Violet Shadows (FFVII)

XXXVI) Retaliation

Cid's bellowing voice is what wakes me. Not the most pleasant sound in the world, but I suppose it's better than sleeping for thirty years only to awaken to three strangers looming over your coffin. There's no debating that.

"I need Vincent Valentine and Violet Crescent to get their #$%^$ down to the bridge!"

I groan and Vincent shifts, eyes opening slowly.

"C'mon, Vince," I mutter, standing and stretching. "We've gotta get our #$%^& to the bridge."

Vincent takes a long, tired breath and stands, following me down to the cockpit. David stands by himself at the edge of a circle of our allies. Cid stands with his hands on his hips, his feet wide apart and his denim jacket tied around his waist. Once we've joined the others, he starts talking.

"Alright. Our old buddies and the remaining WRO squads will lead the ground assault—"

"While we launch our attack from the air," Yuffie finishes, holding a bag of water on her head as she leans back, fighting her usual airsickness.

"Right," Cid nods, turning to Reeve. "So, ya ready?"

"Yes," the commissioner nods.

"Commencing the synaptic net dive," Shelke says, though I don't see her. She must be speaking over an intercom. "In three... two... one."

The room turns black for a split second before bursting into color. The globe in the center of the cockpit casts the illusion of space, of a million stars and nebulas that we seem to soar right past. Cid, always the space junkie, looks around in pure awe.

"What the...? Are we in...?" he mutters.

"Yeah, I think so," I reply under my breath.

"What? What?!" Yuffie cries, utterly confused by the scene.

Vincent's eyes scan over the room, absorbing the sights with clear interest. David reaches out and touches a glowing star, jerking away when it flashes in response. The spinning colors of the projection start to make my head spin. Lucrecia's voice suddenly booms throughout the ship.

"Just as we return to the Planet when our lifelight has faded..." Nebulas and stars rush past us as we're thrust to an image of the Planet. I glance over at Cid and smile at his excited awe. "So does the Planet return to the cosmos when her time has come."

"Wow," Yuffie gushes, running her hand through a cloud of blue gas.

"Anything that has a definite shape will one day cease to exist. The same is true for this world. Before tales of her final breath... The pure Lifestream that flows freely beneath her crust will be brought together as one." Green tendrils of light flow over the surface of the Planet, gathering together in a single ball of energy.

"By Omega, the ultimate life form," Lucy's voice continues. "His purpose? To gather all life, sentient and non, and lead it into the sea of stars where it will embark on a fabulous journey along a road untraveled. However, when Omega has lifted the life from this planet, all that will remain will be an empty shell destined to die silently in the limitless void of space." The ball of energy fires away from Planet, leaving its surface nothing more than a brown ball of dirt. It crumbles apart, dead. The illusion fades and Shelke's replaces my sister's.

"Omega is the same type of life form as the weapons we encountered three years ago." Vincent sighs and leans back against the wall, crossing his arms and leaning one leg over the other. "The Planet gave birth to these creatures to protect itself, just as it will give birth to the ultimate weapon, Omega, when the world is imminent. In essence, Omega is an elaborate safety mechanism designed solely to maintain and protect the flow of life. Normally, Omega poses no threat to us. It only manifests when the Planet detects something that may cause it danger."