Final Fantasy VII 1. Chapter 1 Boulevard of Broken Dreams

_It was cool and airy around me. My eyes were closed and I was almost afraid to open them. I, the great Weiss the Immaculate, being afraid? There's a real laugh. But honestly, I have never felt such power as I did in the last few moments of my life. Omega's power coursed through my veins as if my blood was on fire. What a rush it was; what a thrill greater than gallons of adrenaline! What an amazing feeling of ecstasy as I soared to towards the cosmos with Omega as my vessel. Then came Chaos. That's all I need say. _

_Now here I lie, floating in God knows where with no sign of life or my brother. Just me in this silent, cool place. _

_I'm dead, I won't deny that; and my plot to embark on a cosmic journey has been foiled and ruined. I won't deny that either._

_I dare to open my eyes. Nothing is around me: only a void of the purest white. Strange how it is, that I don't fear anything here, I don't wonder what this place is, and I have no emotion towards anything._

_Off in the distance, I hear something like a whisper. It is the whisper of a woman. Slowly, her whisper becomes clearer to my ears. "…Weiss…"_

_I recognize the voice but not quite. Rosso's? No, it bears no accent like Rosso. Shelke? No, the voice sounds older and Shelke is still alive. Not Argento's either. _

_"Weiss…I know you can hear me…" the voice laughs. Suddenly and painfully, I recognize the voice. The woman had been in my life for only a few short years. It was the woman who loved me when no one else would and the woman whose life was taken at Nero's birth. My mother._

_"Mother…is that you?" I ask. What is this? My voice is choked and hoarse. My mother laughs again with a voice stolen from wind chimes. I would have jumped if I could have when hands suddenly came to rest on the sides of my face. I was tempted to slap them away for no one would dare touch me without permission. But then I remembered that one, I am no longer Emperor of Deepground; two, my plan had failed; three, I am dead; and four, this was my mother whom I would never strike._

_"Of course it's your mother, Weiss," mother said. I could see her face hovering high above mine. That face I have not seen since I was…five years old. Her face was round, like Nero's and hair black as night swept around her shoulders. Willowy eyes as green as emeralds stared down at me._

_Her slender fingers traced the shape of my face, the contours of my nose and ears, and ran slowly through my thick hair. Her hands snaked down my neck and explored the form of my muscles. Smiling, she said, "You have changed, Weiss. When I last saw you, you were but a little boy. Now look at the fine, handsome man you have become."_

_"Mother, I'm dead," I reminded. _

_"It doesn't matter. You are who you are," mother said. She lifted her face so that I only saw her chin. Sighing heavily, she added, "Where is my other son, Nero?"_

_I was about to answer when I suddenly realized that though Nero and I did become one in the last minutes of our lives, we were separated at our death. Again…we were separated. Though we swore not to let anything come between us, Death tore us apart. Nero could be billions of souls down the lifestream for all I know._

_"I don't know," I answered truthfully._

_"Well, well, well. Look what the lifestream's garbage service picked up," an agitated male voice suddenly exclaimed. Anger suddenly flared up and I sat up…if one could call it that._

_"What do you want?" I growled. The new voice chuckled._

_"Just kidding, Weiss. Welcome aboard the ship known as the lifestream! Parties, martinis, and lassies twenty-four seven!" the new voice laughed._

_"Knock it off, Zack," a new female voice grunted. A young woman suddenly came into view. Her long brown hair was neatly braided behind her head and a pink ribbon was tied at the base. Her brown eyes were large and bright. She smiled at me. At me? Someone smiled at me? Is that even possible? "You'll have to excuse Zack. He has almost no manners. I'm Aeris. It's a pleasure to meet you, Weiss."_

_"Uh, I guess," I stammered. "Well, you shouldn't be glad to meet me."_

_"How so?" Aeris asked. Before I could answer, that annoying male voice jumped in._

_"You know that massive load of people that entered the lifestream just recently?" Zack asked, "Those people were all killed by his orders."_

_I couldn't believe it. I actually felt embarrassed. I didn't like this. I didn't like the waves of memories these emotions were bringing back. The emotions: fear, embarrassment, pain, love are the emotions I had killed and purged from my soul eight years ago and now, one by one, they were returning though I wished they wouldn't. _

_Despite the news of the event most recent before my death, Aeris's expression didn't change. She only turned to wherever Zack was. "But can't you feel his pain, Zack? What a terrible life."_

_"What would you know about my life?" I snapped._

_"I can tell by just looking at you and listening to your responses to things."_

_"What gives you the right to be a psychiatrist?"_

_Aeris's eyes narrowed. "Weiss, I'm just trying to get Zack to stop pestering you. Besides, we've all got a story. Why don't you share yours?"_

_"Are you crazy? I'm not sharing it with anyone. Besides, I've got to find my brother."_

_"Weiss, you act as if Nero ain't already dead. You'll come across him soon. Besides, what else is there to do?" Zack asked. Honestly, I couldn't answer. Anger was rising up again. I kept getting cornered and treated like a child. Why? I hate being cornered._

_"I don't even know you," I grunted, trying to give him an excuse._

_"As if we'll ever get to really know the…infinite number of people in the lifestream!" Zack joked. He was right again. Darn._

_"Fine, but don't you dare laugh," I sighed. Aeris sat down in front of me and finally, Zack appeared. My mother sat next to me. Sighing deeply, I began, "It all started when I was fourteen. Nero and I were living together in an apartment in Nibelheim, alone for mother and father had both returned to the lifestream…"_

Nero jumped up as the doorbell rang. As he ran to see who it was, he shouted, "I'll get it!" His shout had made me nearly jump out of my skin and a long graphite mark had suddenly streaked across the page of my SOLDIER education workbook. I sighed and reached for my white eraser.

I heard the front door open and Nero exchange a few words with whoever was at the door before Nero shouted, "Weiss, someone's here to see you!"

I hopped from the chair at my desk and turned out the lamp. I ran my hand through my soft, thick silver hair and strutted out to the living room where the front door was. I was greeted by two sour looking faces of Shinra SOLDIERS.

"Can I help you?" I asked. The SOLDIERS simply let themselves in without invitation. The tallest one turned to me and put his hands on his hips.

"So this is Weiss? I was expecting more," he grunted as he looked me up and down. I cringed and clenched my fist. The SOLDIER walked around me, apparently inspecting my body. I cast a glance at Nero who seemed terribly confused. Unfortunately, I knew what was going on. The SOLDIER stopped in front of me. "You haven't responded to the notices sent, Weiss. Why not?"

I knew the answer. I narrowed my eyes and glared hard at the floor. Nero yelped as the SOLDIER brutally yanked my head up by my hair so that I was facing him. It hurt pretty badly but I wasn't going to give them the satisfaction of seeing me cry. I only clenched my fists even harder.

Swallowing hard and giving the SOLDIER my most defiant look, I said, "Because Nero and I are not joining SOLDIER. Why else would I not respond?"

Fury flared in the man's eyes and he shoved me back so hard, I fell on the floor smack on my back. Nero tried to run to help me but the other SOLDIER only held him back. "Leave my brother alone!" Nero shouted helplessly. I raised a hand to signify that I was alright.

The SOLDIER who had shoved me crossed his arms. "You never had a choice in the first place, Weiss. Your talents are the possession of Shinra Company and of Deepground. Same goes with your brother."

I cast my eyes to my younger brother who seemed terrified out of his wits. I wasn't ready for SOLDIER and he definitely wasn't. Our quick glance, however, said that no matter what happened to us, we would not give them what they wanted. We were too strong.

The second SOLDIER spoke, "You two will have twenty-four hours to pack your things and get ready to leave. You may speak to nobody about this for any reason. Am I understood?"

For once, I heard the strangest thing come from my brother's mouth, "We will never understand why Shinra tortures children. We will never do as you ask!"

He was rewarded for his boldness by a smack in the head with the stock of the second SOLDIER's gun. He crumbled to the ground, crying as he covered a bloody gash on his forehead. The SOLDIER grunted, "You will do as commanded or pay with your life!"

With that, the two SOLDIERS left and slammed the door behind them. I quickly rushed to Nero's side and pulled him upright. Soft whimpers escaped his throat as he continued to try and stop the bleeding using only his bare hands. He gazed up at me with his large ruby eyes. Tears and blood ran down the sides of his round face. "Are you alright, Nero?" I asked.

"My head hurts!" he moaned. He was still only nine years old so if he was in pain, that was all he could think about. Slowly, I brought him to his feet by his shoulders. Sweeping my right arm around his shoulders, I led him to the bathroom where we kept our few medical supplies.

He sat on the counter while I began cleaning the gash with antiseptic cleanser. He winced a few times. Finally, I found something funny to talk about. "Nero."

"Yes?" he asked nimbly.

"Did you see the face of that stupid SOLDIER when you told him that we will never obey Shinra? I wish I could have taken a picture and blackmailed Shinra with it!" I laughed. Nero chuckled and kept the smile there.

"Do you think we could surprise SOLDIERs more like that?" he asked. Grinning, I placed two Band-Aids over the cleaned gash.

I pulled him in for a hug. "You bet! We'll outsmart those idiots so bad, they'll be afraid to hear the names Weiss and Nero!"

Despite our little pep talk to each other, we packed in dreary silence. I packed most of my clothes but not everything. I came across the velvet box where my cure materia was stored. Getting this past Shinra SOLDIERS won't be easy. They confiscate any materia found and normally, it is never seen again. There was only one option.

I opened the top of the box and smiled as the warm glow of the materia beat against my face. I took the glowing orb from its house and rolled it around in my hands. I turned my head and moved the orb towards my left shoulder. I felt the warmth press against my skin. Slowly, I pushed harder until I felt a slight burning sensation. When I dared to look over again, my shoulder was glowing. The materia was in.

I packed the few remnants of our family in my suitcase. Those remnant relics of my family included the only picture of my mother and father, a picture of me when I was nine and Nero was four, a birthday card made for my 12th birthday by Nero, and my good luck cactaur needle keychain. That was all I had left of my parents.

Nero didn't pack much either. His room still had the few movie posters he owned and his calendar of wolves still hung on the wall near his futon. His suitcase was packed and stood in the middle of the floor.

Dinner was silent. Only the clanking of silverware against ceramic could be heard. Nero only picked at his food at first. He shoved the shrimp around his plate while fear filled his face. Even the food I ate, the food that I had cooked with spices, seemed dull and tasteless. Shrimp, soba noodles and chickpeas was one of our favorite dinners but we almost couldn't eat.

Getting ready for the first of many restless nights was silent. Only when we were about to go to bed did Nero say anything.

"I heard they turn SOLDIERs into monsters, Weiss. I don't want to be a monster," he stated.

"I won't let that happen, Nero," I promised. Nero didn't seem convinced.

"But…I've…got this darkness in me already…I don't want that to become a monster," he continued. There was nothing I could say. For once, I was dumbfound and couldn't help my brother. Silently, he slipped into his room and closed the door.

Neither of us ate our breakfast. We only stared into the porridge and glared at our glasses of orange juice. Once again, we were silent.

Then the doorbell rang.

Nero and I only looked at each other, wondering who would answer the door. Our lives were about to end. Not our physical life, the life of our very spirits. We didn't know it then, but we were soon to find out.

The door was opened and neither of us cared. In strutted the first SOLDIER from yesterday. He glared disapprovingly at the both of us and grunted, "You two have got ten minutes to get your little sorry tails out to the truck!"

We didn't disobey. After quickly cleaning our dishes, we gathered our few things and went out to the truck. Nero turned in the keys to our apartment and quickly rejoined me outside the truck.

A different SOLDIER stood outside the back of the closed in cargo area. He opened the back doors and beckoned for us to enter. I stood before that gaping black hole. This was it. This was the black hole that would suck the life out of me. I entered.

It was then that I sealed up my trust. Only Nero held the single strand of my trust. I could feel a hate building inside me already and I fought it. I fought it and thought I would win.

As we all know, I did not win that fight.

Nero followed closely behind me, shaking and sat down right next to me on the bench. The truck began moving and I gripped my brother tight in my arms.

As we left Nibelheim, we knew we were leaving the good days behind and entering a life of pain. We didn't know we were entering hell on Gaia.


	2. Chapter 2 Ordinary World

The drive from Nibelheim was rough and bumpy. I could almost feel every stick and stone on the road. What did that lame misery mount up to?

Nero clung very tight to my waist with his head firmly planted against my chest. He was shaking pretty badly and despite the back of the truck being very dark, I could see wisps of Nero's darkness escaping his body. He must have been terrified. His darkness crept from his body if he was badly hurt, furious, extremely sad, or extremely frightened.

Hours passed and we were both getting very thirsty and hungry. The SOLDIERs didn't even stop to give us water. We felt like hostages rather than new SOLDIER recruits. As the hours drew on like years, I became even more doubtful about exactly how good SOLDIER was.

We stopped. It was late afternoon. The light streaming in through the tiny window was like a fine line of fire. The doors were opened and I threw my arm up to shield my eyes. One of the two SOLDIERs stood outside. His face was grim and he seemed annoyed. He beckoned with his hand and then grunted, "Hey, you two, get out!"

Nero let go of my waist a stood up as I did. As I strutted from the back of the truck with my brother following closely behind me, I gasped. Before my eyes was the ocean. How?

I had never seen the ocean before and neither had Nero. It appeared as a sea of fire. Streaked without the slightest hue of blue but only gold and crimsons it was so amazing. Nero had walked up beside me and was just as dumbstruck as I was. His jaw hung open and a slight chuckle escaped his throat.

He turned to me. "Weiss, is that…?"

"Yes, it is the ocean," I finished.

Our ecstatic moment was cut short by a harsh bark of orders from the SOLDIER, "Get your sorry little tails over here!"

I turned sharply and glared hard at the SOLDIER. I don't know what it was, but something in my glare made the man's eyes widen and his attention quickly turn toward the other SOLDIER behind him. Nero must have seen it for he chuckled.

_"Wait, wait, wait! Since when were you and Nero so fearful and timid?" Zack asked. I glared hard him. _Idiot_, I thought._

_"We were kids! I was fourteen and Nero only nine…now will you shut up and let me continue?" I snapped. My mother gripped my arm in disapproval. Shaking my head, I continued._

It was obvious that we had stopped at a port. I wasn't quite sure where exactly, but there was a huge ship docked nearby and it appeared as if it was being prepared for a trip. Palm trees swayed gently in the evening breeze and tourists began to return to their inns from spending the day on the glistening beach. I somehow recognized the place. Suddenly it came to me. The port was Costa Del Sol.

Me and Nero were brutally shoved along the nearly empty streets of the port. The SOLDIERs had no mercy in their pace. My raging hunger plus having to nearly run to keep ahead of the SOLDIERs cruel pushes began to make me nauseous.

We were finally able to rest as we entered a restaurant. Inside, it wasn't too busy. It appeared that most of the few customers were guys taking their girlfriends out for a quiet date. The two SOLDIERs sauntered over to an empty table bearing four seats. A candle was lit in the center and a set of salt and pepper shakers were lazily arranged beside it. A young waitress strutted up. Her hair was mussed and her expression said, "I'm tired".

"Can I help you?" she asked.

The first SOLDIER grinned "You busy later on?" he asked. The girl raised an eyebrow and grunted.

"You're in SOLDIER, right?" she asked. The man nodded. "Then you're getting on that ship tonight so don't even bother asking me anything like that. I'm here to take orders for food, sir."

"Rum for me!" the first SOLDIER laughed. The girl rolled her eyes and took down the order

"Cola," the second SOLDIER grumbled. The girl then looked up at me and Nero. She cracked a slight smile.

"What will you two have?" she asked kindly.

I leaned over to Nero. "Get water. We shouldn't tick off these SOLDIERs more than they already are," I whispered. Nero nodded. I looked back up at the waitress. "Water for both of us."

Nero and I left the restaurant with the two SOLDIERs with empty stomachs. The two SOLDIERs had eaten but they wouldn't let me or my brother order anything to eat. The water had helped to soothe the blazing hunger but it didn't last long.

"Weiss, I'm so hungry!" Nero half-whined. Violet wisps of his darkness were clearly escaping his body. Another hour without food and he might lose control. I had to stand up.

"Hey! SOLDIERs!" I snapped at the two men walking in front. One turned around. He was the SOLDIER that had ordered rum. He crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.

"What are you yappin' about, kid?" he snorted.

I swallowed hard. "You could get in trouble for this you know."

"Oh, I think little Mr. Geezer Hair thinks he knows something. Well you don't kid! Now shad'up and leave us alone."

"SOLDIER code number seven twenty-six states that all SOLDIERs bringing new recruits to headquarters must care for the recruits until handed over to SOLDIER headquarters. As far as I'm concerned, you have only thrown us in the back of a hot, stuffy, dark truck for at least six hours without food, water, or a break and you refused to provide us with at least one meal the whole day. If I wanted to, I could report this and you two would be dishonorably discharged from SOLDIER service," I explained while trying to recall facts from my SOLDIER textbooks. I rested an arm around Nero's shoulders. "See those purple clouds around my brother? There are there because a terrible darkness from within him could be released. Wanna know why that darkness is breaking loose? He's nearly starving to death."

The SOLDIERs glanced at each other for a few minutes. The rum SOLDIER seemed furious but he obviously knew I was right. He cursed under his breath a dug into his pocket and pulled out 150 gil. He tossed the cash back and I quickly caught it.

"There's a ramen shop down the street on the right. You've got ten minutes before you better have your sorry tails back here. Understand?" rum SOLDIER asked. I wasn't about to give him the satisfaction of my gratitude after he had tortured us with starvation for the entire day.

"You better thank me that I reminded you of the law or you might be on the streets in a week or two," I snapped. Satisfied, I led my brother down the street to the ramen shop.

The ship was clearly for Shinra purposes only. SOLDIERS filled the whole place. They glared at me and my brother as we hurried along the endless labyrinth in hopes to keep up with the two SOLDIERs we had been with. Our seemingly endless run finally ended somewhere on one of the lower decks. The SOLDIERs opened a white door and flicked on a light inside.

"Get sleep and don't wander around the ship if you know what's good for you," the cola SOLDIER grumbled. Quickly, the two SOLDIERs left.

I watched them until they disappeared before I stepped into the room. There were three bunk beds but two were already occupied with recruits. They were fast asleep.

"Well Nero, top or bottom?" I asked, glancing at my brother. He rubbed his crimson eyes and staggered to the ladder. _Top it is_, I thought. I crawled under the thin blanket after kicking off my shoes and turning out the light. I stared into the empty darkness of the dark room and shuddered. What exactly was going to happen to us? The SOLDIER had mentioned something about…Deepground. What could that possibly be?

"Weiss?" Nero's soft voice asked.

"Yes?" I replied.

"Thanks for dinner," he said.

I chuckled knowing exactly what he meant. "You're welcome, Nero. Try to sleep."

"Okay."

We slept not knowing that the next day we would see Midgar…again. We didn't know it would be "again". The memory of the first years or two of each of our lives had long since been purged from our minds. All I knew was that we were entering the nightmare city where Nero's tainted birth had been.


	3. Chapter 3 Castle Walls

My awakening was far from pleasant. I seemed that I had just drifted off to sleep when the harsh bark of a SOLDIER ripped me from slumber. The light of the room was turned on.

The other four recruits in the room were the first to actually get out of bed. They grumbled and tumbled from their bunks and trudged out of the room. Just as I was ready to get up, the SOLDIER glanced at me.

"Hey kid, you're name is Weiss, right?" he asked. I nodded. "That's your brother Nero. Well orders were given that you two get an extra hour of sleep due to your mistreatment the other day." With that, he turned out the light and closed the door.

Grateful for the slight ray of mercy, I pulled the covers back over my body and fell back asleep.

It was seven o'clock in the morning when I woke. I felt much better and I was sure Nero felt better too. I stumbled to the floor and climbed the ladder to the top bunk of the bed. Nero was still fast asleep. I shook him. "Get up, Nero."

He groaned and turned over. I began shake him harder. "Nero, now!" still, he ignored me. He pulled his pillow over his head.

"Go away!" he growled from underneath the pillow. Finally, I began to tickle the back of his neck. Laughing, he rolled back over. "Okay, okay! I'm up!"

Still chuckling, he slid out from the covers and jumped over the rail of the bunk. He landed perfectly on his feet and stood up. Just as we approached the door, the same SOLDIER from an hour earlier walked in.

"Oh good, you two are up. I saved a bite to eat for you," the SOLDIER said. He opened the box he was carrying under his arm. Inside were six _onigiri_ and sliced apples. Hesitantly, I took an _onigiri_ and bit into it. Then Nero took one.

"Thank you," I said.

The SOLDIER chuckled. "You're going to need it today. We've arrived at Midgar's docks. We'll be unloading in an hour so you better follow me after you're done eating."

We were taken back up to the top deck where about thirty other recruits were assembled in perfect lines. Nero and I were put in the center of the front line where we were told to stand straight, don't look around, and be quiet. There was a girl next to me. She had short brown hair and brilliant blue-silver eyes. Her eyes were brimmed with tears and her bottom jaw trembled.

We didn't know why we were standing at attention but we knew something or someone would be passing by.

"Squad ten hut!" a 1st class SOLDIER barked. Everyone snapped to attention and it didn't take long for Nero and I to catch on. It was a few seconds later that we realized why we had been brought to attention.

President Shinra. I heard several gasps behind me as the president strutted from a cabin followed by two 1st class SOLDIERs armed with gunblades. A lady in a white lab coat walked beside Shinra with a clipboard full of papers. The group stopped in front of the first recruit in line. I could see out of the corner of my eye that the woman was reading something from the top paper. After a minute, Shinra said something and the woman placed a tag on the recruit's shirt.

They moved down the line one by one until the person before Nero. I could finally clearly hear what they were talking about.

"Saium Gest. Born in Healin. Genetic review is decent and has been trained in martial arts for five years. Has both mother and father with two sisters and a brother currently in SOLDIER," the woman stated. Shinra cocked his head.

"SOLDIER," Shinra stated. The woman nodded and placed a tag on the boy's shirt. Then came Nero. Nero seemed pretty calm. The woman flipped to the next page on her clipboard and gasped. She didn't say anything.

"Well, what's the report on this boy?" Shinra demanded.

The lady blinked several times and adjusted her glasses. "His name is Nero. Born in Shinra Laboratories, Midgar. He was the successful g-substance experiment of Grimoire Valentine's research. Has lived in Nibelheim the past six years."

"Family status?" Shinra asked, still gazing at Nero.

"Parents are both deceased. Has one living brother," the lady stammered as she gazed up at Nero. Nero's hands were now shaking. Shinra gripped his chin in his hand and turned Nero's head different ways to get a better look at him.

"Such peculiar eyes," Shinra said. Releasing my brother's chin he replied to the lady, "DG."

Nero was also tagged and then they moved to me. My head was down and so I was sure that all Shinra saw was my hair.

"Look at me, boy!" Shinra barked. Slowly, I lifted my face to him. "Report?"

"Weiss. Born in Midgar. Genetic review is…immaculate. Lived in Nibelheim for eleven years. Parents deceased and has one younger brother. Bears cure materia in left shoulder," the lady reported. Shinra seemed interested. He pulled back the collar of my t-shirt, exposing my smooth shoulder. My left shoulder was slightly glowing. As he did with Nero, he shifted my face around by my chin. I didn't particularly like it, but I wasn't going to complain.

"What eyes…the color of mako, eh?" Shinra laughed. The lady shrugged. "DG for this one…definitely. Restrictor will be pleased to have such a soldier."

Restrictor…that didn't sound too good at all. I shuddered as I was tagged and the president moved to the girl beside me. It didn't matter. At least Nero and I were going to be somewhat together.

"Rain Storm. Born in Wutai. Genetic report…decent. Excellent grades of the academy in Wutai. Mother deceased and father still lives. Has no siblings."

"SOLDIER," Shinra said and moved on.

Getting through every recruit took about another hour. Finally, when Shinra left, a 1st class SOLDIER shouted, "At ease!"

It was like heaven to be able to move around again. I watched as about three quarters of the recruits were taken off the ship escorted by a squad of SOLDIERs. I glanced around at the other seven recruits still on board. All their tags bore the letters "DG". I looked at mine and Nero to find that they too bore "DG".

After ten minutes, we were led off the ship and instructed to board an armored bus. There were no windows inside but there were lights. It was apparent that we weren't supposed to know where exactly we were going. Nero and I sat towards the back. Everyone else was scattered around the bus. There were two girls and five boys. They were all young varying from ages seven to fifteen.

The ride was silent save the one girl only about the age of eight sitting in front of us. She was whimpering. Apparently, she had been torn from her home for some reason. She never started sobbing but her whimpering lasted for quite a long time.

Finally, Nero must have become quite tired of it so he stood up and peered over the back of the girl's seat. "Hey, you okay?"

"Don't talk to me! I want to go home!" the girl cried. Nero glanced back at me and shrugged.

"I think we were all torn from our homes. You're not the only one," Nero said. The girl's brown eye flashed violet for a second.

"Why did they take me from mommy and daddy and Shiro? I had a family and friends…now they're all gone!" the girl continued.

"It'll be okay," Nero said and sat back down. I began to silently chuckle. My brother had never been good at consolation. Neither was I so I couldn't say anything.

Surprisingly, our bus ride came to an end an hour later. A SOLDIER boarded. "Alright pups, this is the deal. You get off this bus and follow the two SOLDIERS exactly where they go and ask no questions and say nothing. Understand?"

The SOLDIER received a few nods and a few yeses. This didn't satisfy him. He slammed his thick fist down on the nearest seat. "I asked you shrimps a question. I am a commanding officer. Answer!"

"YESSIR!" everyone replied in unison. Now pleased, the man stepped off the bus. One by one, the recruits exited in fear. Nero and I were last. When we stepped off with our belongings, we were shocked at the place we had been brought to.

It was a chamber the size of four chocobo-racing stadiums! It was dark save for the few lights hanging from the ceiling. The chamber ended in darkness so far away we couldn't see.

There were two SOLDIERs waiting as promised and the recruits slowly followed with me and Nero leading. We were heading towards the darkness ahead.

It seemed like hours before we reached the other end. We were in pitch blackness. Nobody said anything. Suddenly, two huge doors slid apart in front of us and white light nearly blinded us for a moment. Through the doors was a squad of nearly three hundred soldiers. These weren't regular SOLDIERs. No, these were dressed in tight black outfits bearing various straps and belts around the waist, thighs, forearms, and calves. Glowing blue lines trailed down their legs, arms, and chests.

"Soldiers! Take your assignment!" one of our leading SOLDIERs shouted. Suddenly, at least thirty of the new soldiers rushed forward and began grabbing the recruits. Before I could defend myself, I was grabbed by two soldiers. My hand was still clasped in Nero's but it was quickly ripped away.

"Weiss!" Nero wailed as he was rushed off.

"No!" I screamed, trying to break free of the harsh grip the soldiers had on my arms. It was no use, I wasn't quite as strong as they were. I suddenly became…scared. I hadn't felt that in such a long time. I was scared of what they would do to my brother since he had experiments done on him before his birth.

I couldn't do anything for him now for I had been dragged off into a dark passage. My brother had gone the opposite way. We were separated.

I was rushed into a room and hoisted up quickly onto a metal table. I was set, still struggling, face down after my shirt was brutally stripped off. Rough hands pressed hard on my head and back. More hands held down my back and shoulders and finally my arms. I could feel cool fingers parting my hair at the base of my head on the back of my neck. Something cold and wet was rubbed on my scalp.

"Calm down Weiss!" said a female voice. I wasn't going to stop trying to get away. I struggled even harder. The hands only pressed down harder.

"This one's a strong one! Geesh, cool it kid!" a soldier shouted.

"Let me go!" I screamed.

I felt something cold and hard press against the wet spot on my scalp. It rested there. "Weiss, please relax and this won't hurt that bad."

Oh no. They were going to inject something into my head. I didn't know what and I didn't want to know. I tried struggling harder but my energy was fading. Then it came.

A sickening click resounded in my ears. I felt a cold, terrible pain in my head and suddenly my nerves fired distress signals to my body. Every inch of me was in flaming pain. Screaming, I stopped struggling. I couldn't. Whatever it was, it was now implanted in my head and it hurt. It hurt so badly. That woman lied.

I tried moving my arm but couldn't. I panicked. I tried moving all my limbs and couldn't. I couldn't move my head or even the muscles in my face. I couldn't move anything. Something pricked my forearm. Probably an injection of some sort. Relief fell over me as I began to move my fingers again. I wiggled them and then my wrist. Slowly, I could move my limbs again.

Sweat had formed on my brow and neck. Despite the relief of being able to move again, my body was still in massive pain. I groaned as a wet cloth was dabbed on my forehead. My skin ached as if bruised all over.

"Are you alright?" the lady asked. I shook my head. Everything hurt…even my ears! The lady must have walked in front of my line of vision for I saw a black skirt and neon blue shirt enter my view. "How about some pain medication?"

I nodded, willing to take anything to make the pain go away. Another patch of skin on my arm was wiped with an alcohol pad and pricked. Something like cold water rushed through my blood. Slowly, the pain began to subside. I also noticed that I was drifting off to sleep. There were sedatives and muscle relaxants in the medicine.

Against my will, I fell asleep.

I woke up on my back lying on a metal table. A rolled up cloth was under my head. Cool air brushed my skin. Everything was so silent except for a few soft beeps from a machine somewhere. A light was blaring in my face. I covered my eyes with my arm. Slowly, I sat up.

It felt like a brick was in my head. My head ached and felt ever so heavy. I rubbed the sore spot at the base of my head and felt something soft but prickly. My hair. Slapping my other hand to my head to see if my theory was correct, I soon found it was true. There were only short spikes for my hair. Running my fingers around, I found it had been cut short. I probably had only two inches left. Anger suddenly flared in me. My hair was nearly gone. Those jerks had cut off my soft, thick, silver hair.

After sulking about my short hair for a moment, I slid from the table and walked to the door.

"Where do you think you're going?" asked a deep but young male voice from behind. I whirled around to face a man in a long black cloak. His face was hidden by a complicated black mask. I cocked my head and backed towards the door. The man chuckled. "Why are you backing away? Do you think I would hurt my finest DG recruit?"

"What?" I asked.

"Weiss, I have never seen such a history from a recruit. An immaculate genetic report, living quite prosperously in Nibelheim for three years at age fourteen with the responsibility of a younger sibling, I'm quite impressed!" the man laughed. "You'll be such a good soldier here."

"What are you talking about? I'm getting out of here! I'm not going to be any soldier!" I growled.

"You don't have a choice, lad," the man said. "Once you're in Deepground, there's no turning back."

"Deepground?"

"Ah, I see we are a dark secret well kept. We are the special underground unit of SOLDIER. Nobody except a chosen few is supposed to know about us. You'll find out for your own exactly what we are," the man said.

"Where's my brother?!" I demanded, ignoring his comment. The man began walking towards me. His gait was slow and feline-like.

"Take a walk with me," he said and opened the door.

As we walked, the man tried to strike up conversation. "So, tell me, Weiss, what makes you want to leave such a grand future?"

"Future? My future is back home!"

"This is your home now! Your future and destiny heads down the path of the tsviets. You're going to be a great DG soldier. I can already smell it on you."

"Whatever," I grumbled.

We stopped before a black door. The man reached out a black gloved hand towards the door handle. Twisting it, he slowly pushed inwards.

I didn't even have to see anything to know who was in there. Hollow, metallic hums echoed briefly here and there. My brother was in there. He was in there and his darkness had escaped. However, it was much worse than I had expected.

When the door was completely open, I peered in to find Nero bound to a metal table. His arms and legs were spread apart and bound by leather straps and thick chains. He appeared unconscious and his skin was very pale. His darkness flowed freely around him.

I began to run towards him but the man's arm suddenly jutted out in front of my. "His darkness will contaminate you, Weiss."

"I don't care! He's my brother! He needs me!" I screamed, trying to get past the man. The man cruelly slammed the door shut and an electronic lock activated. "NERO!"

"It's no use, you'll not touch him in that state. We can't have you infected with his filth," the man tried to explain. Filth? FILTH?!

"Filth?! You think my brother is filth? HE IS NOT FILTH, TRASH OR GARBAGE! HE'S HUMAN JUST AS I AM!" I snarled.

"You are not just a human, my boy. You are special and gifted. You have unearthly powers that you don't know of yet. You mustn't be held back or tainted by your brother," the man said coldly. I couldn't take it. I wouldn't take it or stand for it. I ran towards the man and lashed out with a perfectly aimed roundhouse kick to his stomach. The man vanished and reappeared behind me. I was fast but he was so much faster. Instantly, I was on the floor on my stomach with my back throbbing from the punch I never saw. The man's foot was pressed against my back.

"You will also learn that you will never strike against me again. If you do, your brother will pay dearly for your impudence!" the man snapped. "Get up."

Slowly, I rose to my knees and then to my feet. As the man turned to walk down the hall, I glared so hard at him, I was sure I could've burned a hole through his arrogant little head. I turned briefly to the door that held my brother within the prison and made a silent promise. _No matter what happens, Nero, they will pay for this. I will do all I can to prevent my actions from hurting you, I swear_.

The man in black said nothing more before he left me in the care of four soldiers and two white-coated scientists. I was told to sit on the table of the room I was in. I was about to resist but then an image of my brother being tortured flashed through my mind. Slowly, I sat on the table.

It was a typical check-up and nothing unusual. The most they did was take a blood sample and that barely hurt compared to the incident with the previous scientist. I was then led away by two soldiers and the two scientists. When we arrived back in the massive chamber from where the recruits got off the bus, I was told to run to the opposite side of the chamber and back.

I ran. I ran but not very fast. I wasn't going to give that terrible man in black the joy of seeing my strength and speed. However, my heart had other plans. Nero's face flashed through my mind again. Then I thought of how badly I wanted to take revenge on that evil man in black for binding my brother and for taking me from home. I wouldn't be able to if I didn't get stronger and gain his trust. No matter how badly I wanted to defy him, it wasn't going to help me take revenge. I had to be patient. I had to.

I ran faster. Soon, I was running my fastest and that was pretty fast. I reached the other end of the chamber in no time. I tagged the wall and jolted back. I came to a quick, graceful stop after passing the soldier acting as a finish line. One of the scientists took my pulse while the other put a stethoscope to my back. They recorded a few things on clipboards and then instructed me to do as many sit-ups as I could in sixty-seconds.

My heart was still pounding from the run but I managed to do fifty-eight in the sixty seconds. They lest me rest for a minute. I was gasping for air but I think I had impressed them.

The next order was to do as many full push-ups as possible in sixty seconds. I got down, and to impress them even more, I connected my thumbs together and my index fingers and began to do diamond push-ups. I did thirty-two in one minute which wasn't too bad.

I was told to do many more things such as holding my toes while keeping my legs straight, go down as far as I could in a split and hold perfectly for a minute, and jump as high as I could both while running and standing still.

After all these fitness tests, I was hot, sweaty, and exhausted. I was so exhausted I collapsed but didn't faint. I had to be carried by one of the soldiers. They took me to a barrack in another wing of…wherever I was, where they said I had the rest of the day to myself.

I found the bathroom in the barrack I was assigned to and prepared for a shower. I looked around the four bunk bed chamber and found a chest of drawers that had my name printed on a sticker stuck to the chest. I opened the top and found a few plain black t-shirts; a few tight black shirts with blue lines running down various areas made of a strange rubbery material; and a few black dress shirts. The second drawer held socks and that sort of stuff. The third held a few pairs of black cotton pants and some pants made of the same rubbery material as the black and blue shirts. The fourth and last drawers were empty.

Now that I thought of it, what had become of my belongings? I was too tired to think that to death this moment. I pulled out a black cotton shirt and black pants.

The shower didn't go hotter than lukewarm which aggravated me. I was hoping to burn the grime off my skin. At least there was soap. I couldn't complain.

I put a towel over the pillow to my bed and flopped on with my hair still wet. I was too exhausted to try and dry it out any more. Weakly, I pulled the covers over me and instantly fell asleep.

_"Goodness, fifty-eight sit-ups in a minute? I could barely do thirty at that age!" Aeris laughed. I shrugged._

_"I can do a thousand in twenty minutes," I bragged. Zack grunted._

_"Show-off. I bet you couldn't shoot a ten-foot wide target from three feet away at 14. I could shoot a running guardhound from five-hundred feet away by the time I was fourteen!" Zack bragged. He grinned, "After all, I was destined to be a first-class SOLDIER."_

_"SOLDIER?! Ha! What a lousy excuse for a soldier! You would never have made it to the tsviets!" I snapped._

_"Wanna bet?" Zack growled._

"Boys! Knock it off!" mother said. She glared hard at me and cleared her throat as a signal for me to continue.

It wasn't until the third day of my being in Deepground was I finally able to see my brother. I had been nerve-racked and fearful for him the whole time that I barely ate.

The same man in the black robes came by my barrack to pick me up on the third morning. My roommates were still asleep and I was sleepy and tired. "Where are we going?" I asked. The man didn't answer. He only kept walking.

We walked through the silent halls and finally he spoke but not of what I wanted to hear.

"You're being promoted today, Weiss," the man said. I groaned.

"Joy, oh bliss," I grumbled. The man sharply turned.

"You will never respond to your master like that again, understand?" the man growled. "You are only a soldier and you have quite a ways to go before you're a tsviets. Learn your place!"

I didn't flinch or show any emotion towards the man lecture. I decided to act a bit more interested. "Sorry. How far will I be promoted?"

"Ah, now there's a good attitude. It depends on how you do on your exam today."

"Exam?"

"Your combat exam. You'll have to battle one of the higher classmen and if you win, you'll take his or her spot," the man said. I questioned it no further. We had reached the same door of the room where Nero was being held captive. I fought the urge to run and pound on the door. The man opened the door and this time, held it open for me. Cautiously, I stepped into the dark room.

It was silent which was a good and bad sign. The man in black turned on the light and I could see Nero. He was lying on the table, still bound by the straps and chains. He was asleep and still pale. His darkness, however had subsided for the time being. I ran to the table and gathered his head in my arms. His skin was freezing. I quickly checked the pulse in his neck and found that it was steady. Relief washed over me but only for a second. I began to remove the straps from his body and to my surprise, the man didn't stop me.

I turned my head briefly and yelped, "Can you give me a hand with this?" I asked.

The man grinned. "You can break him free yourself."

I stared at the chains binding my brother down. They were thick and they were steel. There wasn't much chance of me breaking him free. Still, I gripped the thickest chain in my 14-year-old boy hands and twisted. When a person tries to break a chain, he or she will normally pull. Twisting the chain will put immense pressure against the metal holding each link in an oval and hopefully, that thin metal will break. I twisted and twisted as hard as I could. My strength bore in opposite directions on the chain. Beads of sweat formed on my brow as I twisted as hard as I could.

SNAP!

The pressured link shattered and the chain fell from my bloodied hands. My hands bore several large fragments of the metal in them. As much as I'd like to have been like one of those superhero kids who never cried at any pain, I wasn't. I began crying. It hurt terribly. To make matters worse, the man in black grabbed my hands and began brutally yanking the shards from them. I groaned each time.

When he was done he said, "Now heal yourself. I know about that materia."

Gulping I reached for that unfamiliar power pulsing in my left shoulder. It felt like trying to grab jello for it seemed to slip away from my mind's grasp. At last, I got hold of it and green light rushed down my arm to my bloody hands. It felt weird and kind of ticklish as the energy closed up the wounds.

Though I had just healed myself for the first time, thoughts of Nero raced back into my mind. I began ripping the other chains away although I was much more careful this time. Soon, I broke through the last chain and gathered up my brother in my arms. He was cold. I glared at the man in black through the mask of tears. "What did you do to him? He feels dead!" I snarled.

"He's only…hibernating as one might say. He'll be awakening in a few hours," the man replied calmly. I held Nero tighter.

"Let me look after him until he does," I demanded. The masked man in black cocked his head.

"You're very commanding and controlling Weiss. You'll make a pretty good tsviet some day," he said. I was sick of this Deepground/tsviet junk already.

"Only if my brother lives. If he dies, I'll run no matter what you do to me!" I threatened. The man quickly became silent. Obviously my remark had caught his attention. I felt movement in my arms.

"…Weiss…" Nero's weak voice uttered. I looked down into his half-open ruby eyes. He smiled briefly.

"You have two hours with him but don't be late for your combat exam. Remember, he pays if you screw up, Weiss," the man snorted and vanished.


	4. Chapter 4 Nobody's Fault But Mine

I was able to stay with Nero while he slowly came to consciousness. Soon after the man had left, Nero had attempted to stand up but quickly fell. I pulled him to his feet with a sick feeling in my stomach.

"What did they do to you?" I asked. He shuddered as if he didn't want to say.

"I was brought here and they tried to put something in my head. I was so scared that I didn't even try to keep my darkness in. It freely came out. However, I wasn't strong enough to keep them away. They knocked me across my head and I blacked out," Nero said. He sighed and looked up at me. Shock filled his large red eyes. He reached up with a shaking hand and rested it on the side of my head. "Your hair! They cut it off!"

I had nearly forgotten about it until he noticed. I reached up and cringed as I felt short spikes rather than the thick, soft hair I was used to. "Yeah, they got you too."

Nero's eyes widened and his hands flew to his head. He too felt short spikes of soft hair. He growled in anger. "How dare they! Why would they do that?"

"I don't know. Maybe they thought we had lice or something. I heard a rumor that people believe all who come from Nibelheim are dogs. Disgusting, isn't it?" I guessed. I smiled at him. I ran my hand through his short black hair and laughed, "Actually, Nero, you look pretty good with that haircut. It makes you look older."

"Weiss! I liked my hair the way it was!" Nero grumbled. I couldn't say anything. Nero then brought his knees to his chin and a tear fell down his cheek.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I asked.

"They burned our things," he cried. It felt like a bullet had been shot into my heart. The last remnants and relics of our family had been in my suitcase. The only pictures of my mother and father were in there and now…now they were gone.

"They didn't even let us take one thing from our suitcases. Did those jerks ever think that we had valuable things in there? No!" I sobbed. Bursting into tears, I threw my face into my brother's shoulder. _Stop crying, Weiss, your brother doesn't need this_, I thought. I gritted my teeth as I battled so hard to stop the tears. I would never see the faces of my mother and father again. Still choked with tears, I lifted my face and promised, "Nero, there is nothing they'll do that will tear us apart. Those heartless dogs will pay for this but I'll need your help." I had made up my mind. Yes, a fire grew hungry for revenge and I could see the same fire growing in my brother's eyes.

"What will we do?" Nero asked.

Taking his hands I ordered, "Look me in the eyes, my brother." Nero didn't hesitate to do so. "This may sound like betrayal but just listen. You and I must become tsviets."

"What? I thought we're supposed be-," Nero began but my finger over his lips quickly quieted him.

"In order for us to avenge our own lives, you and I must become stronger than these Deepground soldiers. We can only do that by becoming the greatest tsviets this stupid organization has ever seen. Promise me you'll work hard to gain the strength to help me. Promise me, Nero, as my brother."

He hesitated, shock filling his eyes. But, that quickly vanished and he smiled. Throwing himself into my arms he promised. "No matter what the cost, I will become strong to avenge you."

"And I will for you," I promised. Now, I knew I had to tell him about the torment he might face. Sighing I said, "Nero, there is something you must know about and forgive me ahead of time. An evil man in black robes believes I have potential to become an elite tsviet. He said that my training will be harsh and grueling. He said should I make a mistake, it would be you to pay for it."

"Weiss, no!" Nero cried.

"Nero, listen. This is one of the main reasons we must get revenge. That evil man means to tear us apart as brothers and we can't let that happen. I say, right now, I am terribly sorry and I wish my own mistakes would be on my head. Please forgive, Nero for any pain that is inflicted on you because of my mistakes. I promise I will do everything in my power to save you from any pain," I said, making a solemn oath.

"I know you would never hurt me intentionally. Therefore, any harm done to me is not your fault. I'll hold nothing against you, my brother," Nero said, still clinging to me. We sat there for several minutes just holding each other and locking our pledges into place. Nothing would get in our way. Nothing.

After ten minutes, Nero was able to walk so we left the room and walked down the halls. I was supposed to be meeting for my combat test in fifteen minutes. I was going to give it my best. Then I thought of a brilliant idea.

"Nero, get down and roll back onto your feet," I told him. He looked at me kind of funny.

"Why?"

"I want to see your combat and recover skills quick," I said. Nero shrugged and dived forward. He curled his head onto his chest and pushed his hands back as they touched the floor. Gracefully, he somersaulted and rolled up on his feet. He was good with that. "Okay, come here and punch my hand." He punched and I was satisfied with how powerful it was and how well he had thrown the strength of his body into his punch.

I asked him to do several more different kinds of punches and then a few different kicks. He breezed through them all with almost perfection. I could see the fruits of our martial arts training together for the past five years. I then told him to just attack me freely as if I were an enemy. We fought there right in the middle of the hall. He was able to block most of my blows but I caught him here and there. He wasn't able to land a hit on me, but I was still impressed.

We fought for about three minutes before I told him to stop. "Keep that up, and you'll be a tsviet in no time!" I complimented. Now, we were running down the halls in hopes of finding the designated room for the combat exams. We found the room number only to discover that it was the same giant chamber where I had my physical fitness test. I ran in to find about fifty other DG soldiers and some DG officers.

On officer ran up to us and shouted, "Where were you two! You almost missed line-up! Get your skinny little tails in the front line now!" At the time, that phrase, "skinny little tails" was beginning to get on my nerves…real fast!

Without question or hesitation, Nero and I ran to the front lines at the end and stood next to each other. Another officer barked, "Squad ten hut!"

"ONE!" all the other soldiers shouted in unison and snapped to attention. Nero and I had caught on pretty quickly. Then, the officer barked another order, "Soldiers kneel for Restrictor!"

We all knelt to one knee in unison. Restrictor? That didn't sound too good and I wasn't in too much of a hurry to find out who that was. Little did I know, Restrictor was already my archenemy.

Restrictor slowly walked down the line of DG soldiers. I glanced up without lifting my head and was shocked. Restrictor was the man in the black robes and black mask. Now I knew my target's name.

Restrictor stopped at the end of the line where Nero and I were kneeling. I could see his black boots and cloak right before me. To my surprise, he said nothing and continued. "Squad ten hut!"

"ONE!" the soldiers, including me and Nero, shouted as we jumped to attention.

"Class Alpha to the starting line!" Restrictor ordered. Ten soldiers ran to a red line painted on the floor. Restrictor glared at me and Nero. "That includes you two!"

Nero and I ran to the starting line. The other soldiers looked like they were warming up for a race. That's what this was. This was a race. Nero must have figured it out too for he grinned at me. Very quietly, he whispered, "To the river?"

Grinning I responded, "To the river and back again."

This was our little code for saying we were going to race our fastest. Smiling at each other, we bent down and prepared to show off.

"Listen up chickadees! You run to the other side and back without touching another racer. On your marks, get set…GO!" an officer ordered. The race began. I and Nero simply walked forward while the other ten racers jolted forward. They were pretty fast I'll admit. They must have slaved over trying to gain their speed.

"Nero, Weiss, get moving!" the officer barked. The other soldiers were three quarters the way down the chamber. Nero chuckled and we began to jog.

"Ready brother?" I asked. Nero nodded. Then we ran.

If someone had been standing where Restrictor was, they would have only seen a blur of black fire and a blur of white fire. The white blur of fire was me and the black fire was Nero. We passed the other soldiers in a matter of seconds and had tagged the wall before they even got there. We stopped our super-speed running about three quarters of the way back. We merely just walked side by side, panting and laughing.

I glanced over at Restrictor. I'm sure that if his mask hadn't been on, his bottom jaw would have fallen to the floor. I was rather shocked by his response. "Not bad."

Not bad? That was it? What a lousy complement. The other racers finished and appeared as if they were going to die.

The 3rd class was called to race next. Then the 2nd, 1st, and finally the Omega. The Omega class had two soldiers. One was a girl about the age of eleven. Her hair was short and fiery auburn. Her eyes were crimson just like Nero's. Fair skin rolled delicately over her sharp features. She cast a quick glance at me and snorted. The other girl looked about six and had short, silver hair and keen blue eyes. This was the Omega class? Two girls?

"Rosso and Argento, knock off the gazing and get to the line!" the officer shouted. The girls stood side by side on the red line. "On your marks, get set…GO!"

The girls jolted forward. To my relief, neither of them matched Nero or my speed. Upon the redhead's return, she gazed again at me. Her movements were smooth and velvety like a panther. She then followed the other girl back to their resting spot.

"Alright, we'll start with Alpha class soldier number 777 against 1st class soldier number 58," the officer barked. A boy about the age of twelve got up from the 1st class section and stood on a blue line on the floor. Nobody from the Alpha class stood up. Suddenly, Nero yelped in pain. His hands flew to the back of his head where another officer had knocked him with a baton.

"Weiss, that's you!" Restrictor snapped. I rubbed my brother's back briefly to try and comfort him but I was quickly shoved away. "Do not show pity towards him."

"You beat him and how was I supposed to know my number?" I growled. Restrictor grabbed my hand and yanked it up to where I could see my wrist. Around my wrist was a steel chain bracelet with a metal plate on it. It read:

Weiss

Alpha Class

Soldier Number 777

Barrack Number 456

So that was it. I was officially labeled as a number and not a person. Sure, it had my name on it but it didn't stop the officers from shouting "777, get your lazy butt up!". Groaning, I stood up and walked to the blue line across from the 1st class soldier. The soldier had assumed a well-balanced kung fu position.

"Listen up, 58 and 777! This is only an exam, not a death match. Keep it clean," the officer ordered. I was planning to go high force but not enough to seriously injure the other kid. "Fight!"

I was surprised when 58 rushed right at me with a flying kick. Instead of blocking, I simply leaned back and he flew right over me. I whipped around and threw my arms up to block his punch. It hit my crossed arms and I almost burst out laughing. The boy obviously had been poorly trained. The punch wouldn't have affected me even if it had hit my face for the boy didn't but his body's strength behind it. Even Nero would have knocked me out then.

I finally found an open spot after five seconds of blocking his blows. I swung my leg up and crescent kicked him smack in the throat. His eyes widened in horror as he tried to scream from pain but nothing came out. He fell to his knees and then to his side, clutching his throat. Then I realized what had happened. I had kicked his adam's apple in towards his throat. Gasps and murmurs exploded from the group behind me.

Tears began streaming down the boy's cheeks as he clutched his broken throat. I ran forward despite the hollering from the officer. I scooped the boy's head up and rested it in my lap. The boy swatted at me, terrified that I would hurt him even more.

I caught a glimpse of his wristband and saw that his name was Valcom. "Hey, Valcom, listen. I'm sorry! Please, just stop trying to hit me and I might be able to save you!" I pleaded. Valcom's eyelids began to droop. He was suffocating and I had to do something. Slowly, I placed my hands on his throat. Valcom's struggling was slowing. "Calm down, man." I closed my eyes and called upon the materia's warm energy. It came a little easier this time. This was getting much easier. Once I collected enough, I shoved it down my arm and into Valcom's throat. Valcom's neck glowed blue for about ten seconds and then it died. I felt his pulse to find that it was picking up again. I brushed my fingers over the soldier's throat to find that his Adam's apple had healed. Slowly, his eyes opened.

"You okay?" I asked. Valcom's dull blue eyes blinked at me several times. Instead of answering, he began to cough. Blood welled up in his mouth. It dawned on me that all that was, was blood from the artery that had been broken. I helped him to his feet and looped an arm under his.

As I turned, I found that nearly every soldier and officer had his or her jaw dropped. Slightly embarrassed, I quickly escaped the awkward moment. "Well is someone going to help me?" I snapped.

An officer ran up and took Valcom from my hold. I heard Valcom whisper, "…thanks…Weiss…" and then he was gone. I stared at the door he exited through for a moment and then silently returned to my seat next to Nero.

"Next battle is 2nd class soldier 78 versus Alpha soldier 778," the officer shouted as if nothing had happened the past two minutes. Nero quickly checked his wristband to find that 778 was his number. He jumped to feet and strolled to his battle line. A girl about the age of ten ran to her line and assumed a kung fu stance.

"Good to see that people are memorizing their numbers! Alright, fight!" the commanding officer shouted.

The girl wasn't quick to attack and neither was Nero. _That's a boy, nice and suspenseful, Nero,_ I thought as if I was coaching him. It was Nero to attack first. Bad move. The girl vanished behind him and roundhouse kicked his back. As he fell forward, he dove into the same recover roll he showed me earlier. As he came up, he didn't hesitate to jump high into the air. He had jumped nearly six feet up and it was enough for the girl rushing at him to become bewildered. As Nero landed, he jutted his foot out and dropkicked the girl on her head. The girl fell to the ground, clutched the spot where Nero had kicked her. Nero didn't press his attack further and waited until the girl was back on her feet before he attacked again.

Two minutes later, the girl was on the ground, clutching her jaw where she had just been hit with Nero's foot. After a few seconds, Nero offered a hand to help her up but the girl looked up at him, baffled. She quickly got to her feet and stumbled back to her spot with the 2nd class, still clutching her bruised face. Nero shrugged and came back to the Alpha class section.

Just as the officer was about to announce the next round, Restrictor jutted his hand out. "The exams are done for today. All soldiers report to the shooting range except the Omega class and those who fought today."

As soldiers rose from their seats on the floor and shuffled about to go to the shooting range, I could see that there were several adults in the 1st and 3rd classes. Odd.

When the rest of the soldiers had left, the room seemed so empty. I leaned over to Nero and whispered, "Awesome job, Nero. I'm proud of you."

"You too, Weiss," he responded.

Restrictor stood before the five soldiers before him. His head swept over our faces as he was obviously examining us closely. Finally he said. "Weiss and Nero, you're being promoted as of now. Weiss, your things will be moved to 1st class barracks and Nero, you'll be in 2nd class. As of you, Haranis, you'll be staying put."

"Sir, anything of me or Argento," the crimson haired Omega class girl asked. This was obviously Rosso.

"You rush your dreams of being a tsviet, Rosso. You haven't met my requirements nor has anyone else here. You'll have to train more if you want to become a tsviet. There has never been anyone in that elite class before and I don't expect that for several more years," Restrictor explained. Rosso looked pretty ticked. Omega class, surprisingly, was only one step short of tsviet only that tsviet standards were set extremely high: much higher than standards for getting into Omega.

Nero and I were told to trade in our wristbands for upgrading. While they were being engraved again, we went to check out our new barrack assignments. I was relieved to find that my barrack was pretty close to Nero's though we were in different class sections. I had to share my barrack with only two other people and we had regular beds rather than bunk beds. Nero had to share with three other people. I soon guessed that if anyone ever got to become a tsviet, he or she would have his or her own room.

When I got my wristband back, it said:

Weiss

1st Class

Soldier Number 777

Barrack Number 79

Something about the soldier number still bothered me and I couldn't figure out what it was.

_"There is no way that you saved that kid's life. You just killed thousands of people!" Zack snarled. I was getting extremely frustrated with this idiot._

_"Are you always this impatient? I haven't even finished my story!" I snapped back._

_"Zack, you really do need to hush," Aeris agreed with me._

_"Is it really that hard to believe?" I asked. Zack shrugged._

_"Sorry."_

The first few months in Deepground were pure…misery. I thought that being a higher class, things would be easier and I would have more freedom to train as I pleased. I was sadly mistaken. I was pushed hard from sunup to sundown until every night, my muscles ached fiercely; I wasn't promoted again despite my extremely fast progression; and worst of all, I rarely saw Nero.

The most we saw each other was a few times during marksmanship training, glimpses in the halls, or from across the mess hall. We were forced to eat with our own class. As I watched him from across the mess hall, my anger burned against all Deepground and especially Restrictor. Nero looked so exhausted that he barely ate anything at breakfast or lunch which was unusual. He had always had the appetite of a wolf. Several times he didn't even eat but slept through breakfast or lunch. How I longed to run to him and protect him from anyone trying to disturb him while his body took the much needed sleep.

I couldn't say I felt much better. Every morning I woke up exhausted and sore, and every night I want to bed exhausted and sore. We only got one day a week where we got to sleep in an extra two hours. Every night, I had to force myself into an ice-cold shower in attempts to soothe the fierce pain in my muscles

I felt so bad the day my brother turned ten years old. Earlier that year we had planned to take a camping trip together for his birthday. This was our camping trip: this misery of going to bed at ten-thirty at night and waking at six in the morning and being ordered around all day. Against orders, however, I quickly ran to him right after breakfast and hugged him tightly. He was so incredibly glad to have me there for that brief moment.

I leaned over and whispered in his ear, "Happy Birthday, Nero. I hope your day turns out better than our past days here."

Nero nuzzled his face into my shoulder. "Thank you, Weiss. I couldn't have asked for a better brother," he thanked. "You don't have to give me any gifts."

"I wish I could," I said. Slowly calling on my materia's power, I offered, "But please, Nero, accept this one thing I can give you."

Green energy rushed into my brother's body all the way down to his feet. I focused the energy or restoring his burning muscles and washing away the fatigue that his training had brought on. Once the energy faded, he smiled and said, "That feels so much better. Thank you!"

"778! Get over here!" an officer snapped from the exit. Without another word, I gently pushed my brother away and he ran to join the 2nd class.

If there was one good thing coming from this torment of our bodies and souls, it was the strength. I gained strength like a poor man grabbing jewels from a chest of treasure. It seemed to pour over me like water. I was also growing. My voice had become so much deeper than when we first came to Deepground. My thin arms began to fill out with solid muscle as did my chest, legs, and abdomen. Even my neck had grown thicker with muscle. My hair was growing back thick and soft as it had always been and nobody came to cut it. One annoying thing about my strengthening, growing body was that I kept getting flirty glances from the girls my age…especially Rosso. That girl had probably just started…well nevermind that. Let's just say she was still only about eleven or twelve years old.

I was also glad to see that Nero's body was going under some beneficial changes. Though his voice still hadn't attained the deepness of manhood, nor had his body begun to fill out in muscle, his strength and intuition was definitely increasing noticeably. He soon became clever and found ways of escaping cleaning duty and the watchful eyes of the commanding officers. It wasn't because he was lazy; he just wanted to put as much time into training as possible.

Within only four months of training, we were several steps closer to becoming the first tsviets. We were several steps closer to becoming the strongest we could be. We were several steps closer to taking revenge.


	5. Chapter 5 The Other Side of Life

_"Hey, Weiss…what's up? You suddenly got kinda' quiet," Zack asked._

_I had become silent for the time being. I wasn't sure if I wanted to share the next part or not. It was one of the hardest times of my life. I didn't know if mother would want to hear about the pain her younger son went through for my sake._

_"Weiss?" Aeris asked sounding rather concerned. Concerned? This girl whom I had just met and her knowing that I killed thousands of innocent people, seemed concerned about me? _

_"Sorry, just thinking," I said. Did I just apologize? How long ago was it since I had done that? I chuckled as I remembered how when I was emperor of Deepground, people had bow low before me and beg my forgiveness. Here I had just apologized for my mere silence. Strangely, I didn't regret it. I think that wall I had built around myself in Deepground was breaking down by itself. _

The biggest mistake I had ever made while in Deepground turned my heart to stone and nearly killed my brother's soul. I'll always regret it and I'm sure Nero hasn't completely forgiven me for it.

It started when I was training with a boy from the Omega class about two years after our arrival at Deepground. He was good but cocky as a boar and sly as a fox. His number was 101 but his name was Derrek. We were practicing swordsmanship with heavy, padded metal slabs that resembled a sword. I was terribly sore from the day's training and this was his first workout for the day. Naturally, he was faster and more agile. I felt so tired that I thought I would just collapse.

The rules were that the participants were supposed avoid the neck, head, shoulders, and groin. Derrek was still sore at me from a week earlier when I had smoked him in sparring. He hadn't gotten over the embarrassment of being beaten by a 1st class soldier. Therefore, his foot seemed to "accidentally" hit me in the head. I fell back with the force and fatigue of my day's workout.

I expected a mere laugh from him for my failure to defend myself and it would be over. It didn't end there. Another blow met my head and then another. I cringed and wanted desperately to rise up and defend myself. My burnt out muscles wouldn't allow me to. Derrek continued his blows as he pleased and nobody, not even Restrictor, tried to stop him.

One did.

It happened to be that the 2nd class had been brought before the Omega and 1st classes to observe their training. That meant Nero was there too.

About the fourth blow, I heard a terrible scream erupt from Derrek's throat, but it was soon swallowed by a familiar hollow, metallic hum. Nero's darkness had broken free. His anger had burned toward Derrek and it had attacked him.

My nose was bloody and a terrible headache raced through my skull. I could see my brother lined in his cloud of darkness. His anger was raging for his eyes glowed fiery red and his form had completely turned dark. He walked slowly towards me. I reached my hand weakly out towards him and he knelt down.

"Weiss…" he called helplessly. He was suddenly grabbed by two officers and forced to the ground on his stomach. "Weiss!"

They cuffed his hands immediately and pulled him back to his feet. They dragged him over to where restrictor was standing and thrust him to his knees before the DG leader. Restrictor gazed at my brother's shadowy form and crossed his arms. "Nero, where have you put Derrek?"

"He's lost in me. He hit my brother and he must pay!" Nero snarled. For once, his voice was very threatening. Restrictor suddenly lashed out with his hand and clasped Nero's throat.

"A kingdom that is divided against itself will not stand. I will not have my soldiers turning on each other," Restrictor growled. Nero's eyes narrowed offensively. Restrictor's grip tightened. "Release him, Nero."

Nero turned his head and glanced at me. He wanted to know my answer. I shook my head as best as I could and choked, "…let him…go, Nero…"

Nero sighed and a few moments later, Derrek tumbled from the black cloud surrounding my brother. An officer ran to check and see if the boy was alright. His eyes were open and he was unresponsive. He wasn't dead but in severe shock. His skin was paling. Nero had given him a good warning…a warning that Derrek would not soon forget.

Once Restrictor was satisfied, he let go of Nero's throat and turned away from him. "Take 778 to the penalty room. Give him the protosuit."

My brother was once again brutally grabbed and dragged off. Nero didn't hesitate to struggle and as he was carried away, he screamed, "Weiss, I'm sorry!"

I struggled so hard that moment to get to my feet but my body had other plans. Laden with pain, fatigue, and grief, I fell unconscious into a silent, black numbness.

I didn't want to wake from that nightmare. My life had been a total nightmare for the past two years. My peaceful life had been ripped away, my brother and I were always apart, and he was being tortured for my mistakes. How I longed to take up the penalties for my mistakes.

Despite my wish not to ever wake again, I woke up as life dictated. It wanted to torture me even more than I had been tortured. How much pain must I be put through?

I was aware of a constant throb coming from the right side of my skull and in my sinuses. I reached up with my hand to try and soothe the pain. I felt only a cold, wet cloth. It felt like there was some ice beneath the cloth. As usual, my muscles were burning so obviously, I hadn't been out too long.

I began to open my eyes only to find blinding white light blaring in my face. My focus swarmed and pulsed in and out. I saw a few masked faces. They were hovering a few feet from my body like they were examining me for some odd reason. I slowly started to sit up but was pushed back down.

"You're not going anywhere for little while," one of the masked people said. It was a woman with a soft, feline-like voice.

"…wha? What's going on?" I asked, bewildered. Fingers brushed a scratch on the side of my face. The only way I knew it was there was by the burn that raced through that side of my face. My hand shot up to my face but once again, I was restrained.

"The Omega class soldier fractured your skull in several places. It's a miracle that you're not dead," the woman said. Groaning, I shut my eyes as the ice-pack was lifted away and fingers explored a wound on my head. "This'll need stitches."

I moaned even more. "We'll have to take off some of that hair to even treat the wound," another person stated. Not again. It had taken two years just for my hair to grow back three-quarters of its original length and now I'd have to wait another two years.

I kept my eyes shut the whole time while they carefully washed my hair and cut most of it off. The shampoo got in my wounds several times and stung as if someone had set fire to my head. Though I was sixteen, tears were welling up in my eyes. Not that I was going to cry or anything.

They finally gave me some anesthetic before they attempted stitches. Slowly, I fell under its spell and drifted back to my cold, empty sleep.

I sat on my bed unwilling to move. The other two beds had long been empty as the other two soldiers I shared the barrack with were training. I refused to go or talk to anyone…not after what I had just seen. Nothing would purge that from my mind.

I had healed the wound on my head and therefore, the stitches weren't needed and my hair had been cut for nothing.

I had been allowed to go visit my brother and…it was terrible what they did to him. Unforgivable.

I had walked into a dark room. The soldier escorting me flicked on a light that brought the horror to my eyes. Nero was in there, alive but bound to a pillar.

This wasn't anything like before. His eleven and a half year old body was suspended and chained to a stone pillar in the center of the dark room filled with boxes. His arms were crossed over his chest in what appeared to be a black straightjacket. His head hung which meant he was either extremely weak or asleep.

One of the worse parts was that his head…his head was encased in a white contraption that prevented his jaw from moving. It strapped over the top and around the perimeter of his head, down between his eyes, over his cheeks and down under his chin. A removable strap covered his mouth.

I suddenly jolted forward hoping that I would reach him and break him from the bindings. I was immediately grabbed and thrown from the room. The soldier slammed the door shut and quickly locked it. I ran back up and rammed my body against the door but it wouldn't be enough. The door was eight inches thick and the locks ran the whole length of the door.

From within, I heard a terrible scream from Nero, "WEISSSSSSS!!"

So there I sat on my bed, unmoving, unwilling to do anything but let the pot of anger within me simmer. It was that day that I swore I would humiliate Restrictor by replacing him as "emperor" of Deepground. I would then raise my brother to his rightful position as second in command.

I didn't see my brother again for another week. By then, I had become sick with guilt and confusion. Why were they doing this to my brother? Why won't they put the consequences of my actions on my own head? WHY ARE THEY DOING THIS?!

When I saw him again, he still wore the restraining suit and jaw restraint but his arms were free. It was at breakfast that I saw him again. I couldn't imagine the embarrassment and humiliation Nero felt as he walked into the mess hall with that terrible contraption about his head. Naturally, people laughed and pointed at him. They called him names as terrible as "bird cage". The only ones that didn't laugh were me and Valcom, my only friend in DG. I could tell the terrible agony by the way he sat at the end of the table and only picked at his food. He would gaze up once in a while at me from across the cafeteria and give me a pleading look. It was a look I had never seen before. It felt as if he was speaking to me, begging me to stand up as his big brother and defend his honor.

I knew I had to do something. I couldn't let this torture to him go on any longer. I thought about my options. I had little chance of escaping with him and little chance of retaliation to the officers and Restrictor.

I gazed attentively at Nero. He twirled soba noodles around the bowl with his chopsticks and he only took a sip of his tea.

I remembered that my training was easing up a bit since I seemed to be growing more and more ill. They thought I was ill. I'll give them ill.

I began holding my stomach like I was really sick and I rested my head on the table. Valcom glanced at me. He playfully punched me in the shoulder. "Hey, Weiss, you okay man?"

I groaned terribly. This was it. I was going to pull the distraction away from Nero and put it on myself in hopes that he might experience a few moments of peace. Leaning over while being careful that nobody would see what I was doing, I pushed hard on my stomach.

"Weiss?" Valcom repeated putting his hand on my shoulder. Then it came. I turned away from everyone and vomited on the floor.

Naturally, people screamed. Chopsticks went everywhere as a riot of soldiers jumped to their feet and shouted, "EWWW!" My plan worked but it was painful as all get out: not just physically, but mentally. My stomach began to ache fiercely and insults were hurled at me like stones.

I fell to the floor and shut my eyes. I could hear Valcom's frantic voice. "Weiss, Weiss! Are you okay?"

I didn't respond to anyone at all. A mob of officers rushed over in attempts to secure the area. Slowly, the voices of the soldiers faded as I willed myself into unconsciousness.

My first of many plans had worked.

I woke up and felt as if I had swallowed a gallon of mercury. My stomach ached, my head ached, my muscles ached, and my heart ached. I wanted it all to end.

As I opened my eyes to familiar blinding white light, I became aware of only one person standing over me. I could see by the black mask not worn by other DG soldiers that it was Restrictor. His arms were crossed.

"How long will you go on like this?" he grumbled. An electric shock raced down my spine. Did he discover my plan? Did he hurt Nero even further? Those thoughts were instantly killed when he said, "Why do you refuse to defend yourself from attack. You wouldn't defend yourself from Derrek and now you've fallen ill. Why Weiss?"

"…I can't go on if my…brother takes my…punishment," I moaned. Restrictor became silent. "It is useless…to hurt him…for my sake. I only grow weaker if he grows weaker and stronger if he…grows stronger. That's how it's always been…and that's how it always…will be," I stammered.

"How do I know that is true?"

"Please, sir. Let me take the responsibility…for my own wrongdoings and I promise…I give you all of my…strength," I promised. I was solemn about that. I just wasn't going to give him my heart, soul, loyalty, or care. All he cared about was my strength.

"Your brother goes free from your penalties," Restrictor said and left. Smiling that I had gotten my way and Nero would suffer no more on my part, I slept peacefully.


	6. Chapter 6 Send Me An Angel

From that point on, I bore the daily pain of being teased about my vomiting episode but I no longer bore the guilt of my brother bearing my penalties. I was actually glad to see that the stupid soldiers teased me more than him despite the jaw restraint he wore and the odd suit.

From the day Restrictor put my penalties back on my own head, things seemed to be getting better. Nero was learning to let his darkness creep from the restraining suit. He was also learning how to control it when he was in extreme situations. Soon, he was able to prove to Restrictor that he no longer needed the confining clothing and Restrictor had it taken off.

I was so proud of him. That jerk, Derrek, quickly stopped bullying Nero. All Nero had to do was let a few wisps of his darkness surround Derrek and the Omega class soldier would immediately shut up.

Two Years Later

A peculiar girl was recruited into DG today. It began when I was in the middle of swordsmanship training and I was pulled aside by an officer.

"Restrictor asks your audience when the new recruits come today. You and your brother will lead them to the gates," the officer said. I scratched the back of my head and smiled. My hair had grown back again. Snapping back from my brief distraction I nodded once.

"Get a shower first," the officer grumbled and turned away. "You smell terrible."

Grunting, I ran past him and into the main halls.

I quickly showered and changed into the tight outfit with blue lines. I couldn't say I liked it but it was what I had seen the soldiers wearing when I was recruited so I assumed this was what I was expected to dress in anyways

After messing around with my hair a bit to shape it back into what it was before my shower, I rushed from my barrack.

I ran down the hall towards the giant chamber where most of the training took place. I met up with Nero along the way. He was also dressed in a black suit just like mine. He seemed quite out of breath.

"Goodness, Nero, where were you running from?" I asked, still running.

Between pants for air he said, "I was doing the four mile run when they called me out."

"Did you even get a shower in?" I asked. Nero grinned and shook his head violently. Water droplets sprayed all over me, and he took off further ahead.

"I'll take that as a yes!" I laughed and caught up to him. I watched him run as I caught up. I could see that his body had really begun to take shape. Just like me, his body had finally begun to take a masculine form with thick muscles at his arms, legs, chest, shoulders, and neck. I could tell by how much shorter than me he was that he wasn't going to be nearly as tall or as muscular as I would be. Nevertheless, he would be extremely strong.

His black hair had grown down to his shoulder and was spiky as usual. I could hardly believe that he was already fourteen. Still, his changing body and deepening voice told me that my little brother was finally growing up.

I was eighteen now, nearly nineteen. My body looked almost like a football player's body. I was so thick with muscle that I was sure I'd sink straight to the bottom of the ocean. My voice was deep and smooth and matched the sneer I always seemed to have on my face. The sneer was a result of my growing strength and realization of my powers. I had most recently figured out how to teleport. I was sure that Restrictor hadn't found out yet. He hadn't found out about my self-multiplication ability or my increasing knowledge of DG. He was also oblivious to Nero's growing abilities too. He had learned self-multiplication as well. He was also able to control his darkness as if it were a trained seeing-eye dog. He could even sculpt it into shapes and forms as if it were a medium for sculpting.

Nero and I were both in Omega class now but in separate barracks. Typical. Still, we were able to spend more time planning our revenge. As we were learning more about DG, the less we wanted to know and the more we figured out that we would need more tsviets than just us to revolt against Restrictor.

We finally halted at the double doors secretly leading to the giant chamber and ran through. Nobody was there except us. This was the first time in four years that we had seen the chamber this empty. Odd.

The lights high above glowed dimly but enough to illuminate our surroundings. We decided that since we were to lead the recruits to the "gates", we should go ahead and begin walking to the other side.

As we walked, we talked. As we talked, we schemed. As we schemed, we laughed at how stupid the whole Deepground set up was in the first place. It was kept an extreme secret and all we did was train. It wasn't like we were doing anything like the SOLDIERs were.

At last, we made it to the other side. As if on cue, the wall before us began to slowly rise. I knew why it was rising. Just beyond that rising wall was a bus full of recruits. Then the wall stopped moving.

The familiar black bus drove through. The very sight of the bus reminded me of the day Nero and I came to this…abyss of pain. The windowless bus held who knows how many unfortunate souls prisoner. Suddenly, images of the pain Nero and I had suffered the past four years rampaged through my unguarded mind. I clenched my hand roughly in my hair in anger and frustration. A sudden thirst had arisen in me; it was the terrible thirst for immediate revenge. I wanted Restrictor dead right now.

Nero must have seen my frustration as he put his hands on my shoulders and tried to look into my eyes. I turned my head away. "What's wrong?" he asked.

My breaths were heavy and exaggerated. With just the mere touch from my brother and the question of concern, my fury began to subside. I swallowed hard and gazed cruelly back at the moving prison. "Nothing," I replied.

I'm sure he didn't believe me but decided to let it go for now. He too gazed at the prison on wheels with a touch of coldness in his crimson eyes. Inhaling deeply, we stood side-by-side half in attention stance and half at-ease.

A soldier strutted from the open door of the bus and stood directly outside. One by one, ten recruits stumbled from the bus. I was almost shocked to see that there was only one recruit probably younger than fifteen. It was a girl no more than ten years old. Her hair was short and fiery auburn. It was red like cherries but brown like ebony. She was probably only four and a half feet high. Her eyes were bright blue and brimmed with tears. That look wasn't foreign to me anymore. She was scared to death.

The others didn't seem nearly as scared, as they were bewildered. They all glanced oddly around the chamber before one by one their eyes fell upon Nero and I.

This was where we came in. "Recruits, line up!" I barked. They hesitated but then slowly shuffled into what resembled a line.

"That is not a line!" Nero snapped. Quicker this time, the recruits reformed their squiggly line into an actual line. Satisfied, my brother and I turned and began walking back towards the "gates".

About mid-way to the gates, I turned back to make sure the recruits were keeping up. They all were except the auburn-haired girl. She was lagging behind. She glanced up at me, but quickly cast her face down again. Something about that girl had already been set in the back of my mind. Somehow, I felt that she would be one to help revolt against Restrictor. I didn't understand why I felt this way but I felt the need to get her on my side as much as possible.

I leaned over to Nero and whispered, "Continue on. I'll be right back."

He nodded briefly and I ran to the back of the line where the young girl lagged behind. I rested my hand on her shoulder as a signal to stop. She froze immediately and slowly looked up at me.

"Where are you from?" I asked.

The girl's lower lip trembled as she answered, "Midgar, sir."

"What's your name?"

The girl seemed terrified to answer. "Sh-Shelke, sir!"

"Shelke? Peculiar name," I said. "Stay close to me."

I began to jog back up to where Nero had taken stride and the girl struggled to keep up. As I took step next to my brother again, I could almost feel Shelke's timid presence next to me.

Soon, we reached the other side. As it happened four years ago, the gates arose and blinding white light blasted the recruits. Shelke cowered behind me.

Many DG soldiers were lined up behind the gates as well as scientists. Once again, at an officer's command, the soldiers rushed forward and captured their assigned recruit. The recruits were rushed off, kicking and screaming where they would have microchips implanted in their brains. Not Shelke.

As two soldiers ran up to grab Shelke, I stood in their way. "I'll take care of her myself," I stated. Shrugging, the two soldiers ran off. _That was easy,_ I thought.

Once the chamber was empty save for Nero, Shelke, and I, I turned to another secret doorway. Nero and Shelke followed without a word.

I led them to a chamber much like the one I had been in four years ago when I got the microchip. Nero walked in after Shelke and closed the door. Since I had already implanted a recruit's microchip before, I knew where everything was. I typed in a password to the microchip gun and the thing hummed to life.

I turned and only found that Shelke looked more terrified than ever. I gestured towards the table. "Lie face down on the table."

"What are you going to do?" the girl asked as she slowly stepped towards the table.

"Something that has to be done…unfortunately," I replied softly, staring at the floor. Attempting a smile, I gestured again to the table. Shelke reluctantly climbed on and lied flat on her stomach. Nero already guessed what to do and he held the girl's arms down. "What are you doing?" Shelke asked frantically.

I parted a little section of her hair at the base of her head and rubbed her scalp with an alcohol cloth. Slowly, I pressed the muzzle of the gun against the skin and pulled the trigger.

She screamed, naturally. I knew she would because I and every other recruit had. I quickly set the gun aside and rested my hands on the back of her head where a bright red lump was. I sent a stream of warm power from the cure materia into her head and soon, she had stopped screaming. It was reduced to whimpers and soon, only her quick breaths were the sign of fright. I lifted my hands off her head. "Are you okay?"

"I think…I think so. Why did you do that?" Shelke asked.

"If I hadn't, all three of us would have been in big trouble with Restrictor. I did it this way to save you pain," I said. Shelke sat up on the table and let her head hang down so that neither I nor Nero could see her face.

"Why…would you try and save me pain?" Shelke asked softly and timidly.

"We're sick of what Restrictor puts these soldiers through and we…well, let's just say we want to be your friend," I said. I thought about that for a moment and almost chuckled about how naïve that sounded. Shelke cocked her head.

"You want me to help you?" Shelke asked, her intuition seeing past my pathetic cover-up. I stood slightly dumbfound for a minute and glanced at Nero. Shelke returned to facing the floor. "It's okay. I get it. I'll be your 'friend'."

From that day on, I rarely saw Shelke. I would ask Nero about her but he would only shrug and claim that he hadn't seen her either. I saw her two weeks after her arrival here but it was on a stretcher. Apparently something had happened where she was being rushed to the small medical wing of Deepground.

I saw her again nearly two months later. I had turned nineteen. She was in the mess hall staring at her plate of food. I saw her from the other side where Nero, Valcom, and I were eating together. Shelke looked terribly confused and lonely. Nobody around her talked to her and nobody seemed to care about her.

I wish I could say things got better for her as time went on but that would be a lie. I began to see her less and less and when I did, she looked awful as if she had no sleep or was poisoned. She would cast pleading glances at me but there wasn't much I could do…yet.

There was one day, however when I had been talking with Argento, one of the other Omega class soldiers, she told me that Shelke was being promoted to second class. This came as a shock to me since I had never seen Shelke training. I had this gut feeling that something worse than what had happened to Nero was happening to her.

"_Shelke? Wasn't she Shalua's sister?" Aeris asked. I nodded._

"_A few years before my reign, she told me that she had been torn from her family just because she was seen as having 'potential'," I explained. "Pathetic, isn't it?"_

"_Hey, Weiss, I've got a question for you," Zack began. "If she was in Deepground and you rarely saw her, what happened?"_

"_Those dogs mutilated her body using her as a specimen for studying the effects of different kinds of mako. The ending result was that she needed a daily shower of mako to survive. It was sickening what they did to her. I'd rather not go into detail," I grumbled._

"_Continue, please," Aeris said._


	7. Chapter 7 In the Air Tonight

It wasn't until I was twenty-one and Nero was almost seventeen did our dreamed of day finally arrive. It began when I wasn't awakened at six in the morning. I woke on my own at nine o'clock and naturally, I panicked thinking I was in deep trouble. I was soon to find out that that wasn't the case.

I quickly dressed, my hands trembling in anxiety. Last time I had overslept, I had been forced into a two hour mako shower. That had left me sick and nauseated for days. I never woke up late again but this time was even worse. _Three hours_ late! I didn't even want to think about the consequences.

I nearly ripped the barrack door off the hinges as I struggled to open it. To my surprise, a soldier probable from the first class was standing at my door. To my greater surprise he bowed. To my greatest surprise, he knelt on one knee. Slowly, he looked up. "Did anyone wake you, sir?"

Sir? I had just been called sir. What on earth was going on? "Erm, no," I stammered.

"That is good. Orders were that nobody was to disturb your sleep today," the soldier stated. He then got to his feet but would not look me in the eye. "Have you showered or yet, sir?"

"Uh, no…why are you calling me sir?" I asked. The soldier froze as if he were scared to death.

"Restrictor's orders. I can't say. He told me to see if you were awake but not to wake you if you weren't. Now that you are," the soldier stuttered. He held out a black box made of thick cardboard and bowed again. "These are for you."

I took the box and lifted the lid. Inside, there appeared to be some neatly folded soft, white cloth with two blue lines running down it about a foot apart. I closed the top and muttered, "Um, thanks."

"Restrictor also said that once you were awake to get dressed and come to the throne room," the soldier said. He bowed and quickly strutted off. I watched him go, rather baffled at the conversation. Shrugging, I took the box back into the barrack and closed the door.

I tossed the box on my bed. I hadn't made my bed yet but didn't care. Without even really checking to see what was in the black box, I sauntered to the bathroom and took a shower. As I turned the water temperature up expecting that it wouldn't go past lukewarm, the water got hotter and hotter. I was relieved to have a hot shower for the first time in…seven years. It felt foreign but good. I simply stood there and wasted probably all the hot water the DG stronghold had on my shower. The water was probably around 110 degrees, which is very hot for a shower, but I was too busy enjoying the relief from my muscle pain to really care about it.

When I finally got out, I laughed at how much steam was floating around in the bathroom. The bathroom was pretty big too.

I attempted to dry my hair simply with a towel but that soon proved futile. My hair was extremely thick now and it normally took hours to dry out by itself. With a towel around my waist, I stepped back into my barrack and flipped open the top of the black box. I reached in and pulled out the white cloth.

I wasn't too surprised to see that the cloth was a pair of pants. The cloth was pure white and very thick but soft like lambskin. They had four electric blue lines running down the length: one on the front and back of each leg. Shrugging, I set them aside and pulled out a black cloth belt and a pair of new boots. The boots were similar to the ones resting by my chest of drawers except they were more flexible and reached my knees. They would do better for fast combat.

I assumed I was supposed to dress in the given clothing so I did. I felt awkward for a moment without a shirt but soon got used to it. I glanced down at my attire and almost laughed. I was expected to run around DG with white pants and no shirt? Wow…what a laugh.

The next thing to occupy my mind was the throne room. There was a throne room? How come I never knew about it? Then again, there was that wing of DG forbidden for any soldier to go into. I wondered where it led to.

Since I hadn't been given any directions as to where I was supposed to be going, I decided to check that wing out. I silently crept through the empty halls. Weird. The halls were empty. No time to wonder about that.

I stood before the great door that barred the soldiers from the forbidden wing. There was a hand scanner mounted on the wall. I figured it would reject my hand but I decided to try anyways. After the green line ran beneath my hand and copied the swirls and ridges of my hand, a green light was lit above the scanner and the door uttered a soft "ding". I was shocked.

The door slid silently open. I gulped and stepped inside. The doors shut and I realized that this was an elevator. The chamber descended quickly and silently. About ten seconds later, the door reopened to a short hall way lit only with neon blue lights running down the walkway and along the corners of the ceiling. Slowly, I stepped forward.

The obvious button was big and green. It was clear that that green button would open the door and lead to…I didn't know what and I wasn't sure if I really wanted to know. Something in the back of my revenge-seeking mind told me to press the button. So, I did.

The door slid open. What I saw, I expected to be the throne room but I was utterly shocked.

There was a throne. It was quite an awkward throne. I wasn't sure what it was made of, but it was fashioned with a very sharp, geometrical design except for the intricate wolf heads carved into the fronts of the armrests. Carved lines rose about seven feet above the seat of the throne and were sided with complicated curves and spirals. Behind the throne were many cables and ducts the size of cannons that either trailed into the floor or rose high above the throne. Arching over the throne and the pathway was a giant wolf head that appeared to guard the throne.

I wasn't surprised to see Restrictor sitting on the white throne. He stared straight at me, or so I thought, with his body completely unmoving. "Well done, Weiss. You have found the throne room."

"This is it? It looks like a mako reactor," I stated. Restrictor shifted in his throne.

"This is Mako Reactor 0. It is unknown to practically everyone but a chosen few. To Deepground, it is the throne room," he said.

"So, why was I summoned here, sir?" I asked, lifting my hands for a brief moment.

Restrictor rose from the white wolf throne and slowly stepped toward me. I watched his every step closely with a hate resurfacing again. I clenched my fist hard. The emperor of Deepground circled me slowly, most likely examining my physique. "My goodness, you have grown so much, Weiss. What an improvement from that scrawny little boy you came to me as."

_I'd rather be a scrawny man in Nibelheim than here before you,_ I thought. "Why am I here?"

Restrictor came to a halt right in front of me. He rested his gloved hands on my bare shoulders. I wish I could have seen his eyes so I could crush him with my strangling gaze. "You, Weiss, have been promoted to the final class. Congratulations. You're now the first tsviet."

I knew I had fooled him. Deep inside, I was screaming with excitement. Now, I could really start planning revenge and his annihilation. My face had not changed expression at all. Restrictor cocked his head. "That's doesn't make you happy?"

"No, it's not that. I'm just shocked," I said, lying my head off. Truthfully, I was thinking, _it's about time you slug._

"Very good. Honestly, I had seen half the traits of a tsviet in you the day you walked in. You were erect, sturdy, and headstrong. I was merely waiting for physical strength and age. I wasn't going to put a 14-year old boy with no muscle in the tsviet class."

"Thank you, sir," I replied coldly.

It had been a bigger deal than I thought. I was so embarrassed and annoyed as Restrictor dragged me through the endless lines of all the Deepground soldiers which number over seven thousand. I wondered why I only saw a few hundred at most while I was training or even in the mess hall.

Restrictor made it a big deal that I was to be treated with utmost respect and that I may punish a disrespectful soldier as I see fit: including class demotion. As I wearily walked through yet another row of soldiers, I saw Nero amongst one of the soldiers kneeling. Everyone's face was down but I could still tell he was there. I was surprised at the short glimpse of his expression I caught. I looked as if he was proud and didn't mind bowing to me. Still, it burned at me that he had to do so.

I next saw Shelke. Her face was down the whole time and I could tell by the way her shoulders slumped that she was exhausted. I couldn't blame her. I was still tired. Training never let up for one day. Rosso's rosy red head came into view. As I passed by her, she snuck an extremely jealous glare up at me. Her sly little grin was supposed to threaten me but I merely grunted and moved on. She was eighteen and still acted like a child sometimes.

After fifty rows of soldiers, I was finally able to stop and rest a moment. That moment was quite awkward though. I was on my way to the mess hall for lunch (I was starving from not having breakfast) with Restrictor trailing my heels and he suddenly stopped me. He must have realized where I was going for he beckoned me to follow him.

"You've worked too hard to dine with those lazy soldiers. Besides, the tsviet class isn't merely one step up from Omega class. It's more like ten steps up so this deserves a special celebration," Restrictor said, gesturing to a door far from the mess hall.

I opened the door and wasn't extremely shocked to find that a table had been prepared with a white tablecloth and set for two. No wonder who it was for.

I silently took seat on the right side and Restrictor took the empty seat across from me. I rested my elbows on the table and rested my chin in my hands. "So, I'm a tsviet now, right?"

Restrictor pulled the cork from a bottle of wine so dark red, it almost looked black. He filled my empty glass first before his own. I had never had wine before, much less alcohol. "Yes, Weiss, you are."

I sipped the wine slowly. The liquid lulled over my tongue and burned my mouth. As I struggled to swallow it, a warm sensation filled my throat. It was the weirdest thing I had ever tasted. I couldn't say I liked it. It wasn't sweet at all and it was very sour.

"Too dry?" Restrictor asked, gesturing to the wine.

I held my glass up and looked at it. "Yes, if what you mean is that it isn't sweet."

My glass was replaced by a soldier standing nearby, acting as a waiter. The second glass of wine was very sweet and had far less alcohol.

"So, now that I have reached the tsviet level, I'd like to know my freedoms and limits," I stated.

Restrictor laughed. "Let me put it this way. You don't have freedoms, only privileges. You're training hours will be shorter by four hours making it only four hours a day that you're required to train unless your given a mission."

"Mission?"

"The tsviet class is where you'll actually be given missions to do various things such as assassinations, espionage, and some DG scouting, and SND if possible. You'll also do some training of the Omega class and you'll be able to appoint new tsviets."

"What's my hours as far as free time and sleeping?"

"So many questions. Slow down," Restrictor said as his plate of food arrived. Mine also arrived. I gazed down at it briefly. Steaming shrimp and fillet mignon. I almost laughed. I was hungry but I didn't become a tsviet to dine on fancy, fine foods; I became a tsviet to eventually rip Restrictor's throat out.

"You'll be able to sleep an hour longer than the other soldiers if you wish and you'll be able to retire an hour earlier. You don't have to but the option is there. As far as what you call "free time", you'll be able to free train or whatever you like at any time you're not training. We've got a world simulation chamber that's near completion. Once it's done, you'll be able to train there where time is hyperbolized and you'll grow stronger within minutes," Restrictor explained. I ignored half of what he said. I was waiting for him to take that hideous mask off and was a little eager to find out what he looked like. After all, who could eat anything with such a stupid mask on?

I was upset to find out that he was able to easily eat his food with it on. Grumbling about it, I munched on a few shrimps.

Needless to say, there wasn't a whole lot of conversation. Sure, Restrictor babbled on and on and on about how I was going to be a great tsviet and how things were going to change; but I didn't listen to him much. I only responded with an occasional "yes" or "I see".

Since I was given my first three days off…I slept. The first real day of me being a tsviet, I slept and slept. I didn't wake up until six the following night of my promotion. I nearly died laughing when I heard that Restrictor was worried that I had fallen ill. I had never heard such stupidity. Less than two days of me being a tsviet and Restrictor's acting like an over-protective mother. I'm 21 for crying out loud. I can take care of myself.

I had only majorly overslept to regain the strength from the grueling training I had endured prior to my promotion. I had been so exhausted and needed every bit of sleep possible. Therefore, after an extremely small meal that I ate alone in the small room set aside for the tsviets to dine, I crashed into my bed in my own room again. I'll admit it was nice to have my own room again after seven years. It was a simply furnished room with my own bathroom adjacent to it. My bed was also bigger and had white sheets and a light blue comforter...typical. The most peculiar thing about it was that it was almost right next to the throne room...I found that to be quite odd, but had no idea exactly how signifigant that would become.

The second day of my..."tsviethood", I arose and began training lightly as to not upset my healing muscles. I simply ran around the gigantic training room which was at least a mile in perimeter. I ran around ten times which took me about forty-five minutes. It was slower than normal but I didn't care and Restrictor didn't seem to notice...neither did anyone else. As I was running, I caught a glimpse of Nero's slender body standing upside down. Apparently, the Omega class was undergoing their morning balance routine. The rountine was simple; each soldier had to hold a hand stand for five minutes at a time or else do fifty push-ups and start again. He smiled at me as I passed and managed to even wave with his right hand and regain perfect balance. I laughed as Rosso got distracted by my brother's stunt and fell. She grunted and dropped for fifty push-ups.

I was training lightly again by doing some simple push-ups when I was interrupted by a 3rd class soldier. She knelt to one knee and bowed her head as Restrictor had ordered. I couldn't see her face for it was covered by a mask which signaled that she was a guard soldier, a "servant" soldier, or a janitor...but why would Restrictor send a janitor?

"Master Weiss, Restrictor summons you to the throne room. He says to come immediately and to bring a towel," she said with fear riding the soft tone of her voice. Why were all of the soldiers suddenly becoming afraid of me? The only clue I could muster was that I could demote them to a lower class if I felt it was necessary. Still, that didn't seem like much of a reason to fear me.

"A towel? What's Restrictor going to have me do this time, wash his feet?" I grumbled. The girl rose to her feet but kept her head bent in total submission. I waved my hand briefly and she quickly turned and left as if she was relieved to be free from my presence. Odd.

I stopped by my personal bathroom and grabbed one of the fluffy white towels that were neatly folded in the closet near my bathroom. As I stumbled over to the entrance of the throne room, I questioned in my head as to what Restrictor could possibly want this time. No answer came which meant this was going to be a total surprise. I hated surprises when it came to training.

Upon my entrance to Mako Reactor 0, I was slightly surprised to find the Emperor of Deepground standing quite near the door I had just come through. Two guard soldiers stood behind him with their arms crossed in guard's attention. They knelt briefly as I approached and then resumed their rigid, cold stance.

I was startled by a package that was tossed at my bare chest by Restrictor. Without the slightest fumble, I caught the black paper wrapped parcel and stared at it. I turned it over in my hands and inspected it. I was slightly embarrassed as Restrictor grunted and commented, "Weiss, it's a package that you may open...not a bomb, although I must commend you for your caution when receiving a gift. You never know what the enemy might do."

I glared up harshly at him with my coldest, darkest gaze and was pleased to find that his head shifted a bit. I was sure that beneath that bizarre, repulsive mask, Restrictor's face had grimaced and his eyes turned away from mine in a brief moment of fear and submission. I could only hope...

When I had finished my dramatic, slow ripping of the wrap, I unfolded a garment...and was almost repulsed by what the black and blue cloth turned out to be.

Swimming trunks.

Raising an eyebrow, I asked, "Is this a joke, Restrictor?"

"Not at all, Weiss," Restrictor began, "What good is a strong, fast, smart, agile tsviet if he doesn't know how to swim. I could see it happening now, Weiss. The helicopter of your first mission crashes right into the ocean and there you are, thrashing about aimlessly in the sea for your life. As a tsviet, you should never be at the mercy of anything but me...including water. You start swimming lessons."

I felt my body grow hot with humiliation. I didn't know how to swim since I had never lived near an ocean or lake. As I gazed at the black and blue trunks in my hot, sweating hands, I could only pray that I didn't look like a total fool as I thrashed about in a four foot pool trying gain some sense of gliding through water. As much as I wanted to resist, I knew Restrictor was right and I needed to learn how to swim.

I changed quickly behind a huge tank storing water for cooling the reactor machines and then strutted out with the towel draped over my shoulders. I followed Restrictor and his guards into an elevator. The elevator rose quickly and came to a soft stop on the fourth floor which was actually ground level. I was led into a part of DG I had never been to.

The pool room was pretty large with a pool adequately sized for speed swimming. The pool had a four foot end that slowly gave away to a twenty foot end. The water glistened dully and was motionless beneath the lights high above. I draped my towel over a simple chair set by the pool's edge and dipped my toe curiously into the water of the four foot end and found it ice cold. Grunting, I glared at Restrictor whose arms were crossed...naturally.

"This water's freezing," I snorted.

"Your point is?" Restrictor shot back. I was about to reply when a young woman walked into the pool room. She was wearing a black, one-piece swimsuit with three electric blue lines running down the front. A white towel was tied around her slim waist and her dark brown hair was put back in a tight bun. Her eyes refused to gaze up at me as she approached. She bowed briefly and finally, she lifted her eyes to mine which was something that only Nero and Rosso seemed to do. Even my friend, Valcom rarely looked me in the eye now.

"Weiss, this is your swimming instructor, Kakuya. I chose her as your instructor since she had been educated in all types of water sports and swimming styles since she was four years old. You must do exactly what she says or there will be penalties," Restrictor said coldly. I sighed in frustration...how I longed to strangle that man.

"Please go into the water," Kakuya said politely. She unwrapped the towel from her waist and slowly stepped down the tiled steps and into the frigid water. She didn't seem to mind the iciness of the water which suggested she swam here often. Strangely, I found myself obeying her deep, silky voice and I stepped obediently into the water. It came up to my abdominal muscles but still gave me chills up my spine and more goosebumps than stars in the night sky.

I was pleased to find that I caught onto to the concept rather quickly…or so I thought. Only after five minutes of Restrictor uttering his cruel chuckles did he tell me the problem.

"Weiss, how old are you?"

"Twenty-one."

"You swim like an eight year old girl. Dog-paddling is for children, not tsviets," the jerk chuckled. "Put some of that gladiator muscle into it and maybe you'll get somewhere."

"Oh and I suspect you can swim better?" I snapped, furious and frustrated at this whole mess. Bad move. I would kick myself for it later.

"It appears that my little white wolf hasn't completely submitted to the sled-driver's reins. You'll pay for that with an hour extra of weight-training today," Restrictor growled as he took seat in a chair provided for him by a guard. Grunting, I turned back to the emotionless Kakuya whose eyes always seemed to evade my emerald gaze.

After another frustrating twenty minutes, I managed to swim using long, powerful strokes of my arms but made quite a splash in the mean time. Kakuya seemed very patient with my constant screw-ups and irritated growling. Then again, she was probably just as fearful of me as the other soldiers.

I was so thankful when my lesson ended ten minutes later. It was as simple as Kakuya lightly stepping from the pool and wrapping her towel back around her waist. Not even her hair was wet and only a few drops of water clung to her pale, sun-deprived skin. I was quite another story and was drenched from head to toe. I had even swallowed some of the chlorinated water which almost made me sick. My hair was soaked to the core and I was freezing. It seemed that though Restrictor had built my body up for strength, agility, and intuition; my body was still vulnerable to disease, virus, heat, chill, poison and venom. What a waste. However, that mere realization made me wonder if this was what the freezing pool water was for. Strange it was, though that Restrictor's punishments for me ceased in mako showers. They were no longer doing me harm for I mere sat through them and twiddled my thumbs rather than twitching and moaning in nauseated pain.

_"I wish I would have been there!" Zack laughed. I was on the verge of smashing his pathetic face into…whatever the closest hard thing was. Not that it would kill the moron but it would make me feel better. Mother apparently felt my distress and frustration and she glared with emerald eyes at the black-haired fool sitting across from me._

_"You know, Zack, you are being quite a jerk," Aeris grumbled. Yay. Someone on my side for once._

_"And you, my son," mother began as she poked me in the chest, "need to calm down!"_

_"Feh, I don't know if I should even continue…" I grumbled. _

_"You'll really have to forgive Zack. He gets carried away sometimes, Weiss," Aeris said softly and very apologetically. I caught myself smiling at her. It didn't occur to me until after the matter what I had done. Oh well. Hope she enjoyed it while it lasted._

_"Tell us about some of the other training you did," Zack began after stopping his sulking from Aeris's rebuke. "I mean it sounds like you had further and different training apart from the other soldiers."_

_"True. Every soldier up to the Omega class received the same training just at different levels and strengths. It was all centered towards strength and muscle building, marksmanship, swordsmanship, and the use of the basic technology of Deepground. They were never conditioned for environment changes save for the slight chills and heat within the facility, never immunized against diseases or viruses, and never put through venom and poison runs to build immunities to common poisons and venoms. All of the tsviets are put through poison, venom, and virus runs under the direful eyes of the DG science and medical team. To Restrictor and Rosso, a DG soldier was easily replaced if killed and not worth the extra expense of trying to protect against nature's threats. To them, tsviets weren't easily replaced and deserved the chance to build a better body. _

_"Unfortunately, since I was the first tsviet, I was also the test run of the poison and venom runs and suffered the most," I explained and rested my chin on my callused palm. "It was for that, and for the runs on my brother, that I had totally lost any soul I ever had." _


	8. Chapter 8 Bring Me to Life

"What's going on, Restrictor?" I asked as the black masked man beckoned with his hand towards a familiar metal table. There were four guards and two scientists in the room besides me and that dog.

"Nothing to fear, Weiss. It's time we begin the training of your very will to live and to fight a battle with an enemy so small, you cannot see it," Restrictor said as he neared a locked, metal cabinet on the far side of the room. "Your tenth mission is in two weeks in the thick jungles beyond the marshes. The place swarms with venomous creatures. I don't want my strongest soldier dead from a spider bite or a scorpion's sting."

I very slowly sat on the table with my eyes glued and narrowed on Restrictor. I slowly willed myself to lay down and reasoned in my mind that this would later help me. I fought hard within to abstain from smashing in the face of the guard locking my wrists into thick, electronically locked clamps. I had no reason to trust Restrictor but I had every reason to trust him. I hated the feeling but hated him more. Still, I had to wait for the right chance to strike.

I kept my eyes closed the whole time, not clenched that I might look like a child going in for a check-up but just so my piercing viridian gaze wouldn't scare the scientists and they wouldn't mutilate my body by mistake. The fingers of a woman probed around my neck for a minute before they came to rest on my left side. A cold, wet cloth rubbed the skin protecting my arteries in my neck and harbingered the injection soon to follow.

It didn't hurt as bad as I thought it would but still stung quite a bit. Normally, when I was injected with something, the pain went away instantaneously. Not this time. The pain lingered and soon, began to sting worse and worse until it became a burn that was spreading quickly through my neck.

My eyes jolted open and in a minute, I became aware of the fact that I was sweating…everywhere. This wasn't a natural sweat and suddenly, I felt as if waves of ice were rushing through my body. The fire had spread from my neck through the rest of my body in a matter of minutes and was followed by painful waves of chilly shocks. I had lost track of time and I guessed it was fifteen minutes after the injection that the scientists set into action.

Though my eyes were open, my vision pulsed in and out of focus and my perfect eyesight blurred until the scientist hovering above me, who was attaching electrodes to my chest and applying a wet cloth to my head, became only a muddy pool of colors. The other scientist, the female, began asking me questions.

"Do you feel hot, cold, or comfortable?" she asked quickly.

"Hot and cold," I replied truthfully.

"Headache?"

"No."

"Do you feel as if you were on fire?"

"Yes."

"Where?"

"Everywhere…mainly my neck…and…my face."

"Restrictor, I don't think this was such a good idea," the male scientist began. "His heart rate is off the chart. Resting, it's 51 beats a minute. It's at 124."

At that moment, I began to lose it. I don't think it was from the mentioning of my hammering heart rate but the venom was really taking effect now. The light above me became brighter and brighter.

"Why saevir scorpion venom so quickly? We're losing him!" the female scientist cried. She now sounded frantic.

"Give him another minute," Restrictor said calmly. My eyes closed but the light only got brighter and the voices became muddy and ran together. Soon, I could no longer hear the arguing between them…just some remnant of distant male and female voices.

I wasn't ready to die. It wasn't fair that Restrictor had won so easily by conning me into submitting my body to an injection of venom. Scorpion venom. My wish was that if I was going to die to try and take revenge on Restrictor, I wanted to do it with a gunblade in hand and at least leave a scar on the wretched man that he wouldn't easily forget. It seems that though I had thrown my energy, strength, heart, and soul into avenging me and my brother's life, it wasn't going to be done by my hand.

_Forgive me, Nero, I failed you,_ I thought just as I passed into unconsciousness.

When one is unconscious, time passes as if there were no time. Therefore, when I returned to the torturous and cruel world of consciousness, it felt as if only seconds had passed when it was probably several minutes. Fingers rested lightly against the sides of my nose and my chin was held firmly in a hand. I woke slowly for my vision and hearing was slow to return. One good thing…the fire was fading and so was the waves of ice.

"He's back," the female scientist said softly.

"Thank heavens. I thought he was done for," the male scientist replied. "Restrictor, I don't think we should do this again."

"You two have done well. You may leave," Restrictor said, totally ignoring their previous comments.

"Why…did you do this to me?" I asked and nearly choked on the words. My voice was terribly hoarse and my mouth drier than a desert.

"Weiss, save your energy for recovering and don't talk," Restrictor began as his black mask came into view. "Besides, we've already been through this. The place you are going to in two weeks is crawling with saevir scorpions and since you're survived this one venom injection, it proves that you can handle the actual sting should the occasion arise."

"So this is my so called tsviet training? Being subjected to injections of poisons and venoms? I would expect something a bit more practical," I growled.

"Didn't I tell you to be quiet?" Restrictor asked. Sighing heavily I stared off to the side, breaking the eye contact.

"I take it that the venom was strong and I overcame it with merely my willpower?" I grumbled.

Restrictor sighed heavily. I could sense that he was getting frustrated with my constant defiance of his orders but did I care? Of course I didn't. "No, we gave the antidote but less than what was needed. Though you'll fully recover, you'll still have some of the venom residing in your cells. Now, will you shut up?"

That was the first time Restrictor had sounded extremely ticked off and it was the first time he told me to shut up not that I really cared. It was just interesting. I could tell I was finally breaking through that seemingly gentle and calm mask of his. Not that pathetic metal mask on his face but the mask of who he really was.

_"That wasn't the only time they poisoned me. Every single day after that until my first mission, I endured a new venom, a new poison, and a new variety of painful and sickening side effects. I longed to cure myself but the cure materia in my shoulder wouldn't have helped anyways," I sighed. I glanced up at the two sitting across from me. Aeris had her mouth and nose buried in her knees and her eyes glittered strangely as if she were on the verge of tears. Zack's countenance was straight and grim. Finally he had shut up with his stupid, rude comments. I gazed briefly at my mother who had silent tears running down her face. She couldn't bear to look at me. I didn't know why._

_"Dare I continue?" I asked._

_"What actually happened that mission?" Aeris asked after about two minutes. Sighing, I continued._

Okay, this was the easiest mission yet. Simply to post a radar system in the thick jungles didn't seem like a challenge. Honestly it wasn't…I was bored and angry at the waste of my time. An Alpha class soldier could have done this.

Still, despite the simplicity of the mission, there was the cursed mosquitoes. They swarmed around me despite the insect repellent I was sure that covered ever inch of my body. By the end of the second night, I had at least twenty bites. I guess DG "deepground" formula didn't work. As I attempted to fall asleep in the camouflage waterproof tent, I found myself sweating extremely hard despite the coolness of the evening. After about an hour of simply tossing and turning on my bedroll, I finally fell into sleep…a sleep full of nightmares.

I woke extremely late the next day. It was mid afternoon but I felt as if I hadn't slept for days…I was suddenly exhausted and I couldn't explain why. I felt my forehead to find that it was burning up. I was still sweating and now I felt ready to throw up. What was happening? I had been in perfect health?

My mission was over and I was supposed to report back to the small underground base twenty miles from my current location. Easy enough…so I stood to my feet. Immediately, I dropped to my knees.

I suddenly understood what it was. Malaria. Those blasted mosquitoes had infected me with malaria. I knew I should enter the distress signal into my wristwatch with a built in GPS. If I entered that code, a rescue squad would come immediately and pluck me from this vermin festered jungle. Something stopped me. I waited in my tent.

The hours passed like millennia and my fever grew all the worse. Who was I kidding? I couldn't fight this disease without medicine and I didn't have the strength to go find the rare herbs and roots that could help me.

I typed in the code and waited.

"Weiss…wake up, Weiss, the rescue squad is here," rang my brother's cool, gentle voice. I opened my eyes but barely saw him. "He's alive. Get the harness over here and get the med team ready."

"What's wrong with him?" a female soldier asked through the haze of sounds. Cool, gloved fingers brushed my brow.

"He's got malaria by the looks of it. I ordered that harness over here!" Nero shouted. I heard shuffling of feet and some more barks and orders for haste from different soldiers and I could have sworn I heard Valcom's voice. Several sets of arms were slid under my back to get me to a sitting position while lather straps were fastened around my chest. After a minute, I heard my seventeen-year old brother order, "Alright men, let it up!"

I felt as if I was floating through the air…probably because I was. Nero's right arm was around my waist and his left arm was wrapped tightly around a steel cord attached to the harness. "Hold on, brother."

Three days later- DG

I had spent the past two and half days in and out of consciousness and in quarantine. Restrictor had ordered that I sweat out the fever. It was apparently the healthiest but also the crudest way to get rid of it. I barely ate anything nor did I drink much. However, I was glad to know that my fever had broken this afternoon, still I felt sick.

Restrictor came to visit after the quarantine curtains had been taken down and the room had been disinfected. I wasn't happy to see him…I never was. I wanted to see Nero.

"Well, at least you completed the mission," Restrictor said dully. I could feel his masked gaze upon me. I wasn't looking at him. My eyes were concentrated on the IV drip bag hanging up by the bed. The needle was still in my wrist and stung once in a while.

"I want to see my brother," I stated and pushed the thick blanket back from my collarbone.

"In time, Weiss, in time," Restrictor said. He stood up and turned his back on me. "I am renaming you, Weiss."

"I like my name, thank you," I grunted.

"Your name will be Weiss the Immaculate. To the soldiers, you will be known as 'The Immaculate Emperor'. This promotion not only names you a vice-emperor but you are being branded with a color: the true nature of the tsviet class is to form a tainted rainbow. You, Weiss, are the first color of that rainbow. From here forth, not every tsviet will be branded with a color…only the elite of the elite.

"In lieu of this, I am immediately adding another color to the stained band of colors," Restrictor said.

"And what soldier might stand with me, Weiss the Immaculate?" I asked sardonically.

"One who has expressed phenomenal leadership and executive skills and one whose soul was branded as the absence of light since birth," Restrictor began. He turned to me. "Nero is being promoted to the elite tsviet class as of today. To his greater benefit, he is being immediately branded with a color. He will be called Nero the Sable, the tsviet darker than night will ever become."

I was thrilled that my brother had finally been promoted but I was furious at the way Restrictor described him. Branded with the absence of light since birth? Restrictor was the one that turned my brother cold! However, in this slight insult, Restrictor had just revealed one of his weaknesses.

He was afraid of a teenager: a boy the age of seventeen, soon to be eighteen. He was afraid of the very boy who cringed and hid himself away like a lost puppy upon arrival before Restrictor.

He was afraid of my brother, Nero.


	9. Chapter 9 Echelon

Nero had been given an invitation of challenge after the first three days of being a tsviet. Like I had, Nero slept most of his first day as a tsviet. I simply sat and watched him slumber. It was like watching him as an infant. I still remember those seventeen years ago when I saw my baby brother for the first time. Joy that I had a brother, someone to love and protect, had overcome my grief about the terrible tragedy with his darkness and our mother. I remember watching his long, dark eyelashes meet into smooth arches as he nursed from his wet nurse. Most of all, I remember the hours I spent watching over his small form as it rested under the safety of our small house in Nibelheim.

The only thing that had changed now was that his body had filled out in thick, durable muscle and his body had grown into that of a man. His thick black hair that grew in natural, wild spikes was halfway down his back now. His dark eyelashes still curved into those graceful arches I had always known. He made virtually no sound as his chest heaved in and out in its natural calling for breath. No one could have guessed from that moment that he bore a heavy burden; his oblivion.

The challenge he received from Restrictor was to fight me. It was addressed as the following:

Nero the Sable: Black stripe of the Tsviets

You are hereby invited to accept the challenge of testing your combat and magic

Skills against the Immaculate Emperor, Weiss.

Should you refuse, there will be no consequences save for the chance to see your true strength

You have three days to comply and present your answer to Restrictor.

May you choose what strengthens you most.

Nero, surprisingly, took the challenge to fight me, his own brother. What was even more, he told me not to go easy and to not be afraid to hurt him. I protested, naturally, but he silenced me with a quick embrace of oblivion. I was surprised since he never used oblivion against me. I knew he was serious. He really wanted to test his strength. I knew I had to honor that.

He lost. I wasn't surprised and neither was he. Still, it was a great victory. He had come so far and used the power of materia as an artist uses a paintbrush to make art. The way he fought seemed almost like a dance: a dance so subtle. His movements were like water and he delivered powerful blows.

He lost when he was on the ground facedown with my foot resting softly on his back. His lip bled and his arms now bore many bluish marks where my feet or fists had struck him hard. His breaths came short and ragged but a slight grin was on his face. His eye was black but he didn't seem to care. I felt bad since I had only a few scratches lining my arms.

Two soldiers came over and carefully lifted him to his feet where they began to lead him away. I stopped them. I wrapped my arms around him and let my cure materia's power flow freely into his bruised and battered body. He didn't resist but simply stood there while the healing energy streamed through his veins. When he was healed, he submitted into my embrace. "Get some rest, you fought well," I instructed.

"As did you," Nero said. He sighed heavily as he let go. I put my hands on his shoulders. "Weiss, tomorrow I start the venom runs…do you think I'll…survive?"

"You'll be fine…don't forget me and I promise you that you'll survive. That's what kept me alive was our promise."

_"Sounds like you didn't have it too bad as a tsviet," Zack said._

_Something about my sudden silence got Aeris curious. "Weiss? You got very quiet again."_

_"Well, I'll not go into detail about Nero's venom trials…he didn't handle them nearly as well as I did and was on life-support systems for a few days. The venom of a dualhorn made him slightly paranoid and from the point on, he had more and more difficulty containing his oblivion. It would escape in his sleep or when he was weak, tired, starved, angry: just like the old days. I wanted to kill Restrictor even more."_

_"Kill me? So early?" Restrictor's cold voice erupted. I was instantly on my feet and reached for my gunblade katanas…which weren't there since I was dead. I saw the man…it was the man behind the mask and not the decrepit mask he always wore. He was probably in his mid-thirties but then again, he was much older than me. His long, straight hair was the color of fire…bright red. His eyes were blue in contrast and he bore a smirk on his thin lips. I rushed at him, letting fury take over me. I was suddenly pulled back by arms much weaker than my own but the emotion behind them was overpowering. My mother's arms were around my waist._

_"There's nothing you can do, Weiss! Please, don't go!" she begged. Maybe it was her sweet voice that melted my rage, but whatever it was, I calmed down._

_"You're not worth my time you cur!" I snapped at Restrictor and turned around._

_"I had no idea I ruined two sweet little boys when I brought your under my wing in Deepground," Restrictor said mockingly. Weiss turned red. Restrictor had been there the whole time. Restrictor slowly walked up and sat down by Zack who scooted away from him. "But, do continue, Weiss. Your story seems filled with more pain than mine was." There was a slight hint of a paternal tone. Weird._

_"I had thought that when I entered Deepground, I had entered Hell. If the alpha class seemed like Hell, the tsviet class was like the devil's throne."_

"Nero…" I called weakly. He couldn't hear me. Painful memories welled up inside as I gazed upon the black straightjacket and white jaw restraint that bound my brother in humiliation. Not only that, he was chained to the pillar once again. Restrictor had done it because he was afraid of Nero. Pathetic. Restrictor messes up my brother's body causing Nero to lose that hard-earned control over oblivion and Restrictor dares to blame Nero. For this, I must get revenge.

Nero had been forced asleep by a narcotic gas. Restrictor no longer used injections since Nero would only swallow the scientist injecting him, and send him or her into oblivion. Gas was the only thing that worked now. I hated it.

"Nero, please…awaken," I pleaded. No response. I dared to walk up to him. I didn't care that wisps of darkness danced around me and threatened to swallow me. I had to wake Nero. I came eye level to him and reached up, trembling, and touched his closed eyelid. It flinched in reflex to my touch, but it did not open. My hand fell from his face to the side of his neck. It ran down over several thick chains until it reached his shoulder. His shoulder quivered. The reason was clear since his body temperature was below normal. His body had always been cooler than your average Joe, but this was unnatural. I longed to break the chains holding him.

"Sir," said a small, male voice from behind. I abruptly turned with my viridian eyes glaring harshly at the soldier that had barged in. The soldier shrank back a bit. "Restrictor calls for you immediately. There has been another promotion to the tsviet class…and a color branding."

I cringed and turned my face back to my sleeping brother. "And what pig-headed fool do I have to challenge now?" I growled.

"Rosso from Omega class is being promoted today," the soldier replied nimbly.

"Tell Restrictor that he can wait until I break my brother free."

Her name was branded with red, therefore making her tsviet name Rosso the Crimson. Nineteen and cocky, she strode up to me after being presented before the Deepground soldiers. Her vermillion eyes and lips might have been enticing to any normal man, but her seduction had no effect on me. To me, she was just another cur on the same level of Restrictor since she had been raised in Deepground. When she tried to con me by running her hands up my arms and smiling a feline grin, I simply grunted and turned away. I didn't like the way she was flirting with me and I couldn't wait to feel her head under my foot during the inevitable battle.

Nero was almost as disgusted with the new tsviet as I was. Sure, she was strong, smooth, fast, and agile, but she was quite a jerk. She would pass a soldier in the hall and use her position as an excuse to simply strike a blow to the unwary soldier. How sickening.

Nero and I finally got one moment of relief two weeks after Rosso's promotion. Restrictor let both of us simply take the day off and rest up since we had undergone rigorous training. To our surprise, Restrictor had even sent us into a small wing of Deepground that we thought would be the last thing in Deepground. There was a small spa within the stronghold. Nero and I laughed when Restrictor ordered us to go there. We didn't complain since it sounded nice.

We about died of laughter at the faces of the soldiers as we passed by in nothing but our skin, black swimming trunks, and a white towel around our waists as we walked towards the secret and small "spa". When we got there, we sat in the blazing hot sauna for about twenty minutes, sweating our eyeballs out. We didn't dare talk about our plot for revenge since we weren't sure if Restrictor had microphones hidden around the place. It was kind of funny to see Nero's hair slowly mat down as sweat poured onto his scalp and ran down his pale face. I couldn't say I was fond of sweating buckets but it helped clear up my oily skin.

We relaxed in a whirlpool for awhile and then washed off the sweat and grime in a nice hot shower. After that came the best part.

Nero was lying chest flat on a cushioned table and his head was turned towards me. I was in the same position but on a table beside him. I sighed heavily as skilled, masseur's hands kneading my thick muscles. I had never had a massage but I wasn't just about to reject it. Weeks of tension that had built up was being kneaded and pounded away and I finally began to relax. Surprisingly, Nero's oblivion began to wither the more he relaxed.

While our aching muscles were being worked on, we talked about weapon designs. "You still want to stick to gun-blades?" he asked softly.

"Yes. I couldn't decide between guns and swords so that's what I'm getting. I'll just get two gun-blades. Katana hybrids," I said. Nero chuckled.

"I'd prefer something a bit easier to work with."

"What's easier for you, chakram?"

"Weiss, not to brag, but my marksmanship skills are far superior to yours. I'm getting the finest guns Gaia can offer."

"Hah ha, you amuse me, Nero," I said. Suddenly, I felt a crack in my back and I couldn't help but to growl. "Dang."

_"Deepground was known for its experiments…from what I gather," Zack said randomly when I had paused. I cringed. Since Restrictor was here, I was going to give him more pain than what he had put Nero and I through._

_"It went beyond me and Nero. Several weeks later, I had been forced into an experiment to test my body's reaction to different kinds of Mako. That marred the chemical balance in my brain to the point where anger flowed through my veins like wine. I had lost reasoning for a few days and went berserk. When I was sane again, I had gained unearthly powers which I wish I hadn't. I could now absorb Mako to use as strength. _

_"Anyways, a month later, there was a new recruit into Deepground: an ordinary man who had wanted to simply be in SOLDIER. Well he got less than what he bargained for. Seeing that he was already well built, Restrictor ordered him into the Metamorphose Experiment, the same one I had gone through, and it made him triple in size and strength. It left him with uncontrollable anger as well. After testing his abilities, he was quickly promoted after Shelke. Argento came quietly to tsviethood but with a genius mind. Seeing that I now had a force of six tsviets including myself, I felt the time was ripe to take action against that mindless fool, Restrictor."_


	10. Chapter 10 Whisper

I'm terribly sorry for the six month delay in updating this story…there were many complications. But, I've finally updated. BTW, I'm almost done with this story. Thank you for being patient.

They were custom made…my twin swords. I had spent two days working with an expert weapons designer from Edge. Her name was Cecilia Valentine and she ran a small weaponry in the bright part of Edge. For once in the past few months, I had been allowed above ground. To my dismay, I had to wear a 1st class SOLDIER uniform. Does the foolishness ever end?

Cecilia had designed them to specifically match my strength and fighting styles. They were both handmade and of the finest quality materials. I was specific saying that I wanted sword-gun hybrids with as little decoration as possible. I said this after noticing the intricate artwork, engraving, and embossing that Cecilia's hands had done to the expensive guns she sold in her small shop. I simply needed the weapons as soon as possible.

Nero had simply ordered weapons Cecilia had already made. He ordered four matching sub-machine guns that were lightweight with little kickback. I asked him why he chose four and he went silent. His ruby eyes squinted with pain. I can always tell when my brother was in pain. This time, it was clear that he wouldn't tell me why. Somehow I got the feeling that he was under threat not to tell me. This was just another coal to heap onto my blazing fire.

I had almost forgotten about my ordered weapons because of the pure psychological torture I had been put through in the following week. It all began when Nero didn't show for our morning run.

I waited for an hour for him in the great hall simply pacing back and forth growing more nervous with each step. I waited another hour and still, no Nero. Where could he possibly be? Nero was not one to sleep in late so something had to be wrong.

I turned and darted from the hall, passing a small crew of second class soldiers. Their heads turned, wondering what the rush was but who cares. This bad feeling growing inside me must be explored.

I must have searched every place I could think of in Deepground for there were only soldiers, officers, and Restrictor…no Nero. I even checked the storage rooms and medical chambers. Nothing. Surely he wasn't out on a secret mission. Restrictor always informs the tsviets of any secret mission.

Finally, I ran into that cur, Restrictor for the second time. "Where's my brother?" I demanded, not jumping around the bush. Restrictor's mask only stared back at me. I hated not being able to tell what that man was thinking or feeling! He cocked his head and rested his vile hands on my shoulders.

"Your brother has been falling behind as far as my tsviet standards go and I don't believe it's his fault necessarily," he said.

"That wasn't the answer I was looking for. Where is my brother?" I snarled, ripping away from his hold.

"You're so impatient, Weiss. That will be your downfall," he said. I was ready to throw a punch at him after a few moments until he said, "Nero's is undergoing surgery."

"What kind of surgery?" I demanded immediately. I wasn't waiting. This was one moment where it didn't matter how patient I was.

"He's receiving surgery that will alter his muscular system and nervous system to be able to run the new wings he'll receive. It's a new type of weapon we want to try and"

"Try?" I snarled harshly. "Try? You don't know how this will come out?"

Restrictor sighed heavily. "No, but I can assure you that every measure is being taken to ensure that the transformation is successful. If it is, Nero will bear a pair of steel alloy wing that he will be able to move with his own nervous system. They will function as a second set of arms and swords."

I was livid. I didn't care how much it would "improve" my brother. He was fine the way he was and now…now he may not survive. "You fool!" I screamed. "Do you not realize how delicate a human nervous system is?" I lost all control and I rushed at him blindly and without thinking even the slightest. I threw every pound of my body at him to no avail. He easily sidestepped the clumsy rush and jabbed his elbow into the back of my neck. The powerful blow to my spine rendered my limbs frozen and useless. Due to this, I could not stop myself as I crashed to the cold cement floor.

"Weiss…I had hoped it wouldn't come to this…" Restrictor said with a disappointed sigh. "It broke my heart to find that you had been planning a rebellion. Such a shame."

"Who told you?" my wolf-like voice growled. I didn't really need Restrictor to answer…I already knew who it was…I just wanted to hear it from Restrictor's own lips.

"Rosso seems to be the one I can trust around here. It seems that you got rather far in your scheme," Restrictor taunted. "Too bad you won't be able to carry it out."

He knelt by me and my mind screamed for every inch of my body to move, but it refused. The masked man pulled a small vial from his cloak and opened the top. Grabbing my hair, he held it roughly under my nose. "Weiss, I hope you rethink your motives and position." The smell was nauseating and made my eye heavy as lead. It was a fast acting narcotic.

Rosso…I'll never forgive you, traitor! You understand? I'll never forgive you!


	11. Epilogue Part One Pale

The world seems not the same,

The world seems not the same,  
Though I know nothing has changed.  
It's all my state of mind,  
I can't leave it all behind.  
Have to stand up to be stronger.

Have to try to break free  
From the thoughts in my mind.  
Use the time that I have,  
I can't say goodbye,  
Have to make it right.  
Have to fight, cause I know  
In the end it's worthwhile,  
That the pain that I feel slowly fades away.  
It will be alright.

I know, should realize  
Time is precious, it is worthwhile.  
Despite how I feel inside,  
Have to trust it'll be all right.  
Have to stand up to be stronger.

I have to try to break free  
From the thoughts in my mind.  
Use the time that I have,  
I can't say goodbye,  
Have to make it right.  
Have to fight, cause I know  
In the end it's worthwhile,  
That the pain that I feel slowly fades away.  
It will be all right.

Oh, this night is too long.  
Have no strength to go on.  
No more pain, I'm floating away.  
Through the mist see the face  
Of an angel, who calls my name.  
I remember you're the reason I have to stay.

Have to try to break free  
From the thoughts in my mind.  
Use the time that I have,  
I can't say goodbye,  
Have to make it right.  
Have to fight, cause I know  
In the end it's worthwhile,  
That the pain that I feel slowly fades away.  
It will be alright.

"Pale"

Within Temptation

End of "What's Black, White, and Wounded All Over"

Part One

Thank you for your patience and please stay tuned for Part Two.


	12. Chapter 11 Complete

_"Ooh! Now we're getting to the good part!" Zack said. _

_"What was that?" I snapped. "Where in my story did you find one good thing that happened?"_

_"Sorry, man. I didn't mean to ruffle your feathers."_

_"Anyways, apparently Rosso ended up going through the same metamorphosis experiment that made Azul and I hate you even more," I said, glaring like Death at Restrictor. He sat silent with a dead expression. "At last she had come to her senses to truly turn from Restrictor and join my league. I never really did forgive her for what she had done, but I could not refuse her plea to help my cause."_

_"What happened after you woke up?" Aeris asked._

My head was boiling with two things: rage and pain. It's amazing how a few whiffs of a small amount of liquid can render a warrior like me totally useless. I would have to learn to hold my breath in those situations. What a cheap trick anyways! Why didn't he try something a bit tougher?

I shook my head and heard a metallic rattling. I moved my head again. There was the sound once again. What was that? My hand came up to rub my face and there was the rattle yet again. I finally opened my eyes only to be met with spiked steel shackles that were tightly bound around my wrists and biceps. The thick shackles utilized chains that led behind me. Was I bound to the wolf-headed throne in Mako Reactor 0? What was this? Am I now a dog that must be chained?

Furious, I stood up and gazed around to see shackles around my ankles and neck as well. Then my eyes rested on the biggest eyesore known to man…Restrictor. He stood a good distance away, staring at me as if I was supposed to perform a circus act. That's when I decided not to give him one. My mind screamed for me to tear away and writhe against my bindings, but judging by the buzzing sound coming from the chains and shackles, that was probably not a good idea. Besides, Restrictor always loved seeing me struggle. I would keep my cool this time.

"Restrictor, what's this?" I asked, looking at the metal around my wrists. "Are you going to let me go?"

"I'm going to explain something to you first, Weiss," he said. "I am very disappointed that you have decided to turn on me. It broke my heart to find that my finest warrior had turned into a black sheep. Therefore, your life is bound to mine."

"What does that mean?"

"I have put a virus in your body so that if you ever do decide to kill me, the virus will be released and there will be a three day countdown until your death. Chew on that for a bit."

I laughed with a cruel smile. I laughed harder…and harder. This was absolutely hilarious. This hotshot had been strutting around thinking that I wanted him to die more than anything. True, I wanted to see his cold dead corpse at my feet, but Death would be too sweet for him and sometimes life can be bitterer than Death. He had totally missed the point. "You're just as clueless as the day when you first laid your savage eyes on me and you will always remain clueless. You will kneel before me alive…even if it means a blade must pierce your stone heart!"

Restrictor stood lazily again. Had my threat…excuse me, _promise_ reached his deaf ears? I then saw that he was staring not at me, but rather at two objects before me. My gunblades were complete and had been delivered. They had been jabbed into the floor forming an 'x'. As if I had said nothing the moment before, I grinned and asked, "Are go going to let me try out my new weapons?"

"I was hoping you would ask," Restrictor said, sounding relived. Yes, my previous chat had got to him. Perfect. He pressed something on his arm and my shackles fell away. The hilts of my new, perfectly symmetrical blades were inviting and called to my hands. Indeed Cecilia was a master of blades. Each blade had been laser sharpened and polished for a perfect mirror shine. Her craft probably had been well compensated for.

The hilts had been perfectly formed for my hands. They were expertly wrapped in the traditional samurai style designed for maximum traction. As I pulled them from their resting places, both blades sung in unison. These beautiful weapons were light, but still had enough mass to deliver the deadly blows that I would need them to. They were heavenly designed but of earthly materials. Perfect. Heaven and Earth. Those were only correct names for such elegance. The left was Earth: a sword of a slightly shy feminine grace. The right was Heaven: the blade of brutal angelic masculinity. Paired together, they created one destruction.

I bent low, drawing both blades back. Earth and her bluish gleam; Heaven and his silver shine would be the end of the Hellish monster standing before me. "I'm ready when you are." I don't know if it was true, but I thought I heard a deep, seraphic voice along with one of rough beauty saying the words along with me. Heaven and Earth had just spoken and soon they would sing.


	13. Chapter 12 Moondance

The first five minutes of the battle wasn't too difficult though it was clear that I would not have the upper-hand. I paused as Restrictor had just landed from escaping the attack I had just attempted. He saw my hesitation and he did not go for another attack. Breathing a bit harder than normal to replace the oxygen I desperately needed, I growled, "Today's training increment is heavier than normal, Restrictor. Care to explain?"

The man's dark cape fell around him so now he just looked like a mountain with an armored head. He stood tall and dared to answer. "That's because there is a limited number of those who can become tsviets. As for your experiment, I've already got it prepared." Stepping back, the demon waved his hand as if beckoning for something or someone. I couldn't have been any more correct, but exactly _what_ arrived made my stomach turn. Striding as if she was Queen of the World, Rosso came forward from the shadows of a DG corridor. Following her was the only creature of DG whose steps could wake the dead. Azul stomped forward towards Restrictor and I with amusement and excitement dripping from his large teeth.

Restrictor flicked his chin out briefly. "As you wish: a handicapped match against fellow tsviets." Once again, the man proved exactly how dull he is and how hard his hearing is. I did not say I wanted a match against fellow tsiviets. I wanted a match against the so-called "rising" tsviets. There was a group of about six that were supposed to be promoted to the tsviet class and I wanted to take them all on at once. Oh well, at least some fight is better than none. Besides, maybe this would be my chance to put Rosso back in her place though she had already begged for forgiveness.

I turned to Rosso who through her mask of calm, I could see a nervous wreck. Yes, she was scared that I would rip her to shreds and rightfully so. I wasn't going to kill her since I needed every bit of help I could get, but I was sure going to scare her into complete submission. "Relax," I said mockingly.

Fueled by my tone, she rushed at me with her bladed bow. It was an attack that could not be easily dodged or deflected. That one skill had been perfected through years of training and practice. But what can I say? I'm stronger than her. "Give me a break!" I snarled and threw Heaven and earth up in front of me to block. My feet performed perfect footwork that would stabilize my defense and brace my body for the impact. It was the impact of a bus against a seedling. Her blade crashed into my singing twins creating a shrill cry of pain from Earth. Heaven, her mate, sliced against Rosso's growling steel and snarled back in defense of Earth. My blades could not be matched.

"Eat this, Rosso!" With a great flex of my arms, I thrust her away. "Come on! Show me what you've got! I've yet to warm up!" This matched seemed over quicker than it had started. Rosso flung herself at me again, swinging her blade in a wide circle. That technique was the one that slaughtered at least five or six DG soldiers everyday as a result of Rosso's pointless anger and fury. To think that she would try that dumb move against me: the audacity! Heaven and Earth moved up in my defense. Earth was the braver one this time as she jolted vertically to directly block the attack. Heaven moved behind her to help her stand her ground. With their combined efforts, I was safe behind an 'x' of steel.

"WEISS!!" Rosso screamed. She was furious now. At last, Azul decided to interfere. Seeing that Rosso's normal form was no match for me, he decided to aide her with his gigantic Archazul form. I've always liked dogs and bulls were okay. Tigers, in my opinion, are awesome creatures as well…but mixing the three creates something that takes the ugliest parts of these three animals and smashes them into one. That was now my second opponent. His smelly jaws opened to boast a roar that I think was supposed to be threatening. It was louder than it was frightening…and it really was not that loud.

"Come, humor me!" I taunted again, hoping to get an actual fight from these two. At this point, I had forgotten almost completely about Restrictor. It wasn't like that I had forgotten that he was watching behind his mask and neither was it that all of my attention and strength was being poured into this fight. Believe me, these two aren't _that_ tricky to defeat. It was more like the sense that you forget what's in the trash bag when you take the garbage out.

Rosso's fury had finally boiled over the pot and she became desperate. Her energy was poured into two doppelgangers that matched her skill and speed. With four opponents now, things got slightly more interesting. Finally. It wasn't like she would actually touch me. Heaven and Earth were doing a great job at preventing that. Oh goodness, was that an actual drop of sweat I felt on my forehead?! In the meanwhile, Archazul was trying desperately to land an attack from behind. Seriously though; when your steps sound like a herd of chocobos, you aren't exactly what even Restrictor would call "stealthy".

That bad breath from behind was annoying me more than even restrictor on a bad day. It had to go. I distracted Rosso and her doppelgangers with a blast of pure mako energy stored in the electric materia in my chest and then turned toward the behemoth. He roared out of frustration right in my face. As much as I would have liked to maintain my perfectly calm, dark image, I couldn't help but to grimace and wrinkle my nose. "Bring it, big guy…" I muttered under my breath and grabbed his left forepaw. "How would you like to see…" I began and build up tension in my thighs for the throw. "…to see the other end of the rainbow!" And so I chucked him as hard as I could…and not to brag, but if I had thrown him outside, he really might have seen the other end of the rainbow.

"HA HA! What's going on? You guys sweating now?" I growled, waiting for a real challenge. Both opponents, recovering from the last blows, began to glow: each according to his or her tsviet color. Archazul suddenly vanished into a spark of blue light and Rosso did the same…only her light was red. I might as well complete the patriotic colors. I vanished into white and boy did the sparks fly. It was intense and adrenaline pumping like I wanted it. We fought, only visible by the sparks of light that danced around the throne room. Even then, we were hard to follow.

I could have kept going with my gladiator body, but the other two had had enough. Already? Oh well…

When the smoke cleared, Restrictor was clapping and behind him strode the newest Tsviet whose name was unknown. She was a short, thin girl with cropped silver hair. Her memories had nearly been destroyed by the monster standing in front of her and thus, she spoke little. She grimaced and slowly did what very few of us DG SOLDIERs were able to do because of the microchips in our brainstems.

She raised her long, heavy gun and aimed directly at Restrictor's head.

**GUESS WHAT, MY WONDERFUL FANS?? The next chapter is the CLIMAX!! Stay tuned because I'm going to make it one of the best chapters of the story! Get ready!**


	14. Chapter 13 Now We Are Free

Maybe Restrictor thought it was a joke for he chuckled. When in the past umpteen years have I joked? Every threat I made against Restrictor was no joke, but a promise. Anyways, the girl just stood there with a hint of fear on her stone face. A gloved index finger was wrapped around the trigger, but her tendons would not pull her finger in for a deadly shot. What was she waiting for? "Shoot! Carry it out!" I ordered at her.

She still did not shoot. The shudder in her shoulders suggested that she was still trying to build up the courage to carry out my order. It was rather a simple order: shoot Restrictor in the head. At the same time, as I was pondering and getting angry on her hesitation, I felt for her and pitied her. She was the newest _tsviet_ and yet I had given her orders to assassinate her "superior". This would prove her true strength.

However, not everything had gone as planned. Her slight hesitation proved pivotal in this desperate situation. That falter caused Restrictor to have the upperhand. He teleported behind the girl and side kicked her square in the stomach. As she fell to the ground with a small cry, Restrictor whipped out his long, massive hand gun and aimed it her head. Yeah…he really cared about his _tsviets_ alright.

She struggled to stand but the pain from taking a full blow from Restrictor was too much. Shaking my head slightly, I knew I would have to intervene if I was to salvage our plan. Teal mako energy burst from my body, heightening my senses. The rush tensed my muscles for action. I dashed forward at cheetah speed…I'll take that back: maybe faster than the speed of sound.

"Wha-? You…stop it!" Restrictor yelled with fear and rage dripping from his voice. His hand thrust out at me. He was known for his mastery of using materia. It showed in the immense bolt of lightning that he thrust into my stomach. I was not one for expressing the pain I'm in, but that doesn't mean I like pain. That lightning bolt was no exception. It jolted through every crevice of my body and threatened to shut it down. Oh no it won't!

"Let me join you, Restrictor?" I thrust that mocking question in his face to let him taste the poison of the words. As if I would join him. I managed to straighten up. A grin fell across my lips. "Heh, you'll be goner if your restriction is getting weak." He gave me a defiant growl that might have said, "yeah right". Then again, it could be just frustration that I was getting into his grill rather than he into mine.

As we strugged against each other, blade on blade, he figured that my will was overcoming his strength as my blades edged towards his neck. Once again, the coward thrust a bolt of lightning into my body. It wasn't nearly as powerful as the previous, but boy did it burn! I recovered quickly and resumed my shove. I noticed over Restrictor's shoulder that the girl had gotten to her feet and her gun was in hand again.

"Come on! Now's the time!" I growled authoritatively, but not cruelly. "Carry it out!" I heard the bark of her gun and felt a bullet whiz by my ear. She had missed, but it wasn't because of her marksmanship. She always had perfect aim. Restrictor had moved behind me in hopes to use me as a human shield. Like I said. This man was such a coward.

However, in his distraction with the girl, he failed to prepare himself for my strike. My foot came up and knocked him clear away from me. The kick wasn't exactly my most powerful, but who made it law that you have exert huge amounts of force anyways? Well, it did it's job as it threw him off balance. As he staggered back like one who has had too much wine, I could imagine that behind the metal of his mask, he was grimacing and grunting.

I whirled around like a tornado and drew Heaven and Earth. They sang in melody and harmony again. If I had a chance, I might just draw and sheathe my two children over and over again just to hear that eerie prelude. Their song in battle was even more mysterious, but there was something about that first note that send my blood burning through my veins.

The Twins crashed downed against Restrictor's gunblade with an intensity that would have easily sliced through had his blade not been made of adamant steel. The tungsten blade edges of my swords were far stronger than regular steel, but not enough to take on his emperor grade metal. What a shame.

The girl was back on her feet and with an emotionless fire, she dashed toward Restrictor. Upon her confession to me earlier about her younger sister, I knew there was no price she wouldn't pay as well to see Restrictor at her feet. She flew in with a kick aimed at his spine. All her training hadn't gone to waste. It landed perfectly.

Had my brother been here, this fight would have been long over. However, he was restrained and heavily chained up once again. It was okay. His burning fire had already seeped into me and now I fought with the strength of not just me, but he as well. It was comforting as if he were here. Even so, this new _tsviet_ was not bad.

With grace and swiftness of the wolf innate of my brother, I guided my swords up in an arc cleaner than the rainbow and with a speed dwarfing that of sound. Their edges met steel armor and sliced right through. Yes! My first true hit to this monster. Adrenaline rushed like wildfire through my blood and I became even fiercer. I had to keep going. That wound from which Restrictor's blood was now seeping was not enough to break free my spirit that was chained within the life of the man before me. To free it, I would have to kill him. This was no surprise. I had been plotting this battle for a long, long time.

Grunts of pain came from Restrictor and he raised his blade to ward off my next blow aimed straight at his head. Yet, the wound was enough to damage his guard. He crashed forward violently just as the new tsviet's leg came down from delivering th blow. I smiled at her in approval though she shrank away. Had I given her a sadistic glare? I didn't think I did.

Restrictor's breathing deepened and roughened as though he was furious. In fact, he was wheezing a bit. No grace was present in the manner of which he got to one knee. It was possible that Earth, in her airy meekness, had cut deeper than her brother and grazed Restrictor's intercostal muscles. this could be to our advantage. His masked face turned away from me and attempted to look behind him. "Impossible," he gasped. It was more of a whisper as to not embarrass himself with a degrading term, but it had already been heard one who would blackmail him with it if he was going to live another day. Restrictor brought himself roughly to his feet and lashed out with his blade. "Don't underestimate me!"

And, for the first time, a _tsviet_ was struck by Restrictor for one purpose: death. The girl's tiny waist was ornamented with a terrible bauble. Restrictor's blade seemed to be swallowed by her stomach and he back spat it out with her own blood as well. She didn't scream. she didn't moan. She didn't even open her mouth. Silent as a lamb, she gazed down at the blade intruding her body and then sadly up at Restrictor. In his careless apathy for one of his _tsiviets_, Restrictor tossed her body away.

_"Go, my brother. Free us,"_ Nero's voice rang in my head. Heaven and Earth surged with excitement and my body was overwhelmed with raging power. The time had finally come to exploit the innermost desire in my heart. For years I thought this desire was revenge. I then thought it was for power. But it wasn't.

The sound of flesh being pierced is a sound that I cringed at for every time, it meant another soldier had met his or her end for little to no reason. But oh, this sound suddenly became sweet. Heaven and Earth sang in a finale of fortissimo and climax as they gave their best and all. The only music I had heard in the past nine years were fanfares and scores to hail the all "powerful" Restrictor. But this moment proved that the sweetest music to my ears and soul was the metallic cry of swords.

Heaven buried his fang into Restrictor's heart; Earth, his spine.

The man's body froze for a moment and then was overcome with a jagged shudder. I could hear his teeth clack lazily agaisnt each otehr as shock raged into his body. Like a vampire, my eyes widened at the sight of his blood running down my swords. The feel was like new rain on a parched land. His head turned slowly with a twitch that spoke of fear. "But if...you do this...your virus will..."

I jerked roughly on my blades causing him to groan and choke out. Blood began dripping from his mask. "Stop talking nonsense," I warned vehemently. I jerked my blades even more, disembowling him further. "Aren't you the one who said," I began. I turned both blades outward as if carving stone. Yes, I was carving his stone heart out. "'Death is always with you as long as you are in DG'?" He had said those words to me on my third day in Deepground and I buried them so that one day, I could regurgitate them and throw out the audacity and coldness at him tenfold. His very words sunk in as his breath drew in sharply. That last, short breath fell away from his mouth as his form fell away from my bloodied swords.

I cannot begin to describe that moment and what it felt like as I, azul, and Rosso laughed the fantasy away. The fantasy of freedom floated away as the reality of freedom settled like a sweet mist. The moment was glorious and as my voice in laughter grew louder and more passionate with my fellow tsviets, the wings of my spirit unfurled for the first time in nine years.

Nero, now we are free.


	15. Chapter 14 What Have You Done

His form did not stir when the airlock door slid open with a hiss and splashed dull florescent light on his face. He was asleep with a dead look on his face. I knew that would change in a matter of minutes. The door slid shut, engulfing us in darkness again. With a snap of my fingers, the lights in the room blinked on. They were dim, but now I could clearly see him. Nero.

His body had been tightly bound by chains and it was impossible for him to move in the slightest. It no longer mattered. Our nemesis's body lay rotting above ground for the buzzards and guardhounds to feast on.

It seemed like hours before my feet stopped their journey at the foot of the pillar. I simply gazed at my slumbering brother and let the memories of our lives together drift through my mind. Naturally,the best were the ones born of our childhood before Deepground. We have grown so much since the day we stepped in this wretched place. Unfortunately, most of that growth was not good. We have become killing machines rather than innocent men. We have relished the idea of revenge though eleven years ago, that would not have been the case. We have served an organization that seeks to destroy morality and the innocence in children.

Shrugging off the pain and bitterness of such memories, I reached back and unsheathed Heaven and Earth slowly. Their song was quiet for they knew that their job was done for the time being. They would not taste blood again for a long time...at least I had hoped so. With one swift movement, I flung them into the sides of the pillar. Their tungsten fangs sliced through the steel chains like chaff and Nero instantly fell forward. As much as I would have loved to treat my weapons with more respect, Nero was more important. So, I dropped Heaven and Earth to catch my brother.

Nero never felt as cold as he did that moment. I began to wonder if he clinically had hypothermia. I stripped the chains away and unclasped the white jaw restraint. Both fell away to reveal a young man's face at rest. I almost forgot what he looked like without the ugly confinement. If he suddenly ever began to wear normal clothes of a normal man, he might have been running from a crowd of young women. He was no ugly person by far.

He stirred.

I gasped softly, silently excited that he was waking. His head turned in my arm and pale lips parted and closed in an unheard word. He repeated the same silent murmur. After a few moments of this, the muddled sound of "weiss" fell from his lips.

"Nero, wake up," I said. Almost immediately, his eyes began to open. It started as a flutter and then a gentle parting. He stared straight ahead for a moment, blinked, and then let his eyes wander up at me. Finally, his head turned.

"Weiss...how did you...?" he uttered, clearly weak from either starvation, fatigue, or both. I put my finer to my lip and helped him sit up.

"That is no matter, brother," I smiled victoriously and whispered, "We are free."

Clearly the cold and tiredness had gotten to his head. He blinked and looked down. "I don't understand."

"Restrictor is dead."

Suddenly, his eyes jolted back at me with a cocktail of confusion, fear, joy, and ecstasy. He slowly leaned forward a bit, scrutinizing me for truth or lie. "How can that be?"

"I killed him with Heaven and Earth. Unfortunately, Restricto'r death cost the life of one of our own." I hadn't forgotten about the young woman whose sacrifice and distraction had given me total control over the situation. I hadn't forgotten her lifeless form yet. I would later see to it that she got a proper burial.

Nero sighed slightly and closed his eyes. A smile broke out on his lips. He said nothing but I knew he was soaring. Moments he stayed like that before tears welled from the ends of his vermillion eyes. "How long have we waited?"

"Eleven years, my brother. We struck when the time was ripe and now we can go back to the surface where humans belong," I said, drawing him in close. I chuckled slightly. "Now Rosso can see the sunlight. I think that is a gift we will give to her."

Nero then gripped me tightly and unexpectedly. His hold was sure and comforting. "We will never be separated again, brother." His promise was healing. Despite all of the pain he went through and all of the beatings he took for my sake, he still loved me dearly as a brother. I treasured that more than my own life.

"Yes," I uttered. Slowly, I stood, bringing my younger brother up with me. He smiled. I smiled. I could see in the reflection of his eyes that our bondage was broken and we could live.

We turned to the door with the lightness that we shared before Deepground and walked from the cruel pillar victoriously. The fanfare of freedom echoed silently through the air, but raged majestically in our hearts.

As we entered the throne room again, I pressed my hands together. Rosso, Azul, Argento, and Shelke were all there. It was like they were waiting for their king. Rosso spared a peek up at me with a vixen grin. She bowed her head and knelt slowly. In a clear voice she said, "Hail, Weiss."

Azul's lips reeled back in a wide, respectful grin. His booming, deep voice agreed, "Hail, Weiss!" Reverently, he knelt and bowed his head.

Argento and Shelke both knelt to one knee and bowed their heads in unison. "Hail, Weiss!" they praised. Neither seemed rebellious in the slightest though I always questioned their motives.

"Hail, Weiss!" said yet another voice behind me. I whirled around to see my very brother, kneeling before. I wanted to tell him to rise, but his posture was humble and grateful, signaling that he would have been upset if I disturbed his display of gratitude. To have my own brother hail me showed that this team thought of me as a hero. I felt it too. I was ready to thank them for their help, how ever little it may have been, when my body made me face a detail about Restrictor's death that I had overlooked.

Unfortunately, extremely unfortunately, this was no minor detail. My stomach suddenly lurched and I knelt, myself, ready to throw up. No, this couldn't be happening. Why had fate turned a hard hand against me? I keeled over, sick to my stomach as my fellow _tsviets_ called out my name in concern and hands were pressed to my head and neck.

The virus had begun to invade my body and it was laughing at me every inch of the way.


	16. Chapter 15 Live and Let Die

I passed out from sheer pain only to be awakened moments later by voices from above. I jolted upright, sweating as though I stood in a sauna for hours. When my eyes opened, I could barely see for the world had become blurry. A dark form before me reached out with a white blob. The blob aimed for my head and when it touched, I jolted with the sudden feeling of cold water and cloth.

"Weiss, focus," Nero's gentle voice echoed. My hearing wasn't quite straight either. I blinked several times and Nero's face spun pulsed into focus. His large eyes were concerned and his left hand reached out with the cold cloth pressed against my forehead. "Can you hear me, brother?"

"Nero…" I uttered. A small grayish form came into view. This one had a reddish blonde globule at the top. Part of the form reached out and took my left arm. Judging by the small patch of warmth holding my arm, I guessed this form was Shelke. She rubbed something wet and strong smelling like alcohol against the crook of my arm and moments later, there was a prick upon the cleaned area. It must have been a painkiller or something for the throbbing in my stomach dulled and my senses cleared.

"Are you alright, Weiss?" Azul asked roughly. I rubbed my head with a shaky hand.

"Restrictor put a time-released virus in my body. I've got a little less than three days to live," I stated blatantly. There was no point in holding back the truth. Holding it back would mean my nemesis quicker. Judging by the sudden fall of expression on Nero's face, I highly doubt that would have been the right way to go. Everyone fell silent. "I'm sure there's a vaccine."

"I highly doubt Restrictor created a cure considering it was a virus meant to kill. Anyone he infected it with was not meant to live," I stated. It was true. Restrictor, a brilliant minded as he was, never created antidotes or cures to the poisons and viruses he made. This race for a cure would be on my head and anyone else willing to help.

Rosso stepped forward. "You freed us, Weiss. We have no choice but to give it our all to free you. I'm in."

"We are all in, sir," Argento said. "I'll go through every scrap of paperwork Restrictor filled out to find anything that could lead to a cure." She chuckled briefly. "I'm sure the cretin had some lab report or so on the virus."

"I'll extract any information I can from the scientists and those who worked closely with Restrictor," Rosso offered, gazing down the shafts of her bow-blade. He then gazed up at me with that usual twisted smile. "Unfortunately, I expect the DG morgue to be a little fuller than usual when I'm done." That's Rosso for you. Don't give her what she wants: you die. Give her what she wants: you still die.

Azul offered to help Rosso on her part and Shelke would work with Argento. Only Nero was left. He had barely spoken a word. His eyes stared blankly at the floor.

"Nero…" I began. I knew what he was thinking. Once again, something was going to part us if this didn't work out in the end. There had to be something I could say: something that would comfort him. Unfortunately, my honest comfort was weak. "I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault, brother," he said reverently, gazing up. "If you die, then I will tell Rosso to send me with you."

"Nero!"

"Weiss, understand that our relationship as brothers has become so tight over the past years, to lose you means I lose myself. We have become one eagle: unable to fly with only one wing. We got out of the grip of Restrictor together and we'll move on with life together. You said yourself in those first weeks here that we would not allow even Death to part us. If one of us goes, the other goes. That's just our nature now." There was nothing false or fake about that speech. I was floored. Nero had just spoken like a true warrior, a true fighter. I wasn't going to make him back down and shun that fierce sense of brotherhood. I nodded.

"Thank you," I said. It was a rather pathetic comment of gratitude compared to the warlord words he had just hit me with, but it was all I had. From there, I turned toward the Wolf Throne of Mako Reactor Zero. I knew that I couldn't force everything on the others. I was going to put up a fight for my own life as well. Inhaling deeply, I stated, "I'm going to commence a Synaptic Net Dive to search Deepground's archives. Nero, please keep watch."

"Very well," Nero said.

I began walking toward the throne that had its own SND drive. The throne glowed with remnant mako that escaped the reactor. The great wolf leaping from the reactor snarled at me silently as almost a warning. Actually, it was warning me. A knot grew in my stomach and the virus had nothing to do with it. This feeling could not be explained. I almost heard a jagged, lupine voice in the back of my mind, growling, "Stay away!"

I sat down upon the metal seat and relaxed as the throne positioned itself to support my dead weight. The SND helmet hung above my head and I pulled it down over my face. Inside, kept cool and ventilated by oxygen ducts, seemed only like a motorcycle helmet. When turned on, I would not be able to distinguish reality from the digital world. This concept often made me hesitate to commence what was truthfully a dangerous process. I could never truly be able to tell if I would survive since the process was very taxing on both the mind and body. Great stamina was required for a successful SND. Trying to forget the risks, my eyes closed as if readying for a long sleep.

"Weiss, good luck," Nero said and turned the SND system on. I fell unconscious as my mind was connected to the net within DG's computers. All I saw now was thousands upon thousands of computer files floating in neat rows. Each bore a legible name typed in a legible font at a legible size. I could simply touch one and the file would be opened automatically. All of the files could also be activated by voice, but I wasn't in the mood to talk.

I passed many, many files. Some seemed to have no relevance to Deepground in the slightest. There were files labeled things like 'chocobo breeding', 'SOLDIER uniform patterns', and 'simple haircuts'. Others proved slightly more indigenous to Deepground such as 'Genesis Project', 'Sephiroth Gene Research', and 'The Omega Theory". I would have liked to find out what hid in those folders, but I had no time.

I then decided to truly start by accessing the files of the scientists who worked for DG or even Shinra. I came across a few files of famous scientists: Gast, Hojo, Valentine, and Crescent.

Going through those files took several hours and to my great dismay, I found nothing important to solving my dilemma. I flipped through many more files down the row and several rows over. I was now exhausted, but not ready to give up. Clearly, I had no choice but to voice activate the search engines.

"SND search hound, activate," I commanded. From the middle of space, a giant, translucent rectangle appeared with a cursor ready to type in what I command.

"SND search hound activated. All systems ready," the mechanical male voice boomed.

"Search Restrictor virus studies."

"Error. Your query cannot be accessed. Please try a different subject."

"Code six, seven, two, two, three, four, nine, five, seven. Open file, immediately."

"Error. Please announce the proper code."

Impossible. Restrictor never changed the code for accessing hidden files. As the lead _tsviet_, I had access to all the files while the other _tsviets_ did not. How could the code not work?

"New search," I began, rubbing my face wearily. "Search Deepground medicine records."

"Denied."

WHAT?! Now the computer refused to even search for the file. I knew it. An outside source tampered or hacked the archives. But it didn't make sense. Only Restrictor and I know the passwords and codes for the most hidden files and even the SND self destruction command. The DG systems were completely invulnerable to hackers and outside viruses…but then again, Restrictor never said it wasn't vulnerable to _inside_ tampering. Something within the systems had gone haywire. I had no choice to leave or it would cost my life and I couldn't afford that sooner than the three day deadline.

I dashed down the rows of files and shouted, "SND command, commence emergency extraction!"

"Denied."

"That is an order from Weiss the Immaculate!"

"Weiss the Immaculate does not exist as a user of this system. Please try again." I hate computers. They're so polite it makes me sick. It's almost like they are trying to butter up the fact that they messed up or crashed or whatever. What losers!

"Intruder target locked. Commencing deletion programs," the computer's voice rang from everywhere. Now there was truly no time to waste. One hit from those deletion programs and I'm finished. As I jolted along, I saw the small cluster of scientist files and I noticed that one was missing. Valentine was there. Gast was there. Crescent was there. Hojo was not. Where had that file gone?

Oh no. This was bad.

Restrictor had warned me of such rare happenings long ago when I made my first Synaptic Net Dive. He said that in cases of desperation, some people would transform their minds into computer data and hide it as a plain file to escape physical death. Then, when another person commences an SND on the same or a networked system, the digital mind will jump into the SND user's body, possessing them. That's exactly what was happening.

Hojo had locked his mind into the computer and had overridden the systems to cater to his own ambitions. Now, I could see a bluish light zooming towards the exit of the SND world. Hojo was trying to jump into my body. NO!

I ran as fast as my digital legs could. This parasite had no right to take everything that I had just worked so hard to gain. He couldn't. HE COULDN'T!

But as my fate and luck is, he did. I saw his light vanish through the door and the SND world began closing. With a slight hope that maybe, just maybe, I could retain control over my body once I got back in, I leapt through the remaining portal.

Within moments, after shaking my head several times to rid my headache and raising the SND drive, my eyes fluttered open to see Nero sleeping peacefully at the foot of the throne. My head turned toward him and I smiled. Actually, _I_ smiled, but my lips didn't budge. Instead, they reeled back in a menacing grin. "Nero," my body said in a tone that made my brother's name sound as if it was the name of a dog. I wasn't in control. I saw, smelled, felt, heard, and even tasted everything, but I had absolutely no control over my body. Hojo had completely taken over.

"Weiss," Nero muttered as he opened his eyes and gazed at me. He smiled, "Hello, brother."

"Get up, Nero. We've got work to do," 'Hojo' said through my body. No! This can't be happening. Nero, can't you tell that this is not me? Do I ever treat you like a lowly guardhound when I speak to you? You know I don't!

"Alright, anything for you, brother," my little brother said with a slight bow and genuine smile. That smile was meant for me, not the vile monster inhabiting my body. Nero! Wake up! This isn't your brother! Oh heavens, can't he understand me? NERO! THIS ISN'T ME!

THIS ISN'T ME!!


	17. Chapter 16 The World Is Not Enough

_Aeris shuddered just as I finished telling about the disastrous SND. She turned to me, blinking. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Restrictor smirking like the pig he is. Was it funny that I was forever there with my brother but permanently separated? What a jerk._

_Zack scratched his head furiously as though scratching out fleas. Maybe this action was his way of displaying deep thought or emotion for he did this rather often as I told my story. After his itching, he settled back down. "So, what about the virus?"_

_I sighed. "Hojo got rid of it almost immediately. He developed a vaccine within hours after testing my blood. I'll never forget then pain and convulsions that medicine put me into. After a two or three day recovery period, Hojo began putting his plan into action. I didn't understand it at first for it involved components I had only heard about in passing."_

_"Components like what?" Restrictor asked._

_"Omega and Jenova. Tainted lifestream and Sephiroth," I said in a hushed voice, shaking my head. Even now, I don't fully understand it all._

_"You didn't know of Sephiroth?" Zack asked easily. _

_"Of course I knew of him. Despite not being in our sect of SOLDIER, he was still revered as a hero up until a few years ago. The girls of Deepground always talked about him and some would even brag of being rescued by him or having simply brushed by him before coming to Deepground. I'm sure only a handful of them ever saw Sephiroth." I paused, smiling for a moment in pity. "It's a shame, really. Their fantasies and stories were all they had to hold onto. Since every relic they bring to DG is burned and destroyed, talk and memories and fantasies are all they have to hold on to as hope. Most of them didn't even have the charity of a sibling like I did. He was the reason I kept living and kept pressing on toward the goal."_

_"You're right," Aeris said, clutching her hand at her breast. Tears glimmered at the corners of her eyes. "When in such a situation, dreams are the only sparks of hope a person has."_

_"Anyways, every day passed painfully as I watched Nero take order after order from 'me'. He never complained what 'I' ordered and never questioned 'my' motives no matter how selfish they were. I saw the buildings of an army of thousands upon thousands of Deepground soldiers. At least three thousand of them had been rescued from Midgar's rubble after Meteorfall and trained to be heartless monsters. This army, nursed with the blood of innocent people and lulled by the screams of children, was trained for one purpose. Hojo had bred the army to abduct those who were "clean for the cause" and execute those who were "tainted"._

_"As you all may know by now, those who were taken were used as a sacrifice to build up the being, Omega. Since my body had supposedly been "untainted", Hojo chose me to be the host body for Omega. When I learned of this, I fought against his mind with everything I had. For three years, I fought hard against Hojo with little breakthourgh. Only once in a while would I be able to control my body and only for a few seconds. Unfortunately, I didn't win my fight until it was too late. At the time that I finally broke free, my body had been beaten and broken by Vincent Valentine and the WRO forces. At that time, Hojo had done the unthinkable. It was then that I broke down and wanted to take Heaven and Earth to my heart."_

I had seen the fight with Vincent. Nero had done his best and it was a superior job by far. But a demon darker than the blackness within my brother was at work in Vincent. Thus, the crimson cloaked man had the upper hand. I could see that several of Nero's ribs were broken and he staggered as though a leg muscle had been brutally torn. His aim was for me as he tried to stand and hobble. He had given me everything and the fight everything. He deserved to rest. Yes, come to me, brother.

"Weiss..." his raspy voice uttered. Blood dripped down his throat and he cough briefly. "Brother..." He fell forward and I caught him. He looked up, pleading for help.

My lips smiled horrendously. "You're pathetic," my throat uttered. Inside, I screamed with fists clenched so hard, I felt my knuckles pop. Or, did they break? Forgetting Restrictor entirely, I had found a new hate. Why did I have to hate? When I was a boy, I never wanted to hate, but it seemed that it was inevitable. As much as I didn't want it, the new hate was aimed at Hojo. I could stand being beaten and insulted, but how dare anyone take such wrath upon my brother? "Get out of my sight, worthless filth."

Nero swallowed hard, clear unsure of what to say, think, or feel. Nero, do you now see that this piece of mud standing before you is not me? Wake up and see! As if my brother needed any more harm to his soul, much less his clouded body, 'I' thrust my twins into his abdomen. He said nothing. His eyes did not flare open in shock. Lips parted, he stared blankly at my chest and uttered something silently. By the looks of it, he probably said, "Weiss...I'm so sorry."

You idiot...you dear, brave idiot. You owe no apologies for anything you've done to me. I owe every bit to you. I owe you my life a thousand times over. Don't you dare say those words!

Mercilessly, Hojo used my arms to thrust Nero away. His broken body flew high and crashed into a large stack of wooden crates and metal barrels. I watched, totally helpless to aid my brother. The crash rang through my soul, never ceasing to reverberate. The sound echoed again and again and I knew that my very hand delivered the final blow. In my shattered heart, I knew that Nero was dead.

I couldn't move. It wasn't like I could to begin with. Hojo was in full control of my body at the moment and had been for nearly three years now. Thought fled my mind and sorrow its purest form filled my heart. It was a feeling so dreadful, I might have broke down and cried had my mind been conscious.

At this point, where would anyone be? What would anyone do? Some say that they would kill themselves. Can't do that. Others would say endure. How? I just killed the only family I had left. I could live, but not _live_.

Hojo has gotten my body into another useless, annoying fight with Vincent and I can feel every scratch and blow induced on me from Hojo's clumsy reflexes. This fight could have been long over and probably never would have even happened if everything had gone as planned when the virus inside me broke out. As brilliant as this monster in me was, he was no strategist by far. A blatant attack on Kalm? Come on!

As I predicted, Hojo overestimated himself because of my body. He did not have the combat skills needed to face this ex-Turk. His pride blocked his guard and he fell at the harsh kick of Vincent. My body crashed hard against the cold metal edge of the throne. Then it happened.

I felt Hojo's control waver. His vice like grip on my mind had broken for just a moment and when it returned, it held nowhere near the strength it had before. This was my chance. I mustered up as much strength as I could and began throwing all my force against the invisible barrier between me and control of my body.

I saw a transparent form of Hojo appear before my body. He stood and began yabbering off in that high-pitched, bothersome voice he owned. I couldn't stand it. It was like asthma set to music! He began whining about how he couldn't believe that Vincent was able to control himself in demon form. "How could this happen? You don't have the protomateria!"

His fear made him snap. His control vanished instantly and I broke free into my body. My own mind used my own brain to fire signals to my own muscles. What and amazing feeling it was. I had forgotten how good it felt to simply be able to turn my head. Unfortunately, because Hojo was so reckless in my body, I was extremely weak and had little energy to move.

In panic, Hojo's form turned abruptly and gazed at me with wide eyes. "What?" Just then, another form materialized before my eyes. It more so rose out of the floor like a ghost. Wait a minute…it _was_ a ghost. The ghost was completely dark and blacker than the darkest night with traces of menacing violet whipping out from its slender body. Eyes of vermillion glowed brightly and gazed directly at me. I had never seen such a form before and figured that I should be quite frightened by it, but I wasn't. After seeing the outlines of bat-like wings and the unruly, long black hair, I knew exactly who it was. Nero.

Hojo was much more surprised to see him than I was. The scientist raved, "What? How? That's not possible! You can't enter Omega. You're body is tainted and you'll ruin it! Omega needs a pure being who-"

_"Silence,"_ Nero commanded sternly.

Hojo had the audacity to ask, "What?!"

_"Silence!"_ Nero growled again. _"I'm speaking with my brother."_ He took a slow step forward and knelt. _"Weiss…"_

"Ugh…Nero…" I gasped. My voice came out rough and raspy, weak and small. I wished I could have made it stronger, but at this point it would have only weakened me more. My brother reached forward with both hands and rested them on my shoulders. I couldn't understand how this was possible considering that he was a spirit. His arms should pass right through me, right? I felt his hands rest there though I was sure that it was impossible for a ghost to materialize. Maybe Nero had become what some might call a poltergeist.

_"Brother…let us become one,"_ he began while pulling me forward gently and sliding his arms around my shoulders. He continued, _"so that none may ever tear us apart."_

Once again, he stunned me with his incredible forgiveness. That was the one strength of Nero that out shadowed all his flaws. He forgave almost everyone of everything. Hojo, through my body, had just killed him and even so, Nero forgave me for it. Even now, his head fell against the base of my neck to complete the embrace.

"Yes…let us…be…one," I answered on the verge of passing out. Nero drew me closer and tighter.

_"Weiss,"_ he exhaled. Then his form totally melted and I was suddenly filled with a strange coolness and calm. It seeped into every inch of my body and shot chills down my spine. I found strength again, though not much, to stand. So I stood.

Shakily, I stood on my feet and turned, facing the huge column of mako energy and the Omega spirit. There was no longer any point in staying on this planet since there was nothing left for us here. Maybe the lifestream would prove to be better.

I staggered forward slowly. Behind me, the bodiless Hojo was screaming at me to stop but his speech became garbled. It didn't matter what he said for my goal was already set. I could feel Nero's presence in my mind and he agreed that our time on Gaia was over. Hojo wanted to be a part of Omega, but I would not give him that liberty. The due penalty for the horrors he dealt to people was that he would fade away.

And he did. The moment I stepped into the ray of light, I heard shrill screams of agony and defeat behind me. The clamor lasted for about three seconds and then vanished forever. Hojo could no longer plague the planet.

As my body became engulfed in the beautiful light, I felt fire rage into my limbs and overwhelming power flood into me. The force was so strong, my body nearly vaporized. What a coincidence! It did! I realized that my body, now being torn from my spirit, was about to be inhabited by the spirit of Omega. I still controlled my own limbs, but I felt omniscient to myself. Talk about an "out of body experience"!

The light quickly became blinding so that I no longer saw anything except pure white. As beautiful as the moment was, it was rocked on its foundations by a terrible clamor. Screams. Screams erupted all around me. I gazed to the left, right, up, and down in search of the sources, but to no avail. How terrible! The screams were human and of young men and old men, old women and young women; and, worst of all, children. The screams of children seemed to drown out the rest. Children…innocent children. What has Hojo done to all those innocent people…those innocent children? What has he done?

What have I done?


	18. Chapter 17 The Pharaoh Sails to Orion

The elation of the amazing feeling wore off the moment their screams tore into my ears. They reverberated again and again through my existence and only increased in volume. I screamed, but they shrieked all the louder. I writhed and tore around, trying to loosen myself from the bindings of their agony, yet their grip tightened all the more.

Even through all of this, I felt another presence in my body besides the spirit of Nero. Vincent. It had to be. This little presence in my body was so tiny, it felt insignificant. However, the immensity of the darkness within him in contrast to the so called "purity" of Omega was enormous. Vincent's Chaos felt like that one tiny mosquito bite that's nearly invisible, but itches like the dickens.

I could feel Vincent traveling through my body, fighting the buds and feelers Omega automatically sent to destroy him. As I flew high into the sky on my journey into the deep void, I found the strength to ignore the presence of Chaos. There was something far more important at the moment.

"People of Gaia! Listen to me!" I called out with my spirit. The screams erupting all around me refused to stop. "Hello, can anyone hear me?"

I called out hopelessly for about ten minutes, hoping that one of that thousands of spirits trapped in Omega would hear. No one responded. Even as I began to see ghostly outlines of people drifting by, I would call them out. The most response I got from them was a glance from their specter faces and them another scream. I called and called out, wanting so bad to offer my deepest apologies for something I was not responsible for. But Omega had taken over and cared nothing for the life sources wailing and weeping within it.

"Brother..." Nero's voice echoed. I gazed around in the evil whiteness around me. My eyes rested upon the shadowy form floating about ten feet to my left. It was definitely Nero. His body was swaddled in black, but the wisps of darkness were totally gone. Thick, serpentine wisps of whiteness slithered over his body and appeared to be restraining him like the anti-bodies of blood do. Nero's face and hands had returned to their normal, slate texture and pale complexion, but he looked awful. His eyes were half closed and he appeared as though he hadn't slept in days. Slowly, those saddened, broken eyes came to up to meet mine.

"Nero! I'm coming!" I called. Ignoring the chorus of agonized screams around me and the spirits flying everywhere, I dashed toward him.

Nero reached up slowly with a quivering hand, trying to reach out to me. The further and faster I ran, the further away he got. In fact, we truly was floating away from me. Omega was trying to prevent me from reaching him. Why? Why does this monster not want me to be with my brother?

"Weiss...I'm sorry..." Nero uttered softly.

No...not again. This endless cycle of being split apart and reuniting is going to end. I won't let him slip away this time. Not ever again. "Nero! Hang on, brother! I'm coming for you!"

"Weiss...good-bye..." he gasped with a forced smile. For once in my life, I saw true sadness. I didn't think it would ever come from Nero and in such a terrible amount. The glaze in his eyes: the way his eyebrows arched upward...I knew it all was over. Nero saw the end, closed his eyes and lifted his head.

"NERO!!!!!" I screamed as my brother melted from my sight. His form dissipated into thousands of greenish white sprites and floated away. Then I broke.

I have never truly cried. That was before this. With my head between my knees and my hands gripping tightly onto my thick, silver hair, I sobbed so hard. Within seconds, I fell over to my side on the invisible platform inside Omega's spirit. My mouth spilled out screams and roars of agony. Why? Why? WHY?

Turning over onto my knees, I began banging my head against this platform as hard as I could. The pain of my forehead splitting open didn't even begin to match up with the pain trying to kill my heart. The tears flying from my eyes burned as acid burns metal and my cries dried out my lungs and mouth.

After a few moments of slamming my now bloodied head against this platform, sensation like hand rested against my forehead. This new force restrained my head and I could no longer move it no matter how hard I tried. I clawed at it, but as I touched it, the force clung to my hands like glue. Soon, my hands were restrained and I was forced to writhe about aimlessly. In moment, my body tired out and surrendered to the mysterious force that had begun to spread over my entire body.

Now totally disabled and immobile, I simply relaxed and let agonized, sorrowful sobs roll from my heart. Nero was gone. My own existence was gone. There was no point in living anymore and this monster wouldn't even give me the liberty of death. I shut my eyes, and decided to focus on that spot of irritation inside me: Chaos.

It was gone. Throwing my eyes open, I now found that I was seeing through the eyes of Omega. Everything around me seemed so small. The clouds were but cotton balls and the ruins of Midgar seemed like nothing but playing blocks. Everything looked fragile. Even the ocean before me seemed no more than a large bath. Despite the immensity of my size, I felt like the same man. I still felt as small as any human being and now laden with this unbearable pain, I felt even smaller: crushed.

Suddenly, a spark of pink and purple erupted below me as my enormous body jetted for the stars. Chaos. Its tiny form had escaped Omega's body somehow and now flew towards the skies alongside me. I reached up to grab it, but it was far quicker and darted past my hand. I followed it and watched it stop and hover about a mile up from me. Yeah, Chaos was that fast. Watching it for a moment, I realized that it was preparing an attack, however small it may be.

There was no use in holding back. I prepared an attack of my own, not knowing how I was doing it or where the energy was coming from. I had simply thought, "retaliate" and Omega responded. This energy burned my jaws, but inflicted no damage. I hoped that this attack would drain everything from me and send me back to the Lifestream. Please. Please send me there.

Then it came. Chaos and Omega clashed together. Light and Darkness. Evil and...well "lesser evil". The explosion was inaudible and rocked everything about to its core. I felt myself falling apart, being ripped apart and burning away.

The energy from the clash raged through everything and Omega burst into billions of glowing pieces. I felt Chaos burst as well. With Omega's last cry, I smiled wearily and sighed, letting my own miserable self melt. My feet and hands shattered into glowing sprites of green. Good-bye, sky and stars. My arms and legs crumbled. Good-bye earth and sea. My shoulders and abdomen withered. Good-bye animals and mankind. My chest broke apart. Good-bye world. My head dissipated.

Yes. Thank you Vincent Valentine for this gift.

Finally, I died.


	19. Chapter 18 Stairway to Heaven

_The group was silent. Completely silent. I couldn't even hear their breathing. I sighed, sitting back with my hands folded neatly in my lap. Funny thing was, as I had finished that last part of my story, it felt as though that moment was so long ago, yet it was only a few hours earlier. My heart was numb and cold though my mother was here. I just felt so empty now that Nero was gone again. It seems that we are oil. We try to grasp for each other and slip through each other's fingers. _

_Aeris slowly stood and walked toward me. I didn't look up for I didn't want to see her expression of pity. Yet, she knelt and simply sat before me. She reached out with a gentle hand and placed it on mine. "We were wrong to judge you, Weiss. Forgive us."_

_She bowed deeply and didn't come back up. Zack, despite his complete insensitivity the entire story, also bowed. And then something happened that I wouldn't have expected. Restrictor bowed._

_I anticipated this moment for years, but as it happened, I found myself simply staring as his red-haired head with absolutely nothing going through my head. I had dreamed of Restrictor bowing to me, and yet I couldn't find a reason to feel anything about this longed for moment. I simply felt that Restrictor was apologizing. That was all._

_"It's not your fault. Nero and I were just two of those people whose terrible existences turn rancid and then fades away," I sighed. _

_"But there are still those who have compassion, Weiss," Aeris said softly. She leaned over, long bangs fluttering, and wrapped her arms tightly around my shoulders. "Let's be friends, okay?"_

_Once again, I expected to feel something different, but nothing welled up in my heart. My heart was dead. Gone. The well of tears was empty and chafed from being dry. My spirit's wings had long been torn off and now only scars remained. Though I knew that Aeris meant every word and gesture, I couldn't feel her love and compassion. Friends…with me? Who was she kidding? I don't deserve friends. I don't even deserve my mother or brother. I don't deserve anyone to care about me._

_"Weiss, we can't let you go," Zack suddenly said, standing up._

_I turned to him, grunting. "Do explain."_

_"We can't simply not be your friends."_

_"You didn't even let me respond to Aeris's request."_

_"Didn't need to," Zack began, walking slowly my way, "Your expression said everything." He knelt down next to Aeris and glared at me with a lopsided smile. "Obviously you need friends, man."_

_"We're dead, Zack. There is no point," I said coldly._

_"Well we're together and we've got nowhere to go. Why not?" Aeris asked, straightening up. "Would you rather spend eternity in pain?"_

_I turned to her, my eyes far more menacing than I had hoped. Aeris shrank away upon seeing my gaze. "Aeris, I have nothing left to feel. Unless you have some miracle up your sleeve to bring a thread of feeling back to me, I suggest you keep silent."_

_Silence followed. Maybe I did shut them up this time. Aeris's hazel eyes stayed fixed on me for several minutes as her lips remained in a relaxed line. As though I had said nothing earlier, she smiled. "Then I guess I'm obliged to keep speaking. Your miracle," she said and gazed beyond my shoulder. _

_I gazed down with a sense that I had been tricked. Was she going to nod at my mother? Yes, I love my mother, but she was not in my life for as long as I could remember. What miracle lives in her? But I heard her gasp softly from behind. There was a shift of weight and I could tell she had stood up. Why? I turned and froze._

_Holding her tenderly was Nero. For a moment, I wondered how mother had even recognized that he was her son. After all, she had been killed by Nero's darkness at his birth. Maybe it was mother's intuition: that mysterious connection between a mother and her child. Nero's arms were wrapped tightly around her as she burst into sobs. In between cries, she uttered, "my son," over and over again. _

_Nero was clothed in the same clothes he had been wearing the day we left Nibelheim for Deepground. Strangely, they fit him though he had grown so much. His hair was matted down far more than usual almost to the point of qualifying as layered rather than spiked. He wore no constraining jaw restraint or straightjacket. The metal wings grafted into his back were completely gone. He looked simply like an older version of that little nine-year old in Nibelheim. His skin was still pale, but not that horrible deathly white that I had last seen him in. His eyes were calm and compassionately gazed down at mother._

_Through the whole time of telling my story to Zack and Aeris, I never would have thought to see him like this if I ever saw him in the Lifestream. I expected to see a tired, scarred, worn out version of Nero. How did this wonderful transformation happen?_

_Upon seeing him, Aeris's words rang true. A miracle happened. I felt a tiny trickle of warmth flow into my dead heart. It felt hot, like boiling water, but cleansing and healing. It spread, the more I watched my younger brother make amends with our mother whom his darkness had killed. This warmth, unlike any other, was not fake. This was the true warmth and hope I had been looking for. I felt deep down inside that I had been freed from my hate and pain. Yes, I felt._

_Then he gazed at me. _

Authoress' Note: Thank you all who have patiently endured my writer's block and busy schedule. I truly hope that my story was enjoyable and shed light on a possible situation between two mysterious fictitious brothers. This story is concluded. The original ending for this story was going to be similar to "Final Fantasy VII Advent Children" where Weiss and Nero would slowly walk off into the white abyss of the Lifestream leaving Aeris, Zack, Restrictor, and the boy's mother totally mystified, but I felt the need to end on a slightly "unfinished" note, leaving it up to my readers to form a finish in their minds. Thank you once again and may God bless your day.

Ps. Stay tuned for the epilogue.


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Final Fantasy VII, Family, Fantasy