Violet Shadows (FFVII)

XXXVIII) Deepground

"So it seems." Vincent peers up at the crumbling ruins of the plague that continues to curse humanity today, cellphone pressed to his ear. "Shinra Building... Or what remains of it." David spares the rubble of the businesses that used to line these streets a sorrowful gaze. "Alright."

I kick at a stone, remembering when Avalanche invaded this very city in our quest to stop Hojo's final act of cruelty to mankind. Vincent's falsified reassurances echo through my skull and I shake them away, goosebumps raising across my skin. I'm still uncertain of the truth behind most things he said to me before we defeated Sephiroth. Where the bitter insults that he spat beneath the Highwind merely guarded offenses, or was there a bit of truth behind every hissed syllable? I can't think of another time that I've heard such hatred in his voice, unless he was staring at the greasy, grimy silhouette of Professor Hojo. Was it self-hatred or did he truly see a reflection of my sister when he looked at me? I shake my head, taking a deep breath. What does it matter? That was three years ago. We've proven we're different; we're the ones who fight until the end.

"Vin?" David's voice breaks me from my thoughts and I turn to see the gunman clutching his chest, jerking forward uncontrollably until he's on his knees.

"Vince?!" I fall to the ground beside him, pressing a hand to his back. His heavy breathing seems to echo through the small piece of Midgar we've found ourselves in.

"Is something wrong?" Shelke asks, her voice crackling through the small speaker on his phone, which now lays face up on the rough ground. I hear the pattering of paws on the pavement behind us, but David's sword slices through the beast before it can attack. "Vincent Valentine." Vincent stands slowly, looking dazed.

"Are you—" He wobbles on his feet like a newborn deer, dark flecks of energy starting to swarm around his body.

"Vince," I snap, shaking his shoulders sharply. He seems to snap out of it suddenly, blinking the gold out of his eyes.

"What's going on?" he murmurs, touching a hand to the place in his chest that Rosso ripped the Protomateria from. "Why is Chaos... Why now?"

"Vince?" I frown, tilting my head. His eyes flit up to mine, flooded with confusion and concern. "Are you okay?"

"You really don't know, do you?" Shelke asks. Frowning, I look back down at the phone. "I'm surprised Violet Crescent has not lost control quite yet. The materia that Rosso stole helped you control both Shadow and Chaos. They feed off of each other, and the materia limited that. Now that you've lost it—"

"Your mental state has become extremely unstable," David finishes, resting his hands on his hips.

"Protomateria," Vincent repeats, frowning. "Control Chaos?"

"Yes. If you recall, you both had it extracted from your chests by Rosso," Shelke replies dryly. There's a long pause; I reach up a hand to trace over the hidden, gnarled scar over my heart. "Chaos. While a part of you, the entity exists independently from the rest of your body. Violet Crescent... You have uncovered Shadow's true story, correct?"

"Yeah," I nod, crossing my arms and peering up at the dark plate looming over my head as I try to recall the tale I read in Hojo's file. "Chaos used to rule a realm of his own and he was attacked by something much larger than him, so he split his power into two entities. He was one and Shadow was the name for the other, and they stood equal. Together they defeated the... thing, whatever it was. Hundreds of years pass and then some troubled girl named Alicia summons Chaos, demanding that he end humanity. He said he couldn't do that, but he'd burn her village in trade for her soul. She agreed and he gave her soul to Shadow, causing her to become a sentient being. Later, she got sick of him, tried to overthrow him, failed, and now here we are." I take a deep breath. "That was a mouthful."