Here's the second part of chapter ten…I suppose they could both be one chapter each but…it feels weird that way to me. Tell me what you think on that. I dunno…I might just make them each their own chapter for parallelism's sake.

I don't own Midgar or Sephiroth or Hojo or Odin. I do own Borzen and Nall I suppose. Although I wouldn't sue anyone for using them.

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Angel Memories: Chapter 11

Orders and Decisions

"Sephiroth! Sephiroth!" A hand roughly shook me into consciousness. On instinct, my hand flew to the hilt of my sword and brought it up to the man above me. The blade pressed into his throat and using my free hand I pushed him to the ground. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust in the green light that reflected from the ground. The tip of my sword pricked a tiny hole in the man's throat, which quivered in terror.

"Oh…" I retracted the blade and stood up, brushing gravel from my uniform. "I'm sorry." Nall lay panting on the ground, a small trickle of blood falling from his throat and mixing in with the rain. I reached out a hand to help him up which he graciously took. After he had been helped to his feet, we stood in silence for a moment.

"That was…impressive," Nall began meekly. "You're really fast with that sword of yours."

"How long was I unconscious?"

The question seemed to relieve Nall. His shoulder's sagged slightly from the release of tension and he responded with confidence. "Just a couple of seconds. I was worried you'd been shot. You just sorta…collapsed. I checked the area to see if it was safe and came to wake you up. It's only been like a minute."

"A minute…" His answer surprised me. It felt as though I had been out for centuries. "Did headquarters notice?"

"If they did, they didn't say anything. I assume we are to continue the mission as is. Are you sure you're up for it?" I opened my mouth preparing to answer "yes" when the intense pain returned to my head. Faltering, I stumbled backwards and clutched at my skull. Something extremely powerful was screaming for me to abort the mission. "Sephiroth…you don't look like you're up for this." Nall's concern was apparent but I brushed it off and stood tall against the tide of emotion washing against my thoughts.

"Let's get going, it's only a headache." I pushed pass Nall, readying my blade for combat and pressing my fingers against my throbbing forehead, trying to push back the pain. We made our way through the wet streets, eventually coming to a large stone wall. Behind it, an enormous office building loomed overhead. It seemed to be abandoned, certainly broken down enough, but there was a light on somewhere on the third floor.

"Shit," Nall murmured quietly. "How are we gonna get around the wall? We don't know what's waiting behind it."

"Three guards on ground level, one placed in the second story window over there and another on three on the opposite side of the building." The information trickled into my brain and out of my mouth. "Two on the ground have swords and one has a rifle the second story guard has a pistol and a blade." Nall looked at me with an odd expression and then smiled.

"You're just making that up. I can't see anyone. Dude…now is not the time to be making up stuff like this."

I tried to wrap my head around what I had just said but could find no answer to why. Shaking my head, I accepted the strange information that I had just relayed. There was something in it that told me it was inevitably true. "I don't quite understand it…but it is the truth. Stay behind if you want, but the mission isn't going to get accomplished by itself."

Nall laughed quietly and then looked at me again. "Sephirott, it's funny but we should really try and be serious…Sephiroth?" I walked away from the babbling man and toward the large iron gate. "Sehpiroth!" Nall hissed quietly. "Sephiroth! Shit…he's gone insane…" When I was a few feet from the gate, I paused and gripped the hilt of my sword tightly. Gathering my wits, I vaulted into the air and flew over the spiked tips of the iron bars.

Before I landed, I heard shouts. Curses and yelps of fear chorused around me. With my eyes closed, I spun to my left and thrust out the blade in my hand. It connected with flesh and then tore through it. I heard someone let out a scream of pain and fall heavily to the ground. Hardly pausing, I dashed forward with my eyes still closed, assured that the target would be there by some unknown force. My blade lowered and then thrust upwards, catching my opponents steel on my own. Lazily, I flicked my wrist in a complicated gesture and lashed out with my foot. The man let out a yelp and his feet left the ground. I didn't need to think about my positioning or even what to do next, I simply knew. It felt almost as though I had done this before, a long time ago. Whirling around, I let the blade pierce through the chest of the falling man, tearing a small hole in his lungs.

As I pulled my sword away and prepared to make my way to the third guard, something inside me pulsed. My stomach contracted and contorted and felt something rise in my throat. Reaching upwards, I removed the cloth that covered my mouth just in time for the contents of my stomach to fall forward unhindered. I retched loudly as my own vomit splashed to the ground, but I did not stop running. A gun shot echoed loudly from the gate and I turned to see Nall, standing with his gun in hand, aiming at two approaching guards. His first shot missed and his second caught one of the men in the throat, causing him to fall forward onto the wet ground, tearing at his throat as it spewed crimson.

Nall raised his pistol and aimed carefully at the approaching man. He pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. The man, now in a mad dash, dove forward and crashed violently into Nall, driving him to the ground. They grappled momentarily before the guard got behind Nall and put his pistol to his head. He hauled Nall to his feet and looked expectantly at me. From behind me, I heard a door open up and several steps taken onto the wet ground. Rain fell sharply onto an umbrella and a new man, accompanied with two large guards stood with a smug expression on his face.

"So Shinra finally took some interest in my activities," the fat man said, his voiced carefully concocted to sound nonchalant. "Of course, I knew that already." He spread his arms out wide and gestured grandly. "I mean, I suppose you could gather that by looking at the security around here right?"

I remained silent, my eyes flicking back and forth from Nall to the fat man. The man with the umbrella looked familiar. "Borzen," I muttered quietly as recognition settled in. He was the target of the mission. He had gained a lot of weight since the file photo of him had been taken, that must have been why it was difficult to place.

"You hesitate." Borzen's voice rang out across the rainy field. "Is Shinra really so foolish as to send rookies to finish me off?" He scoffed loudly. "The choice is clear, isn't it boy? I am the target. Take me out. Surely you're not afraid of these two bodyguards here are you?" He paused for several seconds and then smiled. "Or is it your partner that you're worried about?" He snorted softly and then burst out into raucous laughter. "Oh dear! This is quite an event! A Shinra soldier, afraid for his comrades! To sacrifice a mission for such a silly reason. Really…quite unprofessional, boy." His leering face grinned through the rain, staring me down and daring me to speak.

I gripped the sword in my hand tighter. What should I do? There had never been any training for situations like this. Shouldn't I just take out the target? That's the reasonable course of action here isn't it? But Nall…what would headquarters say if I lost my partner due to this stupid mistake. Is there any way to save him and take the target? Of course not. If I try for too much I'll only come away with nothing. Think dammit. What should I do? I should abort the mission. Return to base and regroup. Radio for help once we're out of danger. But Borzen might be gone by then. Shit! Why won't anyone tell me what to do!

There was a quiet hum inside my helmet and then a crackling of electricity. I turned quickly to Borzen to see if he could hear it but the rain drowned the noise out before it could reach him. He smiled derisively at me and shrugged his shoulders. The bastard was enjoying this. The crackling grew into static and then dispersed with a small pop and returned to a low hum.

"Sephiroth?" a high pitched nasally voice echoed inside my helmet. "Sephiroth, this is Hojo." As always his voice was irritating and it ground against my nerves. "Sephiroth, I know you can hear me, nod your head." Silently, I nodded my head covertly so Borzen and the guards wouldn't notice. "Good." Hojo paused for a few seconds and then said quietly, "Why isn't Borzen dead yet?" He listened to my silence for a moment and then spoke again. "Ah yes, not the situation to be speaking is it? Well I didn't expect an answer anyway." He chuckled slightly. "Sephiroth…do you know what is most important in life? That's a rhetorical question of course, but it's time you knew.

"Sephiroth, you were born with something everyone wishes to have. You have power. You are strong and fast and smart. You can defeat anyone or anything in any arena. That is your gift. What does this have to do with the most important thing in life? Sephiroth…the most important thing is simply to survive." Another buzz began to grew inside the helmet, this one coming from deep within my skull. "Sephiroth, if you kill Borzen, you will survive and you will grow in prestige and power and it will become easier and easier to survive. This is the key to life my boy."

The buzz in my head grew into a loud scream of anguish. "No it's not," it said quietly. "You were always wrong about that Hojo. Surviving is not the most important thing."

"Other people do not matter. Nall does not matter. He will die because he was weak. He got himself caught through no fault of your own. So why worry about him at all?"

"Because other lives do matter, other people do matter. Protecting people is the right thing to do."

"Protecting people is foolish and will only get you killed. Protect yourself Sephiroth. Protect yourself, and survive."

The voice in my head exploded into shouts and curses, beating against the walls of my mind and tearing tears from my eyes. A wave of rage sadness so intense washed over me and caused my insides to churn. Leaning over, I felt the contents of my stomach once again fall to the ground.

"Sephiroth! Are you alright?" Hojo's voice resonated inside the helmet as he furiously whispered into the radio. "Finish the mission quickly. Do it now!"

"The decision a bit too much for ya laddy?" Borzen's deep voice spoke from near the doorway. Feeling weak I fell to my knees, vomit dribbling out of the corner of my mouth. What made me do that? Was it the voice inside my head? Dammit, why should I listen to something that makes me feel like this. My arms quaked as they pressed against the muddy ground. "Well if it's all that hard, how about we make it for you!" His two guards stepped forward and raised their guns. Gunfire erupted from the doorway and the bullets flew toward me.

My hand flew to my pocket where I lifted a handful of colored orbs from inside. Praying that the one I was searching for was inside the pile, I shouted, "Wall!" A rainbow myriad of color exploded in front of me and then solidified just as the bullets crashed headlong into the shield I had summoned. As the guards cursed loudly, I shakily rose to my feet and glanced downwards at the materia in my hand.

"Fuck! He's got materia!" Borzen shouted. "Take cover now! We don't know what he might have!" the three of them rushed back to the building and took cover inside. Behind me I heard the man who held Nall curse loudly and begin to run away, dragging Nall with him.

"Don't think I'll let you get away," I said coldly. Choosing a small green materia and placing it my hand, I faced it toward the retreating pair. Nall's eyes, seeing as he was facing backwards, widened in fear and he let out a scream. Inside my head, someone screeched loudly for me to stop. I wouldn't listen to anyone though, this felt so right. This is what I lived for. The materia in my hand grew warm as I poured my MP into it and then quietly, I muttered the spell.

"Bolt 3."

Lighting lanced out from my hand, arcing violently toward Nall and the retreating man. Rain drops evaporated as lightning seared through them and caused small explosions as the small amounts of lifestream in each one reacted with the high energy. The entire street lit up as bright as day as the bolt chased after the men. Finally, it reached the pair. For a moment, nothing happened and then, the lightning lit up the two individuals. Of course, they had both been standing around in the green rain for some time now and were each soaked to the skin. The explosion ripped through the quiet streets. Both of the men were torn apart, adding specks of red to the green rain that fell from the sky. They died instantly.

"NO!" the voice in my head throbbed loudly and caused me to stagger to regain my balance.

"Shut up," I said. "This is right. This is what I should be doing." Then, with a great effort, I shut the voice out of my head, reducing it to a small dull pounding. I turned my attention to the building that housed Borzen and his guards. With a smile I pocketed the Bolt materia. Searching my other pockets, I finally found the materia I was looking for. It glowed a deep blood red that faded to a steely grey on occasion. It grew warm in my hand as I gave it my MP.

"Alright…show them fear, Odin."

The rain around the building ceased and the clouds above Midgar parted to reveal a large glowing moon above us. Hoof beats clacked against the gravel of the stone and I turned to discover Odin atop his enormous mount. He turned to me with a questioning look in his eye and I smiled widely and pointed to the large building in the middle of the yard. Odin nodded with understanding and his horse took a tentative step forward.

"What is that thing!" A voice from inside the building cried out in terror.

"Oh fuck…Oh fuck."

Borzen appeared by the doorway and fell limply to his knees as they gave way due to his fear. "It's a…summon."

"Are you serious!" On of the guards leapt out of a window and landed heavily in the green mud, slipping and falling as tried desperately to get away. "Shit! I'm getting the hell out of here!" He dashed madly to the corner of the building and began to make the turn.

Odin kicked the flank of his horse lightly and in a flash, closed the distance between the two. He towered over the fearful man as lightning flashed behind him. The guard fell to his knees and then onto his face in terror and screamed desperately. Odin raised his blade high above his head and then cut downwards. The blade cut through the man and deep into the earth below.

Without hesitation, Odin began to trot forward toward Borzen and the remaining guard. The two of them pressed their foreheads to the ground in prayer and shivered in fear. Odin halted in front of the two. Good lord, this excitement, I was trembling with it. It felt so impossibly right. Letting go of all pretense, I leaned forward and raised my own blade. "Kill them Odin! Make them pay!"

With that shout of my own, I felt part of the guard I had placed on my mind shatter and a wellspring of emotion break forth. Tears came to my eyes and my legs began to move on their own, dashing madly toward the summoned monster. Odin raised his blade in the air and his deep voice filled the muddy field. "ZANTETSUKEN."

"NO!"

I dove forward, blade reaching out in desperation. They didn't need to die now! I knew better. Odin's sword tore downwards, arcing swiftly towards the two victims. My blade flew forward, just barely reaching it in time. For a moment, Odin's blade came to rest on my own. For a moment, my sword held. And then…Odin's blade tore through my sword like air and cut through Borzen and the guard who fell to the ground in pieces.

In my hand, the summon materia grew cold again. I let it fall to the floor along with the now useless sword in my hand. They fell into the mud with a splash and the rain once again began to fall from the sky above as the clouds covered up the glowing moon. I had been too late again. Too late to make any permanent change. How could this be so hard?

My hands clenched tightly in anger and I looked toward the doorway of the abandoned office building. It glowed bright white now. Taking a step forward, I threw off the Shinra helmet that the grunts wore. IT crashed into the wall of the building and fell to the wooden floor beneath.

"I'm tired of being your puppet," I said quietly. "I'm done with this. I won't cry anymore because of you people. I will beat this, if it's the last thing I do." I reached the glowing doorway and stood there for a moment in silence. "I'm going to make everything right again and save everyone, even if it kills me. I'm going to get out of here."

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Woohoo! Finished the second part of the chapter really fast! That wasn't too hard. In any case…I…have nothing else to say.

Thank you to heartsoblivion for reviewing so fast on the last update and Unita as well. I hope you do check out the other fic I made.