A/N: Part one of the three building up to the end, along with the alternate ending makes chapter 25 my goal! I know, it's saddening to think this story must end, but I might continue a sequel. Might. Anyhow, thanks to everyone reviewing, I finally broke 100 reviews for my first fanfic! Thanks again everyone that reviewed or put my story under alert and their favorites. Now, onwards to the story...

Chapter 22

Elena sighed deeply as she stepped out into the crisp, winter air. Both Reno and Rude stood at the foot of the stairway leading upwards to the hospital, waiting for Elena. Neither wanted to stay anywhere near that hospital for a minute longer than they needed to.

As Elena descended the stairs, a stranger across the street caught her eye. His dark navy suit was identical to her own, his long, black hair was slick and tied back, and a faint smile was playing on his lips. At first, she thought her mind was playing tricks on her, but as she blinked and the character remained.

"T-Tseng?" she whispered, as if afraid to say his name. She gasped in shock as he nodded his head slightly and almost smiled

Suddenly her eyes filled with crystal tears, running down her cheeks, startling both Reno and Rude as they stepped back.

"Elena, what's wrong?" called Rude, stepping forward slightly and looking around. Reno rushed up the stairway to Elena, only to be pushed aside as she descended the stairway. Both Reno and Rude watched her path as she ran across the street and embraced Tseng, crying into his chest.

"Tseng!" cried Rude, not bothering to stop his jaw or his shades from falling. Reno merely scratched his head as he turned to Rude, looking down at his broken sunglasses and back up again.

"Get a new pair, Rude," he said, looking back toward the embraced couple. "You look like a fucking retard without those shades."

Rude frowned and retrieved and new pair from the inside of his coat. As he bent to scrape the broken shards from the ground, he whispered low enough that Reno wouldn't hear, "Asshole."

However, Reno could have cared less. His eyes held a dreamy expression; a seeming longing as he watched Elena finally tear herself from her supposedly deceased boss and turning away in embarrassment.

"He said our dreams would come true," Reno whispered to the wind. Rude looked at him questioningly. Reno shook his head as if to clear his thoughts and turned to Rude. "The man who hired us as hitters said our dreams would come true if we did our mission. When he sent the money, we natural presumed that our job took highest priority." Reno turned back to the couple. "We just didn't look deep enough at the time."

Rude studied Reno for a second, then shook his head, walking off.

"Hey!" called Reno, chasing after him. "Where's my smartass comeback?"

xxxxXxxxx

"Clooooouuuuddddd…" Cloud looked around wildly, but the echo of the cavern made it impossible to locate the source.

"Who's there?" he called, gripping his sword. Barret held up his gun while Tifa put on her gloves, all three watching every corner of the cavern. Suddenly, a shape emerged from the shadows, his shoulder armor gleaming in the faint glow of the residing Lifestream around them and his large sword identical to Cloud's.

"Clooooouuuuddddd!" he called against, stopping a short distance from them. Now that Tifa could actually see him, she gasped in recognition. His clothing, his sword, even his hair-style was similar if it were not jet-black.

"Zack!" cried Cloud in relief, lowering his weapon and walking over to the soldier. "I…I thought you were dead…" He lowered his head.

Zack smirked, looking around at the three Avalanche members. "Psh," he said indignantly. "Master guy up ahead there revived me. Tried making me his slave just like Sephiroth." He shook his head.

Cloud seemed to glow at this remark. "So that means you aren't working for this "Master' person or anything?" Zack nodded his head. "So you're on our side!"

"Yup, little buddy," chided Zack, head-locking Cloud and giving him a noogie.

"Stop that!" Cloud cried, pulling away. Zack merely grinned and put his hands behind his head. Suddenly Cloud's expression became curious. "What about Aeris? Was she revived too?"

Instantly Zack's face hardened. "That reminds me, Cloud. Aeris and I talked, if that's how you call it, while we were in the Lifestream. " He spat on the ground, now his scowl becoming apparent. "I hear you had a thing for my girl."

Tifa looked from Cloud to Zack and back again.

'Not this is getting interesting.'

Shut up, not now, Tifa thought, but inwardly admitted she, too, was growing intrigued.

Cloud was taken aback, stepping away from Zack for a second. Then he stood straight, his face set. "When I met Aeris, she was kind to me. I merely returned her kindness."

Zack drew his Buster Sword, pointing the dangerous tip at Cloud. "You knew damn well I loved Aeris!" he shouted, pacing forward slightly. "She was mine, Cloud. I can respect any other taking her, but you…you knew about her! She even mentioned my name, gave you signs about me, yet you chose to ignore them!" Now the blade was threateningly close to Cloud.

Cloud drew his own sword, much more slowly and cautiously than Zack. For once, Cloud's face showed fear and hesitation. "Zack," he started, slowly backing away. "This is not something we should fight about, and even less the time. Aeris and I…"

"Betrayed my trust! And desecrated my memory!" Zack lifted his sword up into a stance, rage on his face. "How dare you! How could you do that to your Soldier teammate?"

"Zack, I…" Cloud started, but was cut off as Zack charged him. Sword clashed on giant sword, sparks flying everywhere as Tifa gasped. She made to rush forward and help, but Barret held out his arm.

"Don't be gettin' in their way, Teef," he said quietly. "Them two gotta work this out like they know how, and they're men. They'll beat the shit out of each other til they resolve this thing."

Tifa crossed her arms over her chest. "For some reason that isn't calming me down, Barret."

Barret grinned sheepishly as he turned his attention to the battling duo.

However hard Zack attacked Cloud, Cloud refused to strike back. He constantly parried as Zack sliced away, but it was clearly evident Cloud was not even trying. Even Zack seemed not so rigorous.

After a particularly powerful parry, both Cloud and Zack were pushed back, each panting from their continued efforts.

"Cloud," Zack said through his gasps for air. "You don't love Aeris, do you? Be honest now, I know there is someone else in your mind, too. I can feel it."

Tifa saw Cloud shift uneasily as he glanced at both her and Barret. He turned his eyes back to Zack and nodded mutely. "I do have feelings for Aeris, but…" Cloud lowered his head, ashamed to admit his thoughts.

"But you feel for a young girl what you thought you felt for me."

All three Avalanche members' heads turned toward the darkness, where another shape emerged. The pink, satin dress with the brilliant bow that once held Holy and the metallic rod that once helped them all defend the planet long ago was clearly visible.

Aeris was back.

xxxxXxxxx

Red slowly and lazily opened his eyes, barely aware of the constant up and down beat and the long mane of fine, black hair covering his nose. He lifted his head slightly to looked around and saw the face of the young, unconscious shinobi to his right, inches from his fast.

"Hm?" questioned Vincent in his usual quiet manner. "Are you awake, Red?" Red nodded his head lightly, too tired to speak, but Vincent felt the movement all the same. "Good. You were injured quite severely. I am glad you have finally gained consciousness." They continued a while in silence before Red woke up fully.

"Vincent," he asked suddenly, lifting his head back up. "What happened with Lance Amura? All I remember is you being attacked then that large sword coming at me." Vincent remained quiet until the tunnel opened into a cavern, going vertically.

A mile or so upwards led to an air vent and the surface, while below led to pitch darkness and most likely their enemy.

"This was where the Lifestream erupted," Red noted. Vincent nodded silently before setting Red down on his feet gently and laid Yuffie on her back against the wall. He walked back toward the edge of the tunnel, looking up then down.

"You never answered my question, Vincent," started up Red suddenly. Vincent's form went slump as he looked down at the ground. "I died, didn't I?"

Vincent kept quiet for another moment, as if pondering his answer. "Red, you…" Vincent sighed. "Yes, Nanaki, you were dead for about fifteen minutes."

Red nodded his head. "I knew it. Then it truly was no dream or delusion."

Vincent turned to Red, his face apathetic and his voice stoic. "You saw someone? Someone who has crossed over?"

Red nodded his head again. Vincent gazed at him a moment as if asking, 'Who did you see?'

"I spoke with Sepiroth and Hojo," Red continued, and Vincent seemed taken aback. "It seems that they both had been resurrected, but Sephiroth killed Hojo and Cloud kill Sephiroth. They spoke of Chaos, and his true essence of being." Red cocked his head slightly. "Is it true Chaos is the 'spirit' of Hojo?" Vincent nodded his head. "Hojo rambled on about his genius, about how he encased a paradox of feeligs within you."

Vincent walked to the edge of the tunnel, once more studying the cavern with his back to Red. "So then you know about Almighty, correct?" Vincent turned his head slightly and watched Red from the corner of his eye. "I believe they called it, Deus of Lucrecia's Spirit."

"Vincent…" Red started.

Vincent turned away. "You spoke to Lucrecia, did you not?" Red only nodded. Vincent sighed lightly.

"Vincent, they explained to me how you cannot control Deus as long as you are so sorrowful. Chaos emerges when your soul is submerged in sadness, hatred, bitterness, so that using Deus is impossible. However, since your love of Tifa has made you more…humane, Deus is now accessible, yet you cannot control him."

Vincent shifted uneasily for a moment, disturbed by the fact that they were talking about him, something he always tried to avoid.

"Then what is your point, Red?" he asked, growing weary of conversation.

Red hung his head. "I know Hojo is conceited, and I truly despise him with all my being, as well as Sephiroth, but Lucrecia was your past love, Vincent, and I think I can trust her. You have to let go of the past and live in the present! Hatred spawned Chaos into the world, now love has spawned Deus. Vincent, I think only this new spirit has the chance of destroying this new enemy. Deus had the power to bring me back farther from death than materia ever could. If you can do this, than you are far more powerful than anything on this planet; maybe even the universe."

Red waited patiently for Vincent's remark, for any hint, but as he stood there, realization suddenly hit Red.

"You don't think having an angelic spirit is enlightening or uplifting. You believe it is just another entity in your body; something more to prove you're inhuman."

Vincent stood quietly for a moment, before whispering, "You know me far too well, Nanaki."

He looked over his shoulder, staring Red straight in the eye. His own were burning with emotion, something that took Red by surprise. He could see fear, anger, worry, and even a trace of longing from Vincent's eyes.

"I only wanted to someday waste away in that coffin," he explained silently, a single tear rolling down his eye. "Until Avalanche woke me. I knew fate had intervened to throw me into hell once more; it wished to drag me from the comfort of isolation to the dread of the outside world." Vincent turned away, his eyes on the ground. "I never wanted to love again, or to feel the need to protect another. I only wanted to be alone."

"Vincent…" Red started, shocked and intrigued by Vincent's suddenly story. He didn't know how to react, and saw immediately in Vincent's eyes as he turned to look at him that he was not to interrupt him.

"I tried to fool myself into believing I could fall back into solitude. Peaceful and blissful ignorance. But now I see fate has its own twisted plot on my life. It wishes to cast me into the eternal hell of Immortality. I cannot die tonight, no matter how much I wish to, for if I do…" Vincent trailed off, and Red could only catch faint words like, "Tifa," and "love."

Vincent suddenly stood straight, his fists balled tightly. "Red, call Cid and have him and his men retrieve you and Yuffie through the air vent here," he commanded, dropping his PHS at Red's feet. "I want the Highwind a safe distance away from here. I do not know what will happen."

"Wait!" cried Red as Vincent spun about, running toward the cavern. "Vincent!" Vincent leapt off the edge, shooting down into the darkness below him.

For you, Tifa, he thought, his demonic counterparts silent in fear of the impending battle. I will not die here tonight. I promised to see you again outside this cavern, and I will.

The darkness covered him as Red's calls became fainter and fainter. Vincent closed his eyes and allowed the cool rush of air flowing around him to caress his face.

I promise…

A/N: Part one of three, completed! The stage is set for the final battle between our hero and the evil villain! And find out how the struggle between Zack and Cloud is resolved. As a little note, this is the last time you'll hear from the Turks, at least in this story unless something drastic changes or whatever. But mostly just the final battle of redemption and the final battle of jealousy!