Another chapter is here!

Enjoy!

Cloud's consciousness crumpled apart under the pain. He'd put everything he could into holding off Azul long enough for the others to accomplish their missions. Every second he was fighting the monster in human flesh was one more bought for the others to finish their tasks.

But he couldn't fight any longer. His body was screaming in agony, all his senses awash in pain as the looming shadow of death hung over him now. He still had the ability to heal himself, but the pain drowned his thoughts to where he couldn't gather the concentration needed to trigger the Restore Materia in his possession. So there was nothing he could do as the steel claw descended to end his life…

And then a second shadow raced from behind Cloud and intercepted it with the grating of steel against steel.

The Cerulean Beast grunted as he tried to crush the interloper. But the man wouldn't bend knee to his strength. "You...!"

"Even if the morrow is barren of promises. Nothing shall forestall my return." A rather placid voice said, as though beginning an invocation. One that brought a flood of memories from Cloud's predecessor to the forefront of his mind. The surprise was enough to drown out the pain and give his consciousness purchase—if only for a moment.

Still, Cloud held fast to that moment of clarity to trigger the Cure 3 spell and felt relief wash over him as everything that was broken mended and the pain ebbed away entirely. He raised his head to see the metal claw was being held at bay by a large sword, its red blade matching the hue of the coat that adorned the auburn-haired man with Mako-shaded eyes.

And one black wing was extending from his left shoulder.

"To become the dew that quenches the lands." The blade's runic inscriptions blazed to life and a red aura began to run along the edge with every word the man quoted. "To spare the sands, the seas, the skies. I offer thee this silent sacrifice!"

The aura flared out all at once as he put effort into swinging the blade, breaking the deadlock. The Cerulean Beast's massive body was rebuked, sent reeling backwards through the air as though struck by a great force—mirroring how Cloud had been launched prior. Arch Azul plowed through a two-story building and a cloud of dust rose up in the wake of the impact.

Then again, was anything less expected of Genesis Rhapsodos?

He was a First-Class SOLDIER, friend and colleague to Angeal Hewley and Sephiroth until he deserted, orchestrating what would be known as the Genesis War among the ranks of Shinra in an effort to cure himself of degradation. He got his wish in the final battle with Zack in the Banora Underground, empowered by the Lifestream yet beaten, and they'd left him in the village before Zack rode off to his death.

"Why are you here?" Cloud asked as he rose to his feet, grasping the Buster Sword defensively. His mind was clear as far as thoughts go, but the mental fatigue of using spells was gnawing at the fringes. He had maybe three more in him as things stood—not nearly enough to fight a man of his caliber.

"Upon receiving the Gift of the Goddess by the Hero's hands, I was liberated from my role as the Prisoner." Genesis lowered his sword as the magic imbuing it faded and turned to Cloud. "Gift in hand, I made a vow to serve as the Goddess' Champion, and thus I have awoken to fulfill my new role."

Cloud... didn't have the patience or willingness to try and interpret his words, given the circumstances. "So, you're an ally?"

"Essentially." His eyes fell over the Buster Sword. "You've come a long way from being a mere infantryman, and you carry the legacies of my old friends. But if you let opposition of this caliber bring you to your knees, Sephiroth will be quite a challenge."

It was unnerving for someone who'd been out of sight during all the commotion over the last few months to be so well-informed. "You know about him too?"

"I know that he moves even now, but I must attend to Omega's awakening first." Genesis turned away as a rumble reached their ears from the collapsed rubble. The metallic behemoth was forcing himself out. "You've got your second wind. Can you handle this from here?"

Cloud froze at the underlying meaning of that question: Do you need me to fight your battles for you?

Until now, the people who knew Zack had been supportive of his efforts to succeed Zack's legacy with the Buster Sword, even as he carved out an identity for himself. But all of those people weren't his peers. Aerith was his lover. Crimson was his supporter. Kunsel was his friend.

They weren't his equal in terms of strength. This man was for all intents and purposes—as a swordsman and SOLDIER. That was why the question carried a lot of weight to it. Asking for Genesis to deal with a battle-weary Azul at this point would be the equivalent of saying that he couldn't handle it on his own.

But… wasn't that okay? He and the others fought as a group because it made overcoming the challenges in front of them easier. That was why they traveled together and faced the odds together… yet, here he was alone. He had broken away from the others to deal with the Tsviet while the others dealt with Hojo and Heidegger.

And that wasn't the wrong decision. While Azul was definitely a threat, he wasn't one that could end the world on his own. By keeping him here, Cloud had been able keep him from interfering with the more important battles. So, if Genesis could finish him off, then why did it bother Cloud so much?

...Because time wasn't the only thing on the line here. His fight with Azul hadn't been just a clash of strength to buy time, but a battle of ideals as they exchanged blows. Azul believed in 'might makes right', with the weak left to be crushed underfoot. Cloud believed that it was the duty of the strong to defend the weak, so they could pursue their own goals of their own accord.

He'd fallen, but he hadn't died. That meant that his ideals, and those passed on by Zack and his master, were still valid if he could keep fighting. Letting someone else fight in his place when he was still capable was no different here than dying—in spirit, if not in body. And the time Genesis spent, however short, fighting his battles for him kept the man away from the greater threat.

"The others in the Reactor are dealing with Heidegger and the Materia Bomb that's supposed to trigger Omega's awakening," Cloud said. "My earpiece was destroyed in the battle, so I haven't been able to hear from them. If you're really on our side, make sure they're safe and I'll catch up after I'm done here."

The response netted a small smile as his auburn hair shifted with a nod of his head, so Cloud assumed that was what he wanted to hear. Then he turned his attention to the Mako Reactor in the distance and his black wing flared outwards. With a single flap of it, dark feathers were scattered as Genesis took flight without another word.

"Where do you think you're going?" snarled the metallic behemoth as he finished freeing himself. Stones of energy began to form around him in preparation to shoot Genesis down as he passed overhead, his back unguarded.

Cloud raised his hand and felt electricity coursing through his mind as a powerful jolt ran through it. Burning one of the spells he could still cast, he sent out a blistering bolt of lightning that struck the Tsviet before he could let loose his own attack. The Cerulean Beast shrieked loudly as the current danced over his scales and sparks cascaded from his frame, and with his concentration severed the energy-condensed stones prematurely shattered into pieces.

It's conductive. That was the conclusion that Cloud came to after seeing the strongest reaction from the Tsviet since he'd transformed. The organic metal that composed him was conductive, a crippling weakness that could topple the metallic behemoth.

Tension threaded his body as the chance for victory was in his sight, resting at end of the distance stretched out between them. He could only use magic two more times before the mental fatigue set in. To guarantee a kill, he had to make sure it hit—and that meant closing the distance.

Arch Azul's murderous and bestial glare was fixed on him now, crystallized energy reformed to shoot him down as Cloud poured strength into his arms and legs. This was it. All or nothing. He exhaled with a shout and charged forward, devoting every last ounce of strength to killing the opponent in front of him as energy crystals were launched.

A burst of speed allowed Cloud to avoid the first volley of projectiles, leaving them to slam into the ground behind him. It was like a series of bombs going off, the force threatening to stagger him. He kept his footing and pressed on, even knowing he couldn't avoid the follow-up barrage this time.

Have to endure it! He gritted his teeth and swung the Buster Sword around with all his might before they could touch him. The blade swept through them, breaking them open and swallowing him in the blinding light and force. Endure it!

But this time he retained his consciousness through sheer force of will, even as it threatened to tear his body apart. A jolt to the mind burned another Cure 3 spell to repair the damage without slowing down. The distance now had shortened greatly with every stride of his legs.

The Cerulean Beast responded to his final gambit by materializing eight flying energy crystals this time. At this distance, there wouldn't be enough time to cut them down or dodge. The moment they were fired, they would completely blow Cloud away, and this time there would be no one to buy him another opening.

Even if he could endure it by some miracle, he'd have to use up his final spell to keep fighting. That would leave him open to another barrage that would definitely finish him off. That was his limit at the moment...

However, that was what the Limit Breaks existed for. To break through the limits standing between survival and death on the battlefield. Its light flared from within Cloud as he kept up his charge, the nebulous and unshapen form finally being solidified overhead into dense meteors—an imitation of the ultimate destructive magic to obliterate his foe.

"Rain Down!" The flaming balls of molten rock flew forward at the command, just as the crystals were fired like rockets. The two opposing barrages met midway between them and the air itself quaked under the resulting explosion, an ear-splitting cacophony and dust rising up to form an obscuring veil to even their superior senses.

Arch Azul didn't wait for it to clear before lashing out with his claws, pointed-tips sweeping through empty space to tear the swordsman apart. They swept away the dusty veil to reveal that Cloud wasn't there. He'd vanished…

No, his instincts told him otherwise. He forced his head upwards, already forming a final set of energy crystals to fire, and saw that Cloud had jumped and was now above him. Lightning crackled in his opened palm for an instant before a massive, blinding bolt descended from above to smite the metallic behemoth.

"RRRRRAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHH!" The bestial shriek rang out as the lightning scorched and melted the metal, tendrils of electricity overriding his muscles and causing him to collapse as the half-formed crystals once more shattered.

The Buster Sword followed as Cloud descended, backed by gravity and the full-force of his muscles as he thrust the point down through the electrified scales. The metal crumpled beneath the assault and the blade ran through the Cerulean Beast. Straight through his heart.

Arch Azul reeled back on reflex, rising up on his hind-legs as he let out a death throe while throwing Cloud off of him. Then he began to shrink and wither, once more returning to the form of a man. On his knees, with the Buster Sword still wedged into his chest, he let out a wet cough that added to the blood pooling on the ground.

Cloud pulled himself up to his feet. His mind felt heavy, and there were no more spells left in him after that last one. Then, to his horror, Azul began to stand as well.

"A warrior… lives and dies… on the battlefield…" The Tsviet forced his hands up to the blade running through him and began push it out. The Buster Sword clattered to the ground, metal ringing out loudly as the blood now poured out freely to the dry earth. "Remember that…"

That said, he exhaled a final breath and then fell forward onto the ground. He didn't move again. So died the Cerulean Tsviet with a smile on his face, having lived and died in accordance to his own beliefs—that the strong prevailed and the weak were crushed.

Without a word, Cloud picked up his sword from the expanding pool of blood and slung it onto his back. Then he made his way towards the Reactor to join up with the others.

[-oOo-]

It should have been done by now, Hojo thought to himself as he hovered in place. Terra corrupt should have finished consuming and assimilating the Ancient and Chaos' current host. Something must be wrong, an unexpected factor I—

He didn't get further with the thought before a portal of darkness opened up behind him. He turned towards it in time to see the warped form of Chaos emerge, with the Ancient and her companions following. Their eyes locked and Hojo knew that Vincent Valentine was in control—at least temporarily. Without the Protomateria his mind would buckle under Chaos eventually, so there was still a chance to put his plans back into motion.

Hojo exerted his control over Nero through the Jenova cells implanted to control his mind. The darkness billowed from Tsviet once more, intending to swallow them whole a second time. But Vincent acted before he could, extending his empty hand towards it, and the wave of darkness parted before it could touch them.

He then raised his other hand, firearm extended towards Nero, and pulled the trigger. A bullet round steeped with the dark energy of Chaos slammed into Nero with the force of a truck. The Sable Tsviet's flesh didn't break open under the force of the impact, but he rocketed past Hojo and into the ground.

The weapon was then turned towards Hojo, and the trigger was pulled a second time. Blinding pain overtook his evolved form as it buckled under the force of the round punching open a gaping hole in his chest. The momentum tore out the alien tissue, exposing the Protomateria that he'd integrated within him.

The wound would mend. It was already starting to close up and cover it once more. But Chaos' host took flight and raced to claim it before it could finish.

Hojo fought through the pain of the wound and directed his bladed-tail around to intercept. At the same time, he reoriented Nero to warp through the darkness, with the intention of getting the drop on him from behind. The pincer attack would at least wound or cripple Vincent, and with that lack of concentration from the pain Chaos would run wild again and he could move from there.

But, before the appendage could connect, the uncanny origami that the Wutai girl called a weapon circled around him like a boomerang. It severed the appendage with the ease of paper, leaving it to flail harmlessly out of the way.

And, as the darkness opened in the air behind Vincent and Nero displayed the full extent of his weaponry, a bestial roar sounded out. Cerulean stars flared into existence above Nero and then rained down as brilliant rays of light. The extra armaments were blown apart while the rays hammered the Sable Tsviet to the ground, where a sphere of ice slammed into him and froze half his body in a column of ice.

Both attacks thwarted, there was nothing stopping Vincent from his charge. Hojo tried to attack with his arm, sharpened to a point, as a final line of defense. But he was skewered from all angles by violet needles that robbed him of all movement, stilling the regeneration of his cells and leaving him helpless as Vincent finished closing the distance.

"GRRAAAHHH!" Hojo could only shriek as the clawed hand pierced deep and then pulled the Protomateria free with a wet sound. The connection he had with it was severed as it was returned to the slot just over where Chaos' heart would be. Then he found himself staring down the barrel of the gun as Vincent gained height and pointed down towards him.

That is what contingency plans are for, I suppose, were his final thoughts before Vincent pulled the trigger and a beam of darkness obliterated his Jenova-laden body entirely.

[-oOo-]

Crimson winced as an inhuman roar resounded while the abomination struck with its sinuous spear-arm, thrusting the point towards Cid in an effort to skewer him. The pilot twisted his body to avoid the killing thrust that punched through the platform and then stabbed his polearm's blade into it, pinning it into place as alien ichor ran from the resulting wound. The creature that was once Heidegger warbled in fury before lashing out the opposite set of tendrils, each one attempting to ensnare him before he could severe it entirely.

The former Turk sent her Rekka flying to intercept them, a whirlwind of steel that sawed through the still-writhing limbs with a precise throw and sent them over the side of the railing. Crimson then pulled on the wire so the oversized shuriken returned while chewing through the more of its body. It let loose a shrill cry before the remaining, wounded appendage jerked forward, upturning metal in a primal attempt to lash out. "Look out!"

Cid jumped backward in response to the warning, but it was too slow and left him sucking in a sharp breath as a flash of hot pain ran through his leg. Fresh blood ran from the gash in his pants, where the twisted metal managed to tear into his flesh. It left him falling to one knee as the weapon-arm came down for him a second time.

Barret covered him with a hail of gunfire. The bullets punched through its head and limbs to distract it while Cait Sith provided healing, soothing light swaddling the pilot's wounded leg and knitting the gash shut. It was just in time for Cid to escape as the abomination swept it's organic-weapon around in an arch, cleaving through the railing and shearing a deep gouge out of the passage.

The gun-man then shone with a furious light as Cid cleared the blast-zone and his rage reached its peak at the one who'd orchestrated the fall of the Plate. The power of the Limit Break gathered into his gun and concentrated, growing from a faint light into a blister fireball that swelled in size until it was launched forward.

The spiraling orb met with the abomination and bloomed into a roaring flame that forced Crimson to shield her eyes with her arm, lest the glare and gale of hot wind blind her. It died down as quickly as it came about though, and she lowered her arm to see that the abomination was a smoldering mess. Curdling smoke rose from where the flames had scorched the deepest, despite being poor fuel for the flames to consume.

It's not healing anymore. The abomination had patched itself up constantly to this point, replacing any severed limbs or punctures that were made in its body by taking from its mass. Now though, too much of it was damaged or blown off. "We can finish it off now!"

"Let's go for the kill then!" Cid shouted, his own Limit Break's strength surging through him. As if acknowledging the threat that it presented, the abomination shrieked as it lunged forward in an attempt to intercept the pilot before he could get into range. However, Cid poured that strength into his legs as he twisted his weapon around and jumped into the air with all his might to avoid it.

That left it coming towards Crimson, whose Rekka warped under the influence of her Limit Break and took a demonic form once more that seethed blood-red energy. Putting all the strength she could muster into the throw, she flung it forward to meet the monster that was once Hojo. A miserable howl followed as the weapon burst through its body and turned its charge into a stumble. Crimson then pulled it back in by the wire as Cid descended.

All the power had gathered into his spear, concentrating to the point where it was radiating a brilliant cerulean light. Falling like a shooting star crashing to earth, the impact made the metal walkway shake and groan. The former Turk grabbed onto a section of railing for purchase as the energy dispersed into the form of a shockwave that scattered the remnants of the monster.

"Finally," she said with a soft sigh, her legs threatening to collapse under her from the melting tension. But she forced herself to keep standing. There was still one more thing left to do before she could relax. She made her way over to the Materia Bomb, intending to finish the disarming process.

That was when the door to the core of the Reactor slid open. A man with a muscular build on display emerged, his upper body exposed and bare. His hair was spiky and white, and there were a pair of swords that looked akin to a cross between a Wutai-weapon and revolver strapped to his back.

Weiss the Immaculate? Crimson guessed from the information she had. He was supposed to be locked away, being too dangerous and difficult to control according to Shelke. So why was he free now?

She didn't get the chance to think on it too much when he turned towards the Materia Bomb and she realized he was planning on using it. Immediately, she flung her Rekka to cut him down before he could—

KIRIK!

—and, in an instant, it was destroyed by one of the long blades. Her Rekka's pieces were scattered over the platform, ruined beyond repair. It was gone.

Crimson only had enough time to process that before the man practically blinked into existence in front of her. Not teleportation, but speed that was fast enough that Crimson could mistake it for that much. His left hand shot out and then she found herself struggling for air as he held her by the throat and lifted her in the air.

"Urk…ahh…" She tried to get free from his grasp, but it was like a vice had been clamped around her neck. And when she tried to chamber her legs and kick off his broad chest to get loose, it was like kicking solid stone. She couldn't get away!

"Let her go!" Cid shouted as he charged down the platform, spear ready to be thrust for a killing blow as Barret lined up a shot with Cait Sith standing there. The man spared them a glance as he pointed the sword towards them and pulled a trigger thrice.

The first shot took out Cid's leg, punching through his thigh and leaving him buckling under his own weight. He was sent crashing to the ground and left clenching it as the second blew apart Cait Sith's body from the neck up, leaving fluff scattered about. The third caught Barret in the abdomen and left him kneeling as he clutched the wound with his remaining hand.

Damn… it…Crimson felt her mind starting to leave her as her lungs burned for air. Her Rekka was gone and she couldn't force her way free on her own. So, putting her remaining concentration into the Gravity Materia that replaced her Thunder Materia, she triggered an intensified field of gravity that thrummed as it came down on them like a hammer to wrench herself free.

The former Turk hit the platform harder than she would have liked. It left her coughing as she struggled to regain her breath while he readied to pull the trigger, barrel pointed at her head. Then there was a flash of red faster that her eyes could keep up with again and sparks came into existence, forcing her to shield her eyes shut as a clash of steel rang out over her head.

Her first thought was that Cloud had finally caught up to them. But that hope turned to confusion when she opened her eyes again and saw the face of Genesis. He stood in front of her, his blade grating against the crossed pair of the white-haired Tsviet.

"You were supposed to have disappeared after they retrieved you from Banora," Weiss said.

"And I've returned to close the curtain on your ambitions once and for all—" He broke the sword-lock and then swung his weapon horizontally. It forced the Tsviet back towards the door. "—Professor Hojo."