Another Chapter is here!

Enjoy!

"Are you sure you're okay to walk?" Tifa asked Aerith as she walked at the back of the group.

"I am," Aerith insisted gently. In truth, she was still hearing the voices inside of her head rather loudly, a collective of many as one while still remaining apart from each other at the same time. They were almost through the remainder of the temple, passing through the obstacles that were in their way largely because of the Elder spirit-body helping them to solve them in accordance to her wishes. Her friends were trustworthy and they were pressed for time, given what she learned from them of what happened outside and with Vincent.

Aerith had felt the presences within him before, the pull of the materia within him similar to how she could sense them normally, but didn't fully understand what they were before now. The additional wisdom she possessed from the Well of Knowledge changed that. The loss of the Protomateria meant that not only did Hojo of all people have one of the keys to starting up Omega, but Chaos was liable to run wild within Vincent. How they ended up inside of him was also an issue that needed to be sorted out later.

Still, it was hard for her to truly concentrate on things. The many different memories surfaced to her mind with every stray thought that could be remotely related to them. A thought of flowers would bring to mind the memories of everyone that had so much as seen one. Her own memories were struggling to rise to the surface of a lake of them, so to speak.

The unspoken words of the Elder encouraged her to bear with it. Once the realm collapsed, the souls tethered to the contents of the Well of Knowledge would return to the Promised Land. The voices would disappear while their knowledge and memories could be called up as though they were her own, though where the border between theirs and hers would likely be indistinguishable.

Relief spread through her at that. It wasn't her own relief, but that of the gestalt sharing their knowledge with her. They yearned to return to the Planet after so long of holding themselves back for the sake of this moment. They deserved to their rest as well.

As the door that stood carved into the stone face opened to reveal the murals on the walls, a sharp pain shot through Aerith's head. The countless voices whispered of danger, so loud that their voices drowned out her own inner thoughts. She staggered forward and nearly fell, only held up by Tifa by her side.

At the same time, Cloud brought his hand up to his head. "You're here, aren't you!?" he called out to the emptiness. "Show yourself, Sephiroth!"

"There is no need to call for me so loudly." As if summoned by the words of challenge, Sephiroth appeared in a semi-solid state. His appearance lacked the solidity of theirs, almost as if he was a mirage. "After all, I am always by your side, Cloud."

Fire, ice, and lightning flew towards him almost immediately, fired by Nanaki, Tifa, and Crimson. The magic passed straight through him, slamming against the floor and back wall. The Elder stood in front of them before they could try and attack him again, waving its arms frantically to stop them.

"He's not fully here," Aerith translated for them. Her words were collaborating with the voices within her mind. "His consciousness here, but his body isn't. Attacking it won't do anything since the Keystone brought us physically into the realm. You'll break the sealing mechanism at this rate."

Sephiroth, who hadn't paid much attention to their fruitless efforts, turned around and looked at the murals. "Impressive, isn't it? This temple is a priceless treasure room of ancient knowledge that can't be replaced."

Something feels… off… Aerith couldn't help but think as she listened to him. There's… another voice overlaying his—another consciousness?

"And what does that matter to you?" Crimson asked as he came to a stop in front of the mural of Meteor, presumably fishing for information. They couldn't touch him despite being in front of him, so it was the next best thing.

"It is the key to how I shall become one with the Planet," he said.

Aerith pushed back the voices in her head to speak. "And how do you plan to do that using Meteor? As powerful as you are, there should be no need for a spell that can only cause harm to the Planet."

"When the Planet is harmed, it will draw spirit energy into itself to heal the damage. The damage caused by Meteor and resulting fallout will return most of the souls to the Planet, and the spirit energy will be drawn to the site of the injury. By placing myself at the center of that energy, I will absorb the entirety of it and become a new life-form—the God who rules over all souls and carry it into the stars, as Mother did before. Soon, all of us shall become one…"

Then, turning to Cloud, their eyes met. "You too, very soon."

Something passed between them at that and Aerith felt the brush of the second consciousness spike within Cloud at that moment. He fell to his knees, clutching his head. "Aghhh!"

"That's enough!" Aerith said firmly. Her voice was overlaid by the gestalt and they all collectively pushed against the evil consciousness. "Leave this place now!"

The command dissipated his form entirely into a seething mist that rushed for the exit. The second consciousness overlaying Cloud vanished as well. He steadily rose to his feet and assured Crimson that he was fine when she asked, shaking his head to clear it in the process.

"…Thanks," Cloud told her. "But was what he mentioned possible?"

"… It's not impossible," Aerith said as her consciousness shifted through the temple in search of others linked to this realm, to ensure that the evil consciousness of Sephiroth was gone. He hadn't put up as much of a fight as she expected, even if she held dominion over the place with the collective inside of her. It was worrying for some reason. "But there's already a system in place with Omega to—"

Her words died as her consciousness flickered over to another set of minds outside of her friends. When she concentrated on it, she found herself overlooking the scene of Tseng on the verge of death at the hands of Argento. Her blade had run through his abdomen and, as she pulled it out, blood cascaded out of the wound as he fell to his knees. The blade was then chambered in preparation to take off his head.

Time stretched on as she watched the scene unfold, wanting to prevent it on some level. The voices with rightfully pointed out that he was undeserving of her help, sifting through her own memories and identifying him as an enemy of both herself and the Planet. And that was true to an extent.

The man was far from innocent given everything he'd been a party to. Yet, despite all of that, she'd known him for so long that few could claim to know her as well as he could. That and Aerith was tired of all the unnecessary deaths she'd witnessed since she began her journey.

The blade fell down and she insisted on being able to do something. The knowledge bubbled to her mind and a jolt akin to using a materia followed, sending an unfamiliar quivering through her body in the process as magic passed through it. Tseng's body and consciousness flickered and then he was abruptly in front of her in a flash of light. He looked confused, only to then cringe as the blood continued pouring from the opened wound.

Another insistent and desperate plea caused more ancient knowledge to bubble up in her mind. The quivering of magic surging through her body after a heavy jolt to her mind followed to trigger the spell. Her hands shone with a white light as she held them over the wound and began healing it.

"Aerith, why are you healing him?" Cloud asked tersely. The raw anger in his voice was clear enough to hear. "Have you forgotten everything he's done?"

"I know everything he's done, but…" She couldn't really justify helping him from anything beyond a personal attachment. Each and every one of them had been victimized by the man in front of her or the people he worked for, but she couldn't give words to the feelings she had that guided her into doing this. Only that she didn't want to see someone she'd known since she was a child die in front of her like this. "I'm sorry."

"… Do what you feel you need to," Crimson said in a hollow voice. If there was anyone here that felt healing him was a betrayal, it was her. "But while you're doing that, how much can you tell us about Sephiroth and his plan?"

Keeping her focus on healing, her answer was distant. "In regards for his plans, there's a basis for it that I can explain with the others. As for how he got in, I think that he found the temple using one of the people who have become his thralls and then arrived to project his consciousness inside the temple."

Tifa tensed upon hearing that. "One of them was here?"

"There was one inside of the temple when the people that brought me here arrived." A light fog of exhaustion was starting to cloud her mind now, making thinking harder. She pushed through it to continue. "But they executed him at the top of the ziggurat. I'm sorry."

"We found the four Deepground troops slaughtered at the top, but we didn't see one of the people in black cloaks," Crimson told her. "Nanaki, did you smell a fifth?"

"I caught multiple scents, including Sephiroth's, but since coming to this realm my ability to smell has been greatly dampened. I could not smell Sephiroth at all just now, but if he was simply a projection there would be no scent to trace."

"Either way, he might be on the outside wait…ing…" She trailed off as a headache like nothing she'd ever experienced started pounding away, cutting the flow of magic and leaving her wavering on her knees before Tifa braced her. "Just… give me a moment and… I'll finish."

"The bleeding has stopped," Tseng told her factually, before she could try again. "You've done enough to ensure I will not die immediately."

"You heard him, he's fine," Tifa said in seemingly placid tone. However, the fact that her hands were unintentionally tight around Aerith's shoulders made her actual emotions clearer. She was restraining herself from reaching down and strangling the man who contributed to the deaths in Sector 7 out of her respect for her friend. "Let's get that Black Materia and leave. Do you know where it is?"

Aerith took a minute to explain the set up of the temple. Namely how it was technically the Black Materia itself. To complete the puzzle to form it, someone would have to stay behind and be sacrificed for them to take it.

"Even if Sephiroth couldn't get inside on his own accord, he can still guide one of the people he's turned into taking it," Nanaki pointed out. "And now that he is positive of its location, he will act."

"I know, but there has to be some other way," Aerith said. There had been enough death today, which was her justification for why she saved Tseng. That train of thought sparked an idea. "Maybe I could do what I did with Tseng and teleport myself out after I finish?"

The Elder's spirit-body vehemently shook its head and forwarded a response to that. The realm they were in was only connected to the outside while the Keystone was active. Once the process began, it would automatically sever the connection and trap those within it. Teleportation wouldn't work between the two.

"That's no good either?" Cloud guessed, presumably from her expression falling and the spirit-body's reaction. "It has to be one of us has to do it after all."

It was Crimson who offered a solution, albeit hesitantly. "… Among us, Nanaki has obligations and can't physically do it, so he's out. Cloud, you're the only one of us who can physically keep up with the Tsviets and Sephiroth, and Aerith can help you fight off Jenova's influence. You're both out as well. That leaves Lockhart or myself as the best option to do it."

"Your math is off, former agent." Tseng rose to his feet, clutching his wound. Though it had been closed, he had lost a lot of blood and the pain was still there. "I will do it."

"We can't trust you," Crimson said pointedly. "Neither Sephiroth nor Shinra can get their hands on it, and I doubt you came alone. We can't afford to have you stall doing it."

"Trust doesn't factor into it when you don't have a choice," Tseng said. "Sephiroth has to be stopped, and so does Heidegger. The Ancient is the key to both and they know it, so they'll come after her again. Sephiroth himself is likely outside waiting to claim both the Black Materia and her at this very moment, so sacrificing one of you here and now will only serve to make his task easier."

There was truth in his words. And all of them knew it, whatever their thoughts on the man. There was a fight waiting on the outside of the temple and they couldn't afford to weaken themselves further.

He advanced towards the floating puzzle, unhindered by them as they weighed his words. "Besides, I have no illusions about being allowed to live or being placed in a position to escape with my current injuries, so this is the most logical course of action to take. Agent Elena has already been rescued and the President will learn of Heidegger's actions and rectify them. Once the rogue elements have been purged from the company, they'll secure and watch over Aerith. Until then, you'll suffice as her guardians."

Aerith's attempt to reach out towards him as he walked past her was cut short when Crimson intercepted her wrist. "Crimson…"

"Do you remember what we talked about that night I woke up in the Gold Saucer?" Aerith nodded to the question. "Then you know that I know how you feel. And you know how I feel about this. But we've lost too much already and Shinra is still our enemy. I'm the one making the call here, so you can blame me if you want when we're safe, okay?"

The voices in her head were agreeing with Crimson. And though Aerith wanted to find some way to refute it… she didn't have a choice. It was either sacrifice Tseng or one of her friends. It should be an obvious thing to do, but she didn't like the notion of doing it. Even if he betrayed her trust and did so many horrible things, there were so few people that she'd known for as long as she did him and how she'd came to see him before what happened in Sector 7.

The Elder walked closer to her while she silently stewed on that fact and held out its hands. Light flickered within it and suddenly she was presented with a new staff that had three materia within its slots and a Ribbon wrapped around it. It was offering the remaining treasures within the temple to her so that she could fend off the evil one no doubt waiting for them outside.

Taking the Princess Guard into her hands, Aerith realized she couldn't turn back. So she looked towards the man a final time. "Tseng, do you remember when I was lost in the Wall Street as a child?"

"I do," he answered without turning to face her. "What of it?"

"Can you tell me why you saved me that day and returned me to my Mother?" She clutched the staff tightly. "You had the chance to take me in then, but didn't. You could have always forced it, but you didn't until... until…"

"Until I authorized the destruction of Sector 7," he finished in an emotionless tone. "It was simply not ideal to return you at moment, and when that time arose, I did so. All of my actions, even this, are for the sake of the company."

"…I see." So it was just me feeling strongly about that after all.

"I'll begin in 3 minutes," Tseng warned. "Make sure you're out by then."

They took that as a cue to move and made for the gate, where the Elder gave Aerith a gentle pat on her shaking hands. The path ahead of her would remain a difficult one, but for the sake of the Planet and as the one who carried their knowledge and wisdom. It wished her a long and rich life before joining it and the others in the Promised Land, and then ventured back inside to await its end.

The group stepped through the gate and ended up back at the top of the ziggurat, where they fell into the shadows. Crimson approached the altar and then pulled the Keystone out of it, sealing the entrance to the realm. Even if Tseng had second thoughts, it was too late now.

Goodbye, she silently said to both the souls of those within the temple and Tseng. The moment that the Black Materia was formed, they would all return to the Planet. And thank you all for what you've done for me.

[-oOo-]

120… 119…118…

Tseng silently counted down the seconds inside of the mural room before he began to solve the puzzle. He knew what would happen and was prepared for it, so death was not something he feared. Every mission, every assignment, he resolved himself to die if the job required it—not to sacrifice himself for someone else, but for the sake of the company. At least, that was what he was convincing himself of at this very moment to justify why he didn't find some way or reason to manipulate the circumstances better.

104…103…102…101…

Aerith's question brought the memories of a time long gone now to the surface, when he had been assigned to retrieve the Ancient after she had escaped from the laboratory with her mother. It had been he who had found Ifalna's corpse and quickly surmised that she had ended up under the care of Elmyra Gainsborough. It should have been easy enough for him to have a unit retrieve her then and there. Yet… he couldn't bring himself to do so upon seeing that child crying in the arms of a woman who had taken her into her care.

90…86… 82…78…

So he suggested that they take time to assess everything before they forcibly took her, as it would likely be a repeat of the situation with Ilfana. They had other matters that they needed to dedicate their forces and resources towards, such as gathering more information on the Promised Land and Cetra before moving, and as long as they kept an eye on her they could bring her in at a later date or even convince her of returning of her own freewill. It was all sound enough that the President found valid points to his opinions and followed through with them.

60… 57… 54… 51…

Somewhere along the way, watching her grow from a child to a young woman, he formed an attachment that he couldn't properly explain. The happiness that she brought to the others, the way she cared for everything, and the way that she cared about the world itself, left him wondering if she may have reminded him of the heart he had lost long ago for the sake of the company. He couldn't be sure if that had been the reason he kept hesitating, taking half-measures, and trying to help Zack when Heidegger was looking to kill him, but it didn't matter once AVALANCHE became active again and he had to act.

30… 25… 20… 15…

He knew that she had found his acts unforgivable, but he wouldn't apologize for doing his job. No matter how much physical or emotional pain it caused her in the process, it would invalidate everything he had done to that point—a career and belief that he had lived for to this very moment. To apologize after everything else would be to undermine every action he'd taken for the sake of the company, so he was fine with dying in an act that benefited both rather than using one against another.

3… 2… 1… 0…

Time was up. He began to solve the puzzle, each motion causing the structure to shake and shrink itself in the same manner as the puzzle. He only came to a momentary pause when he felt a presence behind him and looked to see that the woman who stabbed him was at his back.

"You're too late," he told her. "The exits are all sealed and in a matter of moments this building will collapse in on itself. Neither one of us will survive."

"I see." The news didn't seem to bother her in the slightest, given she made no effort to stop him. "This is fine then."

She's made her peace with death as well, he figured as she set aside her blade and sat down. For those who visited it upon others often enough through the shadows and battlefield, it was nothing more than an old acquaintance. For them, this was an inevitability that they accepted the moment they took their first steps along the path they walked in life.

That in mind, Tseng slid the final piece into place to entomb himself with his beliefs. Darkness began to close in as the realm that composed the Temple of the Ancients began to collapse in onto itself. He sat down with his back against the altar and then closed his eyes like the woman accompanying him as death came for them.

There was a brief moment of pain. Then the pain faded away. Everything faded away…