent before he struck the ground, and vanish behind the building, probably landing somewhere to put the shape-changer down.

She breathed a sigh of relief. What she had felt... She wondered what would happen to her if he died.

Some things were probably better left unsaid.

She looked up... Novo? He had been in the tower... hadn't he? "Cid!"

"Yeah... what?" Cid asked.

"Get me up on the roof! Quickly!"

He wanted to ask, but something told him that this was not the time. Instead, he put one arm around her waist, gathered power for the jump, and leaped.

The wall was high, but he cleared it easily. However, they soon found that the roof was not one, single flat area, but something that looked rather akin to a labyrinth where one walked on top of the walls themselves; there was no wonder the interior passages were so complicated. Yuffie thought the entire setup seemed... familiar, somehow. But this was neither the time nor the place to think of that. "Can you get us across?" she asked Cid, just as he put her down.

He glared at her. "When this is over," he said, "I expect an explanation. But for now..." He shook his head. "Just hold on to something."

They landed, quite roughly, on the other side of the building some ten seconds later. Cid let go of Yuffie, leaned his spear against the wall, and sank down with his back to that very wall. In seconds, he seemed to have aged several years. "You go ahead... alone," he hissed. "I've got to... rest for a while. Go... ahead."

Yuffie looked down at him, with a serious expression on her face. "Thank you, Cid."

He waved her thanks away. "Get... going. Help him."

She nodded, and turned to leave.

"Be careful, okay?" he called after her.

She turned and nodded, then resumed walking.

"L...ucrecia?"

"No. My name is not Lucrecia... nor has it ever been."

But...

"I am... called Mist."

He opened his eyes. The sky, and a silhouette, swam into focus -

No, not Lucrecia. But she was every bit as beautiful. The woman was fair-skinned and green-eyed, and her hair was white, although not from age. She was dressed in a simple sky-blue robe, which did nothing to diminish her beauty.

However...

"...Esper," he managed.

She nodded, and smiled. "Yes, that is true. I am... an Esper."

"You are... the one. The one who fought Leviathan at Wutai."

Another nod, but no smile, this time. "Yes," she said, sadly. "That is true."

"Why?"

Time slowed down. The question hung in the air.

"Because of my own weakness," she replied finally, and time returned to normal. "I was not strong enough to resist the mage, when he called me. Then he bound me to his magic, twisted my spirit to his desires. It is true that I attacked Wutai under his command. It was not, however, my own will to do so." She looked down. "By Bahamut's fire... He even controlled my allegiances... I was glad to serve him!" Her voice did not change, but Vincent could feel anger radiating from her.

"Then... you spoke to the sorcerer." He meant Kai, and she knew; she nodded.

"Yes. I tried to reach him, to warn him... To make him stop what was about to happen. I... failed." The luminous green eyes dimmed with unshed tears. "Most Espers care little for humans. I, also, do not hold humankind very dear... But to participate in meaningless slaughter..."

"...is wrong," he finished. "I know. Why did you save me?"

"I did not save you. All I did was prevent your death."

"I see." And he did; better than words could explain.

"But why? I do not know. I felt it was the right thing to do. I pray I am not mistaken..."

"I cannot tell."

Esper and human looked at each other for a few moments, and then, as one, they both averted their eyes.

"I see," she said, echoing his words. "What will you do now?"

"I do not know." Something -

He sat up. "Yuffie! Do not -"

Too late. The boomerang was in the air even before the words left his mouth.

Time slowed down again. Vincent's hand shot out, golden-gloved fingers closing around steel. Time resumed, and the force of the throw slammed into him, but his hand never budged. "Yuffie. This is not Susanna."

"Vincent!" came the ninja's voice from somewhere above and to his right. "Vincent! Are you all right?"

He did not even try to answer. What use was it? He did not know. What was 'all right' for him, these days? Alive? Under his own control, hanging on by a thread? "Kane..." he said instead. "Where is Kane?"

"Over the roof! He's talking to Novo... I don't know what's happening! He's... like..." She couldn't find any words.

"He may have gone insane," Mist whispered. "He attempted a spell of great potential, but lacked the strength... and released more power than he could bear. Or then... if he is really sane..." There was a short pause. "I do not know what would be worse," she finished.

"He is still... alive, at any rate," Vincent concluded, rising slowly, first to his knees, then to his feet.

"Stop!" The Esper stepped in front of him, holding out her arms. "You are not fighting him! You are too weak..."

He gently pushed her aside, effortlessly as if she had weighted less than a feather.

"It matters not," he said softly. "What matters... is Kane. Novo cannot fight him. I can."

"But..." she tried.

"No. I must go. I am grateful... lady Esper."

Novo fell to his knees. Coloured spots danced before his eyes; he was barely conscious. Kane spoke, near him but sounding very far away.

"You see, Novo... I do not need you. Your powers are nothing compared to mine! I've finally found what I'm looking for. I won't let you take it away from me!"

"Please..." The young mage hissed. "You are... dying! Please... let me... help! Your wounds..." His words were cut short as Kane lashed out with a spell, crashing down on his weakened shield. "P...lease..."

"Enough!" Kane snapped. "Be silent, or I will kill you! You don't understand anything! My dream - my greatest desire, fulfilled! I can see again! These wounds are nothing!" His voice became dangerously low as he continued. "If you, my dear 'son', had not decided to interfere... this would not have needed to happen." Then he laughed. "But it doesn't matter! Nothing matters. But now what, my dear Novo?"

Novo tried to raise his head. "M... Kane," he hissed.

"Now that I have all this," Kane continued, "what do you think I should do with it?"

Novo did not answer. He could not answer. The world spun in and out of focus... and Novo lapsed into unconsciousness.

Kane chuckled to himself as his former servant collapsed. "Ah... Novo... Novo," he said. "What would I have done without you?" The chuckle turned into laughter. "Maybe I should find out?" He raised his hand, preparing to destroy the silver-haired child... but changed his mind. What good would that do? The boy was not even awake to feel his last moments.

But there was something... something he wanted to do.

Someone he wanted to kill.

His powers were growing. Without doubt, he would soon be able to take on anything...

Even Chaos.

The dragon landed, surprisingly softly, on a portion of the roof that was comparatively large, allowing Vincent and Yuffie to slide off her back.

"Will you help us?" Vincent repeated the question he had asked only a short while earlier.

The dragon sighed, sending a thin tendril of blue smoke rising towards the heavens. "Yes," she said. "I will help you. But if Kane tries to control me again..."

"We will not let that happen." He laid a hand on her shoulder, then turned to the levitating sorcerer by the shattered tower. "Kane!" he called. "I am here."

He saw Kane turn to look at him. "Ah. So you are..." The magician did not raise his voice, and did not need to; they could hear him as clearly as if he had been standing next to them. "And your little friend as well... and the dragon. Well, well..."

"What have you done to the child?" Vincent demanded.

"The child? Oh, you mean Novo. Ah, I guess he is a child to you, no matter what else he is... Chaos."

Vincent shook his head. "I am not Chaos," he said. Just like Kane, he spoke softly. "Perhaps, I am not fully certain of what I am... but I know that much. I am not Chaos."

"Does it matter? You have the power. Use it! What use is power if you don't use it?" Kane lowered himself closer to the roof, coming to stand on a large block of stone that had fallen from the tower. "You have proven quite troublesome, my friend."

Vincent waited.

"You proved to be more than a match for me..." Kane continued. "Yes, very troublesome indeed. However... my magic grows. By the second, I draw more power from the Planet. Perhaps now, I have enough power to defeat you?"

"He does not seem mad."

"I know..." Mist seemed uncertain. "I may have... been mistaken. Maybe... he is just changing."

"I see."

"There is no need for that," Kane sneered. "You can speak out loud." He barked out a short laugh, and added, "I can hear you anyway..."

"He cannot hear this," Mist assured Vincent. "He can only see the energy patterns. Not even the most powerful Espers are able to hear such speech..."

"He seems very powerful..." In spite of himself, Vincent was starting to feel worried. Kane was drawing power from the Planet; Vincent, or perhaps it was Chaos, could sense his strength growing even as they spoke.

Still... there was something odd about that power...

"Kane is dying..." Mist whispered in his mind. "He is keeping himself alive... with the power of the Planet. As soon as he stops drawing the magic..."

"He has already drawn more power than I thought possible. Can he hold much more?"

"I... do not know. But, Vincent -"

"Enough!" A wave of pressure rolled out from Kane, slamming into the three. "Are you going to fight me... or are you not? I wanted to kill you, Chaos... but what use is it? What could I possibly gain from it?"

"Kane." Vincent did not seem disturbed by the spell. "What is it you want? Tell me this. What is it that you want so much, you are prepared to sacrifice your life to get it?"

Kane remained silent for a while, but slowly floated upwards, stopping about a metre above the roof.

"I want... peace," he said finally. For a short moment he looked very old, as if all his years had suddenly caught up with him. The look vanished again, just as swiftly as it had come, and he laughed softly. "I wanted my sight to be restored... I wanted my broken body to be whole again. I could have had all that. I almost did have all that! So is it any wonder, now..."

He slowly levitated closer. Vincent and Mist, their eyes sharper than a human's, could see the enraged expression on his face. They saw him clench his fist, and they saw the Planet's power respond to the magician's call. "Is it any wonder that I hate you?" Kane raised his hand and pointed. Blue and green fire exploded around his adversaries; shattering Vincent's hastily raised shield as if it had been glass -

- and slamming into a second, stronger shield, hardly touching them. Vincent turned in surprise.

Mist, he realised, the surprise gone as soon as it had come. And sure enough; the dragon was positively glowing with magic, her green eyes shedding a light almost as strong as that of the cold fire raging outside her shield.

Without the shield, they would have died. Even with it, the spell was still noticeable, and when it ended, both Yuffie and Vincent were on their knees. Kane, floating safely above them, raised his eyebrows.

"Very good," he commended the dragon. "I see your power is considerably greater when you are not taken by surprise, my dear."

The dragon did not waste time or energy making a reply; instead, she opened her mouth and exhaled sharply. This time, she was not holding back, and the lightning was so intense its light blinded even Vincent.

Kane, however, gathered his bubble-like shield into a disc just large enough to prevent the bolt from reaching him. The shield was a formidable defence in its own right, but Mist's attack should have breached it. However, gathered into such a small area, the vast power of Kane's shielding spell created an almost impenetrable barrier. Lightning met what seemed to be empty air, and shattered into a myriad of sparks, pinpricks of light falling down to die on the smooth marble.

"Is that all you can do?" Kane asked.

Such power... If even an Esper could not hope to harm him... What could they do? "Yuffie... The Summon! Did you ever get it back?"

"No..." Her reply was faint; unskilled. "No... did not... get it... back."

Then... He would have to resort to Chaos' power. Had he seen any other way out, he would have used it; anything would be better than to call upon Chaos' strength, so soon after it had almost destroyed him.

But if he did not use that power, he had no options left.

He focused inwards, and Changed.

"It's falling apart!" Tifa gasped. Something rumbled, and she hastily pushed Cloud out of the way as a large chunk of rock fell from the wall. "What's happening up there?"

"I don't know!" Cloud shouted back over the noise. "This way! I think there's fresh air coming from over there!"

"Run! I'm right behind!"

Cloud ran. And she was right behind him.

He had been right, Cloud found. It had been fresh air. And, fortunately, it had come through the door. He had been afraid that it might be a window that let the air in, but no, this time he was lucky.

They both practically fell down, ignoring the fact that the ground was hard and stony; lying there for a few seconds, holding hands and staring up into the sky.

Then a bright ray of green light shot out, over the edge of the roof; practically over their heads. Cloud and Tifa jumped to their feet, Tifa going into combat stance and Cloud readying Excalibur. Behind them, a white-clad woman stumbled through the door, looked around, terror-struck, and started running away from the building. She was one of the last to leave; most of Kane's servants having left already, their sense of self-preservation getting the better of them. No one even considered attacking their master's enemies.

"That looked like Ultima..." Tifa said as the ray faded.

"You're probably right. They have to be up there..." Cloud looked around from something that could help them get up on the roof. "How are we going to get up? Vincent must have flown... and Kane too." Tifa shook her head, as if to indicate that she, to, had no idea.

Cloud sighed. "Let's check the other sides of the building... You take the left; I'll take the right. We meet on the other side. Okay?"

"Got it, Cloud. Good luck..."

She blew him a kiss, and was off.

Kane slowly let his levitation spell carry him upwards. Chaos... an Esper... and the girl, who had some power on her own, although Kane could not feel exactly what it was. Perhaps... he thought, I should retreat...

Of course, that was not an option. He could run, but Chaos and the dragon could chase after him. The Esper could easily carry the girl with her, and when they caught up with him, Kane knew, he would be weaker. Already, he felt his strength wavering.

He had to stay and fight.

So what? After this battle...

There wasn't much more left to do.

He reached down into the ever-present power of the Planet, and smiled. Even if they killed him here, he would make sure to take them with him.

And once more, he let the air explode with green fire, flames spiralling towards his three opponents.

Mist warded off the worst effects of the Ultima spell, but the flames burned much closer now; the shield was fading. Again, Vincent shielded the others with Chaos' near-indestructible body, but he knew that if Mist's shield ever vanished... it would hurt.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, and heard Yuffie's voice, "Are you all right? We have to do something! Or we'll..."

"I and Mist... are trying to protect us from his magic," he told her. "If we are to strike back... you will have to launch the first attack. Once he stops attacking..."

"Understood. Well, then..."

Yuffie fumbled in her pockets, trying to find something that could be useful against Kane, but all she had seemed to be far too weak to have any effect on the sorcerer. Hell, he had even escaped an Ultima spell without seeming to feel anything! So what...

But he had not been able to shield himself from her boomerang. She stopped. The boomerang... She had forgotten all about that. But now that she thought of it-

She had no idea what had happened, but it had happened. Maybe it could work now...

She reached up and removed the boomerang she had been carrying strapped to her back. All right, then...

Please, work...

She threw.

Kane saw the thin sliver of steel spin through the air, glinting in the light. Damn... He teleported out of the way, letting the weapon cut through the air where he had been only a second ago. How can that be possible...?

His thoughts were cut short by a lightning-like ray slamming into his shield, knocking him back several paces. What!

The Esper! Although she was in human shape now, she still seemed to have considerable control of lightning...

Not enough, though, he thought grimly. Not anywhere near enough.

He started to gather power for a final Ultima, one that would finish them all now that the she-dragon was no longer shielding them-

The lightning-ray had not faded, and was still pressing him backwards. The Esper was occupied. Chaos, however, was not. In rapid succession, five blood-red flames struck at his shield, each in a different place, and Kane reeled backwards, regaining his balance just in time to duck out of the way as a throwing star flew towards him. Curse it! He had to drop the spell... concentrate on his shield and strengthen it. Chaos threw more flames, but now he was prepared; the fire merely pushed him backwards a little, but did not harm him, this time. They are still weak... But he was weakening as well. He could not replenish his power fast enough; slowly, he was using it up, protecting against their attacks.

He would have to do something, and fast.

He started floating upwards again, towards the broken tower.

"Master... damn!" Novo struggled to lift his head. Can't fight him... even now... He couldn't make himself strike at Kane. Not even when the sorcerer was attacking him.

This was useless. He was the one whose power and knowledge could probably bring Kane down, and yet -

He owed it to the true Kane, the man he had been before his desire and obsession destroyed him.

Even Kai, the coward... Kai, who had run away, afraid of his destiny, afraid of the power he had been born with... Even Kai had found the courage to stand up against his old master.

His old master...

Yes, he had to admit... Kane was still his master. Until recently, Novo had not considered the man a superior; perhaps an equal, but not more than so. But after that day...

What had Kane done, that day he found Excalibur? What had happened to increase his power that much?

After that day, Kane had been Novo's master, and he still was.

He managed to pull himself up, and look down at the battle below...

There was no telling who was winning. Novo was too weak to see if Kane's defences were weakening under the dragon and demon's attacks, or if the attacks themselves showed any signs of fading. But Kane was levitating closer to the tower, now, seemingly headed in Novo's direction.

If only I could strike now... It could all be over. All he had to do was turn the Soulfire on his master... Kane would never be able to deflect it in time, not now, not with two other spells to ward against at the same time. The battle would end within seconds.

All he had to do was...

...to betray the man he called his master; the man he loved like a father - indeed, perhaps he was Novo's father.

He tried to raise his hands, to point at the sorcerer... to summon that accursed black fire...

Nothing. Not even the merest flicker of darkness.

Forgive me, Susanna...

I have failed.

"Nothing?" Tifa asked as she spotted Cloud. He shook his head, and her spirits sagged. "Damn!"

There had been flashes of coloured light above, but there was no telling where they came from.

"Don't get... involved," came a familiar voice from behind a large rock.

The ran over to have a look. The speaker was sitting on the ground, back against the stone and also against the house. A multicoloured spear lay beside him -

"Cid!" they exclaimed as one. "What are you doing here?" Cloud added.

"Long story," the pilot grinned. "Got a smoke? Ah, you don't smoke, forget I asked..."

"Cid, what's going on here?" Cloud sounded rather frustrated.

"Yuffie and Vincent are up there fighting that shithead wizard... and I'm down here doing nothing. I..." He quickly described how the roof looked, and how he had carried Yuffie across it. "Then they flew off with that dragon... think Kane controlled it for a while, and it's pissed and wants revenge... heh!" He laughed, and it turned into a cough. "Damn... I'm bust. Can't even think straight. Anyway..."

"Are you all right?" Tifa wondered worriedly. "Cid, are you..."

"Tired as hell," came the reply, "but no, there isn't really anything wrong."

"Nevertheless..." Cloud enclosed a piece of Materia in his hand, and reached out to touch Cid's forehead. Healing power flowed between them, and Cid gasped and blinked, then shook his head.

"Damn!" he exclaimed. "Whoa! Damn caffeine kick!"

"Can you get us up?" Tifa asked. "Just one jump... up, on the roof."

"Can I..." Cid sighed, shoulders sagging. "Look, Tifa, you don't know what you're asking... Two of you... and up there... Oh, shit. I'm gonna have to do it, ain't I?"

"No, Cid. Only of you feel you're up to it," Tifa assured him. "Don't do anything that could hurt you."

"I bloody well can't tell you... I'm 'not up to it', now, can I?" he grinned, and pulled himself upright. "Now come on... let's get over to the wall, there, and I'll jump the two of you up."

"Novo... I need your help."

Novo tried to push himself away from Kane, but he was too weak.

"Kane... I cannot. I will not fight you... but I will not help you."

"You will not fight me?" Kane asked silkily. "Oh, well... I guess that will do."

And he reached out, and took a hold of Novo's hair, lifting him effortlessly. "Because all I need is your power."

Novo gasped - or tried to gasp. But he didn't have enough strength to draw the air into his lungs. His last strength was flowing out of him, stolen by his former master.

"Not fight me, Novo... I will take that as a yes."

And everything went black.

"He's draining power from Novo!" Mist spoke quickly, urgently. "We have to stop him!"

"What?" Yuffie asked.

"He'll take Novo's magic! He'll be even more powerful if he succeeds -"

"I will take care of it." Chaos was flying towards Kane even as the words left his mouth. Now, Kane had ceased his attacks to steal Novo's strength - this was his chance. Kane...!

Kane did not seem to notice him. Vincent flew higher, higher... then dove towards the unsuspecting sorcerer, his claws poised to tear the man's throat out...

Kane spun around, grinning, and made a sweeping motion with his hand. Invisible energy slammed into Vincent's side, throwing him off balance, and he plummeted towards the ground, barely avoiding a crash landing.

"Did you really think I would fall for that trick?" Kane asked from above, as the demon flapped his wings to rise back into the air. "You fool! How could someone like you ever inherit such a great power?" He sneered, and turned back to his work. Novo stirred slightly as Kane once more started draining his energy.

"That is... quite enough, Kane." Vincent held up his hands. "Fire..."

Below, Yuffie and Mist heard that single word, and felt the air heat.

Kane turned his head in surprise, just in time to see the massive wall of flames falling over him. Letting go of Novo, letting his creation float in the air next to him, he gestured frantically, trying to disperse of the fire... to no avail. White-hot, the flames crashed into Kane's shield, battering it from all sides. The sorcerer sank towards the ground, his back bending under the pressure, but as soon as the fires passed, he started rising again.

"Fool..." he repeated. "My shield... cannot be breached by any of the elements. Not even... coming from you."

He reached out to grab Novo again...

No! Can't let him win... Vincent backed off slightly. Mist and Yuffie were not attacking; he was too close to Kane. But what they could do would not be enough... If not even Chaos' power was enough to bring Kane down... What was there to do?

Maybe...

He closed his eyes. Deep below him... in the heart of the Planet... slept a power that Chaos had never touched...

Vincent now drew upon that power. Eagerly, it flowed up to him... swirling and flaming in its pure, untainted light, filling his entire body -

Cid fell to his knees, exhausted. "There..." he breathed. "Got you... up."

"Yes, Cid. You did." Tifa put a hand on his shoulder. "Cloud, can you..."

"On it." He brought out the healing Materia, activating the spell. Cid shook his head.

"Gotta... rest... Just... need to rest Get... get going... now."

"We will... Thank you." Cloud pocketed the Materia.

"Over there..." Tifa frowned. "Why aren't they acting?"

"Chaos is up there... fighting Kane. I don't think they want to hurt him as well as Kane." Cloud unsheathed Excalibur, which had rattled in his far-too-large swordsheath. "Let's go, Tifa. Maybe we can help."

Tifa dubiously looked down at her hands. "Do you really think so, Cloud?" she asked.

He stopped and looked straight ahead. "I don't know, Tifa. I honestly don't know. Still..."

He turned to look at her. "We have to try, right?"

She nodded, and smiled. "Right," she agreed, and they advanced.

The power surged, threatened to tear him apart, but still the spell did not seem about to manifest. Vincent beat Chaos' wings furiously, but there was no need; the power kept him floating. Kane had stopped moving, and was looking straight at him, an expression much like surprise on his face. Surprise... and fear?

Vincent cried out as the pain became too great to bear. White light exploded from his eyes and mouth, shooting towards the heavens. Razors seemed to rake at his very soul, tearing him to pieces, and still, the power kept building.

I can't... take this!

He was rising through the air, his wings hanging limply at his sides. The spell was propelling him up, away from the earth.

And it was killing him. Slowly, it was burning him from the inside.

His body could not hold the power, and so Vincent reacted in the only way he could -

He Changed.

No longer confined in the demon's shape, the force burst through his skin, but caused no pain; no harm. He gasped in wonder -

Kane, several metres below, was staring at him. Now there was no doubt; the expression on his face was one of fear. Even now, he recognised what Vincent was doing.

He knew it was drawing to a conclusion.

And so, letting the radiant light wash away all his pain, fear, sorrow... letting it wash away all the guilt and anger he had been keeping pent up inside for so long....

Vincent cast Holy.

Cloud and Tifa had no time to react. The shockwave threw them to the ground, knocking the breath from their lungs.

The light, pure and white, had been blinding. The sound was deafening. It hit a second later, rolling over them slowly but unstoppably like a glacier.

Inside the white light... images danced; barely visible, but somehow warm, familiar...

Tifa could never be certain. But in the middle of the light and the sound, she thought she heard Cloud cry out a name.

What it was, she could not hear. But she knew one thing: It was not hers.

Mist threw her hands up, trying to erect a barrier, but it was too late, and too weak. The shield shattered, throwing both Esper and Shinobi to the ground. By Bahamut's name...!

But in the middle of the light and the sound, she thought she heard the ninja cry out a name.

"Vincent!

He fell through an endless tunnel of light; through an endless, white softness.

Then, abruptly, it was gone, and he landed hard on a stone surface.

The next second, he remembered what had happened, and sat up -

Kane was lying next to him, on his back, his eyes closed and a peaceful expression on his face. The sorcerer was not dead, yet, but close; he knew this, Vincent sensed, and welcomed it.

Then he heard the sound of running feet, and looked up to see Yuffie and the Esper running towards him... and close behind them, Cloud and Tifa.

Novo...?

He was lying next to Kane; wounded, but not as seriously as Kane. The old mage seemed to have broken his fall; perhaps he would live.

Yuffie reached him first, and fell to her knees just beside him. "Vincent! Vincent! Are you..."

"I have... never felt better."

He was not feeling any pain. The light of Holy...

Had he committed yet another sin? Or was it... something different, this time?

Only time would tell.

Six warriors stood in a circle, looking down at their defeated enemy.

"Is he... dead?" Yuffie asked, finally breaking the silence.

"No," Vincent said softly. "But he is close... it will not be long now."

"...I..." Kane stirred. "I cannot see."

"The light of Holy," Vincent told him softly.

"I... understand." The mage tried to take a deep breath, but choked on blood. "I am... dying, am I not?"

"Yes."

"Novo...?"

"By your side."

"Is he..."

"He lives. I have healed him."

The silver-haired youth seemed to react at the mention of his name. Once more, he had returned to his human, child-like shape. "Mmm... aster... Kane..."

"My child..." Kane whispered. "I have... one final... request."

"Name it..." Novo had opened his eyes, and now he sat up, slowly, trying to ignore the pain. "Master..."

"Destroy... the throne. The Materia throne." Kane turned his face to his child, as if he was looking at him. "I cannot ask... your forgiveness. Just... destroy the... throne."

Novo shook his head, silver hair falling down to hide his face. "No, Master. I cannot forgive you. There is nothing to forgive."

Kane's head fell back, and he sighed, then coughed. A drop of blood ran down his cheek like a teardrop. "You will destroy the throne?"

"I will... Master... No... Kane."

Kane smiled. "Good..." he breathed. "Lady... Lady Esper..."

"Kane."

"I can say nothing."

"I know. Listen to your son, Kane. There is nothing to forgive you for. Whatever happened in the past... was not you. Rest well." Mist turned, and silently walked away.

Five steps she walked...

And then she was gone.

"Master... Chaos," Kane continued. "A power like yours... a heavy burden, yes?"

"Very heavy," Vincent said silently.

"I know..." Kane coughed, and took a slow breath. "Lady... Shinobi. I destroyed your home... Please, I have a favour to ask of you."

Yuffie remained silent, looking down at him. The once-beautiful robes were in tatters, scorched and burned; his flesh in no better condition. His entire body was smeared with blood; his own blood.

"The Holy Sword... Excalibur," Kane whispered, sliding his hand up, laying it on his chest. "Here. My heart... please."

Yuffie gave a start. "You mean... kill... you?"

Kane did not answer. For a moment, it seemed that he was dead. Then he nodded, just once. "Yes. Please. I do not... deserve that blade... perhaps, but... it is my humble wish."

Yuffie did not move for a while. Then she wordlessly held out her hand.

Cloud said nothing, but just placed the golden sword-hilt in the ninja's slim hand.

She knew where to strike. She could kill him in a dozen different ways before he noticed what was happening. Still, she just put the point of the blade on his chest, directly over the heart.

"I... can't... forgive the one who destroyed my home," she said. "But that... was not... you, was it? I don't... want to... kill anyone... anymore."

"I... see. There is... nothing I can do... then."

Yuffie lifted the sword, holding it point-down, in both hands. "Promise me..." she said softly. "Promise me, Kane... that you'll be the last... that I have to kill. Promise me."

Kane did not answer.

"Promise!"

"I cannot promise. That is up to fate... and to you... young Kisaragi." His head fell to the side, and his breathing slowed noticeably. "Now... it is time to... say farewell."

"Kane...?" Yuffie's hands trembled. The sword was so heavy, much heavier than normal steel... "Please... sleep... in... peace."

She let the sword fall.

Excalibur easily cut through skin, flesh and bone, and what lay below. Kane stiffened, his eyes blinking open, revealing only darkness, once more.

Then he seemed to relax, and the blackness in his eyes faded away with his life.

Yuffie released the sword. It stood on its own, embedded deeply in the stone under Kane.

"I'm... sorry..."

Her world dimmed, and she threw her arms around Vincent and cried helplessly against his chest. Carefully, he turned, shielding her from the others' eyes...

...shielding himself from their eyes.

No one saw the tears trickling down his cheeks.

For a long time, no one spoke.

Victory always tastes bittersweet. Sometimes, more bitter than sweet.

And for a victory, this was a hollow one.

"Swords will not cut it. Only fire..." Novo stumbled, and caught himself against the armrest of the throne. "It will take a... very powerful fire. You cannot... do anything about it. I must... do this alone."

Cloud stepped back, lowering his sword. The Ultima Weapon had easily come loose from the golden box, now, and Excalibur lay by the throne, on Kane's chest. "Is there anything we can do to help?" he asked.

Novo shook his head. "No, Cloud. This is my... my duty. Please... leave. This room..." He slowly turned around, his gaze wandering over the walls, the floor, the four golden boxes, the rubble... "It should be destroyed."

"What about -"

"Do not worry about the artefacts."

Cloud opened his mouth to ask how Novo could know what he had been about to say, but shut it again. There was no use. "I see," he said finally. "Novo..."

"Farewell, Cloud. I do not believe we will meet again."

Yuffie, who had been standing just inside the door, stepped up to the silver-haired child. "You aren't going to do... what Kai did." It was an order, and Novo smiled sadly and shook his head.

"No. That would not be... what I need."

"Then how... will you..."

Novo sighed, and looked up into the sky. The sun was on its way up, now, and the dark blue was brightening. "Merton," he said finally.

"It will burn you as well." Vincent looked straight at the boy. "You know that."

"Yes," Novo said, "I suppose I do. Don't worry. I'll... No, never mind. Please, everybody..."

"You can't do that!" Yuffie protested. "You can't die! Not you too!"

"Forgive me, princess. I must... do this. It is what I want. Please, everybody... leave now. Leave me."

"Come, Yuffie. There is nothing we can do." Vincent took her by the shoulder and led her towards the door, and Yuffie did not protest. "Novo... take this." He turned and tossed a bracelet to the magician; a golden-red bracelet, the one he had been wearing himself. "Wear it. Please."

Novo nodded. "I will. Thank you, Vincent. And farewell. We are lucky... you are the one who carries Chaos' power."

Vincent wordlessly turned away and walked through the door. Cloud, Cid and Tifa followed him, and they closed the battered door behind them.

"So..." Tifa said, feeling the need to break the silence.

"We walk," Vincent said simply. "Come."

Novo smiled as he pulled on the bracelet. It wouldn't protect him; he and Vincent both knew that. Still...

He sat down on the throne. "Master... I hope... you'll find peace."

Then he gathered the power for this one, final spell, and, after one last look at his beloved father, he let the magic flow free.

The explosion rocked the entire building, throwing everybody except Vincent and Yuffie off their feet. As they picked themselves up, the ninja turned around and ran for the pentagram room; Vincent followed her, and, as soon as they got to their feet, so did the others.

The door was gone. They found Yuffie standing in the opening, the intense heat keeping her from entering.

The room was empty. The floor and walls had been turned to glass where the spell-flames had touched them, and everywhere, little pieces of Materia glittered, melted into the very stone.

"He's... gone." Her voice seemed hollow, empty. "Gone."

Vincent took her hand. "Come, Yuffie. It was his own decision."

"But I..."

"No. Not now. Let's go, Yuffie..."

And they did.

They walked for a couple of hours, and finally found the place where Novo had told them to go. And as he had said, they also found Cid's plane there.

"Right where he said it would be..." Cid muttered, running a hand over the Tiny Bronco's propeller. "Not a scratch, too... Guess he had no reason to lie to us, had he?"

"But we won't all fit in there," Cloud pointed out.

"No... I suppose not..."

"Do not worry," Vincent said. "I will carry Yuffie back to Wutai."

"What about the Chocobos?" Yuffie mumbled. "We can't just leave them there..."

"They will fly back home in a couple of days, when they realise no one is coming back for them," Vincent reassured her. "Cid, if you please..."

"Huh?" the pilot asked. "Oh, yeah, that's right - the Materia. Here..." He reached into a pocket, and handed the red crystal to Yuffie. "You won't tell us what it contains, will you?"

"No," Vincent said before Yuffie could answer. "Some things are better left unsaid."

Cid sighed. "Oh well... Guys... hop aboard."

Cloud and Tifa climbed into the back seat, and Cid started the engine, letting the plane roll forwards somewhat, positioning it for takeoff. "So, Vincent... we'll see you in Wutai, then."

"No."

"No?"

"You should go home. Wutai can wait; go home first."

Cid nodded slowly. "Yeah... I suppose..."

Tifa cleared her throat. The pilot snorted. "Yeah, right... I still have to buy Shera a really expensive dinner."

"I... see," Vincent said, although, for once, he seemed a bit surprised. "Then..."

"For now," Cloud finished. "We'll see each other again."

For a second, Vincent seemed to smile. "Yes," he said softly. "I believe we will."

- A few hours earlier... -

High above the building, a man smiled sadly. He shook a few droplets of molten red metal from his left hand and wrist, and ran the fingers of his right hand over the burns. The damaged skin knitted back together, and he flexed his hands, finding them perfectly unharmed.

Silver hair fluttering in the breeze, he looked down at the white building for a while, and at the little figures leaving it.

Leaving the unmarked graves of the three persons he had respected most; three persons whose courage he would always remember.

For a second, his gaze lingered on the ruins...

Then he turned his back on them, and started walking, never looking back.

Epilogue

- One day later... -

The Tiny Bronco touched down on the water just outside Costa del Sol, and Cid steered it close to the pier. Cloud and Tifa carried their luggage ashore, and said their goodbyes to the pilot.

"Don't forget that dinner," Tifa said as she embraced him.

"I won't," Cid promised. "But now you'd better let go of me... before your boyfriend becomes jealous."

Tifa grinned, and let go of him. Cid made a mock salute, which Cloud returned, and then steered his plane away from the shore.

Cloud and Tifa watched until the 'Bronco was a tiny dot on the horizon.

"Home..." Tifa sighed, and put one arm around Cloud's waist.

"Home," he agreed, and hugged her back. "Tifa... let's go home."

They headed for the Villa Strifehart. On the way, however, they passed a newsstand, and Tifa spotted a headline. "Hey, Cloud -"

"New Shinra President leaves Midgar," he read. "Reopens 'New Junon' project...?"

"Let's buy the paper," Tifa suggested.

They did, and sat down on a convenient seat. Cloud opened the paper, and they started reading the article.

The new Shinra President, Reeve Santine, has decided to leave now-ruined Midgar City. In an exclusive interview, he told our correspondent that he intends to have the old Junon city blocks reopened. "Even without Mako energy", the president says, "we can still house many in the old Shinra buildings. With a long-term plan to restore the soil around Junon, we can have farming going on within ten years. If we keep building out the city, we may be able to accommodate up to eighty percent of the survivors from the Meteor incident within half that time...

They stopped reading and looked at each other in astonishment.

"Reeve's... really taking this President thing seriously, isn't he?" Tifa said after the initial shock subsided.

"He certainly is..."

"Cloud, let's finish the article when we get inside, okay?"

"Hmm... yeah," he agreed. "Let's."

And so, they picked up their bags, and headed towards the house that had become their home.

The door opened as Cloud laid his hand on the handle. "What...?"

Suddenly, something tore the door from his grasp, throwing it open. Cloud's hand went for the Ultima Weapon, but-

"Barret!"

"Cloud!" Barret seemed genuinely surprised. "You're back!"

"What is this commotion...?" Something red with four legs and a glowing tail stepped around Barret, and a dog-like face turned towards Cloud.

"Nanaki!" Cloud exclaimed, now truly confused.

"But... what are you doing here?" Tifa asked, every bit as puzzled as Cloud.

"Well, Marlene said she wanned to see you people again, an' so we thought we'd come over an' say hello..." Barret scratched his head. Cloud and Tifa suddenly noticed that he was in full travel gear, and had a pack strapped to his back. Red, too, wore a backpack; a rather unusual model, specially designed for him. "But you weren't home, an' I figured we'd stay a couple'a days before goin' on. After all, you did invite us... and you gave me da key, so I figured it's all right."

"Yes... of course it is!" Tifa assured him. "But why the travel gear? Are you leaving?"

"Yeah, seein' as you were still gone, I figured we'd head over to Cid's place an' ask him if he'd seen you. B'sides, it's bin awhile since we saw 'im."

"Barret stopped by at Cosmo Canyon a while ago," Nanaki purred. "He asked if I would like to come with him and Marlene and visit you. That was... almost a month ago. We thought maybe you had decided to stay a while in Rocket Town or Wutai, so we intended to follow you... after all, we, too, have been lax in visiting our friends."

Cloud and Tifa looked at each other. Then they shook their heads, and started to laugh.

"You had better get back in," Tifa told the two guests, taking Barret by the arm and pulling him with her through the door. "We have so much to tell you."

"Yuffie!"

"Father..."

She fell into Godo's arms.

"Yuffie, we have been worried! Look at you... What in the world happened?"

"I..."

She turned her head to look at Vincent, who was standing a bit to the side, arms crossed and leaning his back against a large, ugly statue, depicting a famous warrior. He shrugged.

"Well..." she started. "I sort of..."

Words are limited. Yuffie knew she had run out of words, and so she just hugged her father tight, resting her chin against his shoulder. "Nothing," she murmured. "Nothing happened... at all."

Unseen, Vincent faded away into the shadows, and was gone, absorbed into the night.

Yuffie held on to Godo for dear life, while Shake, Gorky, Staniv and Chekov gathered around, all of them asking questions she did not hear. Still, the wounds she had sustained bled, but now she felt that maybe, somehow, sometime, they would heal.

She turned her head to look at Vincent, to ask him if he felt the same.

He had vanished. But from some reason, she didn't miss him; he didn't feel gone.

And at last, she smiled.

Of course he wasn't gone. None of them was gone.

She would carry them in her heart...

Always.

The End

Author's Notes

...finally finished. This is my longest fic so far! 108 (that number keeps popping up everywhere!) pages, for over 83000 words... ugh! Here are a few things I thought I should say before wrapping it all up for this time.

- I am assuming that the "Chaos" that Vincent turns into is the same "Chaos" as the one in the first Final Fantasy game. This is the reason why I made Vincent so powerful. The original Chaos, for those of you who still don't know, was a most vexing guy, and, as far as I know, the only Final Boss ever to know Fullcure! (Well, or Cure4, as it was called at the time...)

- I know I have altered a few things from how they looked in the game - especially the layout of houses and towns, since I'm too lazy to check every building that I'm writing about (and sometimes because it makes no sense with a town with only, like, five houses in it, four of which are various shops)... Just so you purists (the ones who claim everything has to be taken straight from the game) know. :P

- I made up Reeve's last name; I can't seem to find any information about that anywhere. If someone has heard of an official last name for Reeve, please let me know.

- When Vincent casts Holy, it's not the "special FF7 version" of it; it's the "original" version (the one they call "holy" in FF8, "pearl" in FF6, and so on). Just so you know. But you probably figured it out already... (Am I the only one who's annoyed about the lack of Holy elemental spells in FFVII?)

- This fic was originally meant to "complete" Order and CHAOS, seeing as there were a few things left unsaid there... but I realise that even though this story turned out a lot longer than I imagined when I started writing it, there are still unanswered questions to be found... Argh. I'm planning a sequel. Argh! Put that pitchfork away, please! ;)

Okay, that's basically all I had to say... Hey, what did you think? Was it good, was it bad, or was it somewhere in between? I'd really like to hear "it was definitely worth the time it took to read it", but even if you hated it, please tell me about it - and preferably why, as well... Hopefully, I'll be able to make the next one better. ;)

One more thing: Any similarities between this story and the Slayers anime is a coincidence! I started writing this before I saw the battles with Rezo and "Copy Rezo" (you can't imagine exactly how I watched Slayers...), and it's not MY fault Kane turned out so much like the Red Priest! (Well, actually, it is my fault, but you know what I mean...) Argh... I wouldn't have written him like that if I had known...

Anyway... if there's anything you'd like to say to me, by all means, do so! As always, I'm looking to improve my writing skills! (I wouldn't be much of a writer otherwise, now, would I?)

Lastly: Thanks for reading! :) I had fun writing this; I hope you had at least as much fun reading!

For now...

~Jonatan L~