Here's the next chapter for you. I may not be following the events of Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus exactly, but oh well.
Disclaimer: Remember, all Kingdom Hearts games, characters, locations etc. are Squaresoft's creations. Same goes for Dissidia: Final Fantasy and its sequel.
Chapter XVI: Omega
Sora and Serenia glanced around as the group headed deeper underneath the Shinra Building with the rest of their companions. The underground complex was long and winding as they walked.
"Is it just me, or is this place getting creepier?" whispered Serenia.
"Deepground wasn't called that for humor's sake" responded Tifa.
Vincent ignored the conversation and kept his gun at the ready. Cloud likewise had his sword out, ready to fight. As they traveled onward, they came to a strange sight. Deepground soldiers were in the next room with a dark haired man, but Dusk and Samurai Nobodies were fighting them.
"Bah, these soldiers are useless against these creatures" grumbled Nero, who hadn't noticed the group's presence.
"Nero" Vincent whispered, readying himself.
"Ah, the Keybearer and his friends. I see you're here as well, Valentine" Nero turned to face them.
Sora noticed that Nero's tone was creepier than usual. Before anything else can be said, Soldier Heartless and Darkballs appeared and began to harry all three groups. Tyler frowned"Could this be...?"
"Do you suppose they were drawn here?" inquired Tifa.
"Comet!" a spell knocked out a soldier heartless. Luneth and Refia had joined the battle.
"What kept you?" asked Tifa, duking it out with two Samurai Nobodies.
Luneth shrugged"We saw Sephiroth pass by when we entered this weird complex and were attacked by Manikins. We defeated them, though."
Sora smashed a group of the Heartless and Nobodies with his Rising Sun technique. Vincent shot down a heartless before turning his Cerberus gun on Nero. The man blasted him with lasers before transforming, wings sprouting on his back.
"What the heck?" Cloud cut down a Samurai Nobody before turning his attention to Nero's transformed figure.
"The darkness has overtaken his heart" shrugged Sora, lunging at Gorgonero. Gorgonero fired a barrage of lasers and lunged straight at Sora, who dodged and retaliated with a thunder spell.
Luneth and Refia blasted the Darkball Heartless with spells while Cloud and Tifa engaged the remaining Nobodies at close-quartered combat. The Deepground Soldiers in the area were killed by the remaining Samurai Nobodies.
"May I be of assistance?" a girl with brown hair and dark clothes joined the fray with twin blades.
"Shelke" Vincent acknowledged her.
"Vincent Valentine, I will require your aid in eliminating the enemy units" spoke the former Tsviets member.
"Don't have to ask any of us" piped Tifa before Vincent could say anything as she jumped and punched a Darkball Heartless into the ground.
Nero smirked"Shelke the Transparent. I am surprised you escaped my dark prison." With that, the Sable launched a barrage of lasers at Shelke. Sora quickly cast reflect on Shelke, while Serenia and Tyler shot Aero spells at Gorgonero.
Tidus and Yuna fought back-to-back as the Soldier Heartless surrounded them. The blond blitzer sliced and diced his opponents while Yuna backed him up with Valefor's energy beams.
Vincent shot at Nero, who dodged and fired more lasers at him before charging full speed at Serenia. Sora jumped in the way, only to be knocked down by the Sable's fearsome attack.
"Dumb Heartless" grumbled Tifa, who smashed a couple more Darkballs. The last Darkball Heartless attempted to bite her, only to be intercepted by Cloud's blade.
Shelke readied herself with her blades as Nero attempted to shoot more lasers at her. Vincent covered Shelke by firing bullets at their common enemy. Yuna turned her attention to their flying enemy and summoned Bahamut to blast Nero with Megaflare.
The Sable dodged and countered with laser barrages. Yuna was briefly knocked off her feet, Tidus angrily shot his blitzball at Nero using a Jecht Shot. That knocked Nero out of the air long enough for Vincent to shoot the Tsviet.
"There you have it" grinned Luneth, cutting down two Samurai Nobodies. Cloud, Tifa and Refia helped the silver-haired Cosmos Warrior finish off the Nobodies. The remaining heartless were defeated by Tifa and Shelke.
"Piece of cake" smirked Tidus.
Vincent put away his gun"Shelke, I thought you were captured."
"I was, but these two freed me from Nero's dark prison" shrugged the brunette girl.
Sora addressed Shelke"And you are?"
The 'little girl' replied"Shelke Rui, formerly of the Tsviets."
Sora glanced at Nero before addressing the others"Guess we should go further."
Vincent nodded, and the group headed deeper into the complex. They were unaware that Sephiroth and Caius had been monitoring their progress.
"It seems that Sora is mostly successful" mussed Caius.
Sephiroth shrugged"I will meet them wherever Weiss is. That would be Mako Reactor Zero, unless I am mistaken. Caius, is Kuja planning to steal another twilight crystal? Perhaps he could use some help."
"That silver-haired genome can get his way with his silver tongue. I, however, have business at the Blue Planet, the Paladin's homeworld. I don't suppose you will die in this world? I can predict that this may well be the case" grimaced the purple-haired man.
"You call yourself the Guardian of the Timeline? I doubt this is the case if you're telling me" grinned Sephiroth, summoning a dark portal and vanishing. Caius simply vanished and left Cloud's homeworld.
Sora's group, accompanied by Shelke, traveled further into the complex until they found a hidden reactor. Sora glanced at the sign"Mako Reactor 0. What the heck is this Mako anyway?"
"The life blood of the planet, or at least in this world's case" replied Tifa.
Vincent nodded"Indeed. The Shinra Company was aware of it, but they proceeded to collect Mako, regardless. That was put a stop to three years a go, especially after the Meteorfall when Sephiroth nearly destroyed the planet."
"The Shinra sounds horrible" remarked Serenia.
Sora and the others entered the reactor to see the silver-haired Chaos Warrior Sephiroth appear. Cloud tightened his grip on the Buster Sword when he saw his old enemy"Sephiroth."
"Cloud. You really just can't stop meddling can you?" grinned the silver-haired swordsman.
Cloud addressed the others"I'll deal with Sephiroth, the rest of you go ahead."
"You're not fighting him alone" responded Tifa, standing beside the spikey-haired blond.
Sora hesitated"Cloud, are you sure?"
Vincent interjected"Do as you wish, I will go on ahead."
"The rest of us are going with you" piped Sora.
The gunner merely walked on ahead silently. Sora and the rest of the group followed except for Cloud and Tifa. The silver-haired swordsman sneered"As I've said before Cloud, you cannot run from your past."
"Enough talk. Bladebeam!" Cloud initiated the first move, only for Sephiroth to dodge and counter with a horizontal slash of his sword. Cloud and Tifa dodged and rushed at their opponent.
Sora's group headed deeper into the reactor until they came to a small chamber. At the center stood the silver-haired Deepground leader. Sora readied his keyblade"Is that the leader of Deepground?"
The man drew his sword silently"I half expected this. It has turned out perfectly, I'd say."
"Weiss the Immaculate" breathed Shelke.
"That's the last of the Tsviets?" asked Serenia.
"It matters not to me what happened to the other Tsviets. Omega awakens soon" both Weiss's voice and another spoke simultaneously, causing Serenia and Tyler to shrink back in astonishment.
Vincent gripped his hand on his gun tightly as he bristled at the sound of the second voice, which was more high-pitched than that of Deepground's leader. A dark-haired silhouette appeared"Well, well, its been two years, Vincent Valentine."
"Who's that guy?" asked Serenia, readying herself.
The man possessing Weiss' body replied maliciously"I am Hojo, I've planted my very consciousness into this soldier's body and Omega will awaken very soon thanks to me tricking the planet into awakening it prematurely."
"Enough of this, you're just sick. Taking control of someone's heart and mind like that" Sora challenged Hojo.
Hojo-Weiss snarled"A loudmouthed fool, I see. Prepare to be destroyed!"
"That's what you think" Sora readied himself.
"Final Heaven!"
"Omnislash!"
Cloud and Tifa's limit breaks barely dented Sephiroth before the silver-haired Chaos Warrior dodged and countered with his Hell's Gate smash attack. Cloud dodged and slashed at his adversary, who dodged and stabbed at Cloud. Tifa lunged at the Chaos Warrior with a flurry of punches and kicks. Sephiroth was knocked down for a moment before he got back up and unleashed a flurry of slashes.
Sora and Serenia threw fire spells at Hojo-Weiss, who dodged and slashed at the two. Vincent shot at Weiss, who took the bullet to the shoulder and retaliated by plunging his blade into the ground and unleashing a shockwave. Sora and the others dodged.
"This guy's not playing around" remarked Luneth, unleashing Comet at Weiss, only for the Immaculate to knock Luneth back with his blade in retaliation.
"Fira!" Sora and Serenia cast the spell at Weiss, who staggered from the blow.
Seeing his chance, Vincent shot Weiss in the chest.
Tifa and Cloud backed up out of the way of Sephiroth's attack. The Chaos Warrior raised his hand and cast a Meteor Spell. Cloud barely got out of the way and countered with Bladebeam. Sephiroth jumped over the shockwave and stabbed at Cloud, who quickly dodged and countered with Omnislash.
"Nice Try, Sephiroth" quipped Tifa, following up Cloud's omnislash with Final Heaven. The chaos warrior fell from the two heroes' blows, presumably dead.
Hojo-Weiss staggerd from the shot"Impressive."
"Strike Raid!" Sora tossed his keyblade, only for Weiss to sidestep and charge one last time at the brunette Keyblade Master, swinging his sword. Sora dodged and countered with a series of slashes and a thrust from his keyblade.
"Aren't we all getting tired from this little brawl of yours?" sneered a voice. Kuja and Kefka had appeared.
"What are Chaos's goons doing here, anyway?" asked Tidus.
"You guys need any help, Sora?" called Tifa as she and Cloud rushed into the room.
"Perfect timing, so is Sephiroth gone?" asked Luneth.
"As far as we know, he's history" replied Cloud, turning his attention to Weiss, Kuja and Kefka.
The blond Chaos Warrior cackled"Ha, ha, as fun as it would be to toy with you all for a while, fate has other plans for you. The way to the second-to-last Twilight Shard is nearly open, but you will not live to see it."
"What do you mean?" asked Serenia.
Hojo-Weiss scoffed"Sephiroth, was it? He's been long since kaput last I checked."
"Enough" Weiss snapped at Hojo, struggling to drag the mad scientist's consciousness into a deadly pool of Mako beneath the reactor.
Kuja smiled wickedly, pulling out a twilight shard"Let us try out this little gift bestowed upon me and the other Chaos Warriors, shall we? This mysterious artifact builds up the light or darkness in one's heart to the max, presumably. If Sanhille happens to be correct."
"I have a bad feeling about this" whispered Yuna.
Kuja raised the shard"Let us see how Weiss, Omega and Sephiroth react to this."
With that, a blast of dark energy burst from the shard. Weiss was thown into the energy barrier at the far end of the room, Hojo screamed as he was absorbed into the lifestream, Weiss's body seemed to vanish with him. At that moment, the ground began to shake.
"What the heck?" griped Luneth, nearly shaken by the sudden quake.
Kefka sneered"I would love to see what unfolds, but unfortunately I cannot linger."
"Cowards" Sora threw Aeroga at the two Chaos Warriors, who disappeared before the spell could connect.
"Omega's awakening" muttered Vincent.
Sora readied himself"Whatever it is, we can take it. Serenia, Tyler, everyone else, get out of here. I will try to stop Omega."
Vincent stood by him"This is my battle, but I welcome your aid."
"You'll need this" Shelke handed a Proto Materia to the red-and-black clad man.
Tidus and Yuna stood by Sora"Count us in."
Cloud squared his shoulders"Whatever may come, I'm ready."
"I'm with you, too" smiled Tifa.
Luneth addressed the others"Let's get out of here."
"Hey! Do you need a teleportation assist? Something gigantic is already coming from underground" called Cid from Sora's mini-comsphere.
"Appreciate it, thanks" replied Sora, teleporting himself and his friends onto the Ragnarok II.
"Is this a good idea?" asked Tifa.
Cloud shrugged"As long as we can get to Omega."
"No worries, I've got a lock on him. I'll transport you there" piped Cid.
Watching everything, Caius stood on the deck of Cid Raines' ship, he had escaped as soon as the quake started. Beside him, Arlene scowled"Humph, we shouldn't have trusted slime like that Kuja character, how could he summon needless toys like that robot emerging in the middle of those ruins!?"
Lumaria shook his head as he stood next to her"It's not our problem, we only need to snatch the next Twilight Shard while Sora is occupied. Besides, that was Weiss's intention from the start. Still, Weiss will still get his comeuppance for attempting to betray Yoran."
"I suppose. So what next, Marluxia?" grinned Arlene.
"Stick to the plan, Larxene" hissed the pink-haired man.
Sora, Cloud, Tifa, Yuna, Tidus and Vincent landed on the top flat platform of a large, dark-colored humanoid. Yuna made a face as she looked at their surroundings. A brownish cocoon stood not far from them.
"What the heck is that?" asked Cloud.
A series of energy crosses appeared and launched at the group. Sora and the others dodged, and charged at it. Another energy cross almost hit Vincent, who dodged and transformed into a large humanoid with his cape intact.
"What is that?" asked Yuna, turning towards Vincent.
"I've seen Vincent like this before, he's transformed into Chaos" responded Cloud.
Chaos-Vincent shot a barrage of bullets at the Omega Cocoon. Tidus pitched in with a Jecht Shot, and Yuna summoned Bahamut to attack with Megaflare. Under the pressure of the group's attack, the cocoon opened to reveal Weiss, who had become part of Omega.
"Too bad this is as far as you go" said a voice as a silver-haired figure on a flying mount appeared. Cloud turned to see the figure flying before them and Omega-Weiss.
Sora glanced at the silver-haired man with the green eyes"Sephiroth?"
"That is Safer Sephiroth, his most powerful incarnation" came Cosmos's voice through Tidus's head.
"Huh?" Sora gasped.
Sephiroth sneered before charging up a tremendous fire-based summon"Supernova!"
Sora cast shell on his allies as fire gradually engulfed them. Tidus countered with a Jecht Shot after suffering minor burns, while Yuna healed her companions. Cloud and Tifa rushed at Safer Sephiroth, who swung his spear-like weapon at the pair. Tifa leapt up and spiraled at downward punch at Sehiroth.
Vincent shot at Weiss, who countered by conjuring a shadow of himself which slashed at the gunman. Vincent barely managed to dodge and shot back at Weiss, who in turn cast a fiery spell at him. Yuna healed Vincent, who shot again at Weiss. Sora joined the fight with a Strike Raid aimed at Weiss's chest.
Cloud and Tifa struggled to keep up as Sephiroth launched spell after spell at the pair. Infuriated, Cloud spun his sword and cast Meteorain on the Chaos Warrior. Tifa followed up with a jump kick at Sephiroth's mount. Sephiroth flew out of the way and slashed at the Martial Artist. Cloud interceded with a Bladebeam. Sephiroth staggered from the blow and prepared another Supernova in retaliation.
Vincent shot again at Weiss, who promptly countered with another fiery spell. Sora launched Strike Raid and Fira at Omega-Weiss, scratching part of the cocoon in the process.
Yuna cast Nulblaze on herself, Tidus, Vincent, Cloud and Tifa before the lengthy summon hit them. Sora threw another Strike Raid, hitting Weiss in the chest. The Immaculate staggered and was about to unleash another fiery attack when Tidus struck with a partial Jecht Shot, knocking Weiss flat onto his back.
Tifa used Somersault on Safer Sephiroth, staggering him long enough for Cloud to get into his stance for performing his strongest attack. The blond readied himself"You're finished, Sephiroth. Omnislash!"
The blond swordsman struck multiple times at Sephiroth, staggering and slashing his nemesis. When the technique was done, Sephiroth felt himself fading away, succumbing to his injuries.
Vincent shot one last time at Weiss, ensuring his death. Turning to Sora, he said"I must destroy Omega's core, get away from here while you can."
"Why? Aren't you coming with us? Weiss was the reason Omega appeared, wasn't it? No, wait, that was Kuja" trailed Sora.
"I should be all right, just go" whispered Vincent.
Sora hesitated"All right, good luck" and signaled Cid to pick him, Tifa, Cloud, Tidus and Yuna up in the Ragnarok II.
As Sora and the four Cosmos warriors boarded Ragnarok II, Vincent shot a hole in the center of the top of Omega and dove for the core. The red and black clad man rushed for the core and shot it.
Onboard the Ragnarok II, the rest of the group hurried to the bridge just in time to see Omega collapsing. Serenia breathed"That was a monstrous humanoid, kind of like the one I saw in my dream."
"What do you mean?" asked Yuna.
Serenia flushed"Well, before I left the Land of Departure, I had a strange, but somehow real dream. Everyone was fighting strange creatures, now that I think of them, they were probably manifestations of the Twilight Crystal. Father, you were fighting a monstrous armored figure at the end of my dream, I wonder if it was Yoran?"
"Hey, whatever Yoran throws at us, we can take him" grinned Sora.
"He's right" said Yuna.
"Hey, what do you think happened to Vincent?" asked Cid.
"He had to stop Omega by destroying its core" replied Sora.
"He's alive, I can sense it" piped Shelke.
Luneth frowned"Are you sure? Well, I guess everything's okay."
Tifa smiled"Shelke, can you go talk to him and ask if he would care to join us? We really need all the help we can get."
"I will do that" acknowledged the former Tviest.
In the meantime, Caius had escaped and headed back to Yoran's hideout. Kuja and Kefka followed him. The silver-haired genome smirked"I would not be surprised if the Cosmos army survived, but perhaps they bit the dust this time."
"I wouldn't underestimate them, either. Did you get the shard?" demanded Caius.
Kuja nodded"Just before Omega began to collapse, yes. Sora was far too busy to notice. So I suppose Weiss proved most useful at his last moments. And with Sephiroth gone, that leaves myself and Kefka the last of Chaos's warriors. Raines and his ilk are exempt from his forces."
"Enough of your prattling, I must go now to find the last shard. I sense it may be located beneath Baron, in one of the Cosmos warriors' worlds. I trust you will turn in the shards you retrieved to Yoran" spoke Caius.
Vincent escaped Omega before it completely collapsed. As he left the ruins of Midgar behind after letting Reeve know Weiss and the Tviests and Deepground were defeated. He didn't expect to run into Shelke, who was approaching him.
"Vincent" said the small brunette.
The gunman replied"What is it?"
"The others would like us to join them on their quest" replied Shelke.
Vincent hesitated"Cloud and Tifa have enough allies at their disposal from what I've seen. But if they insist, perhaps I will consider going with them."
"That is my intention as well. I will go wherever you go, Vincent Valentine. I have not asked what their mission is, but we can offer our assistance if you are willing" said Shelke, calmly.
Vincent nodded, then called Cloud's cell phone. The spikey-haired blond answered"Shelke told you Tifa wanted to ask for your help, then?"
"Yes, in a way. What is our mission?" asked the gunman.
"We're after a man named Yoran, and are in pursuit of the cause of the Twilight Eclipse. It has manifested in more than one world so far. That sounds hard to believe, but we have evidence: The twilight shards we gathered, they seem to be related to the mysterious Twilight Crystal" replied Cloud.
"Hm. I suppose you've aroused my curiosity. I'm in" acknowledged Vincent.
"We'll beam you and Shelke up onto the ship, then. Just try not to be too surprised" said Cloud.
Sorry I took so long to get a chapter up. Next one takes place in Cecil's homeworld. The One Piece main characters and a few others from their universe will make an appearance in a couple chapters, and maybe some from Golden Sun. I guess I won't be able to get this and my other stories finished until sometime next year. We'll wait and see, though.
Please feel free to review.