Here it is everybody. The last chapter of Angel Memories. It's been a long hard road to something that looks like a success. I hope you enjoy it everyone. Cause this is the end.

Disclaimers: ruin dramatic tension. I don't own things.

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Angel Memories: Final Chapter

Enflame, Escape, Erase

(entrust)

The hand floated in front of me. It looked almost like it was flickering in the air. I reached out carefully to grasp it. As my hand grew nearer, something inside me began to whine. When I was within an inch of contact, I realized that there was nothing really there. Quietly, I withdrew my hand.

"I don't take kindly to illusions."

DiZ frowned slightly and then straightened up. He placed his hand behind his back and looked at me again. His one eye tightened with thought and then he smiled. A loud deep laugh shook his body. "Well…you certainly are good, aren't you?" There was another whir of clicks and beeps and part of DiZ evaporated into tiny neon blocks before reforming again. "Although I'm not quite an illusion, just a projection. It's a bit difficult for one as old as me to travel all the time like you youngsters."

A projection. A fancy word for illusion. I was starting to like this DiZ character less and less. "I don't have any interest in banter and conversation," I said sharply. "DiZ, what is going on with my Heart?"

The projected man frowned slightly. "Not interested in…" He looked confused but shook his head to rid him of thought. "Well…I suppose you've had a long day. I can understand that you might not be in the mood for pleasantries." He sighed deeply. "Sephiroth, Namine here has told you most of what you need to know already. With your permission, I would like to study what remains of your Heart. Not only could this be beneficial to you, but I could get some valuable information from it."

I mulled over the idea in my head. "So by scratching my back, I'm already scratching yours?"

"Indeed."

I looked at the flickering form of DiZ. "And how can I be sure that you won't do something wrong? Am I supposed to trust that you are so competent that you won't cause me any harm through your procedures?"

DiZ looked startled for a moment. "Sephiroth…I'm not planning to dissect you. All the work can be done perfectly effectively without even touching the Heart itself. Should I require anymore than those safe procedures, I will inform you long before I try anything." His one eye looked away and his voice dropped a little bit, like he was recalling some far off memory. "I know the value of a Heart."

I swept my eyes over the projection briefly. He seemed to at least know what he was talking about. I did feel like I could trust him. Not to mention that I didn't want to spend anymore time with the chance that my heart might tear apart at any moment. That thought made me shudder. I didn't remember any specifics about being a Heartless, but I could remember feelings and flashes of images. I did not like what I saw.

"Alright DiZ. I'll let you do your inspection," I said carefully. "But I'm warning you right now, if you so much as rub me the wrong way, if I even feel like you are keeping something about me a secret, if I get the slightest inclination that something is more wrong than it was before, I swear that I am going to kill you," I said with a cold stare.

DiZ blinked and then frowned. "Rather harsh conditions, but not difficult to follow," he said thoughtfully. "It will be as you desire."

"Good," I said sharply. "Now please explain what kind of procedure this is going to be. What am I going to need to do?"

DiZ looked at me for a second and then to Namine. "Namine, would you be so kind as to lead Sephiroth to the room?" Namine nodded and stood up, motioning me to follow her. I stood up, feeling suspicious, but followed her. DiZ drew up beside me and began to talk again. "We are going to put you in a stasis chamber. You will then have your mind connected to your Heart. From there, we can monitor what you see and feel."

We reached a door and passed through it into a hall lined with bright white pods. Each of the pods resembled a flower of some sort and were nearly opaque.

"From what Namine has observed so far, I can be fairly sure that you will experience something unpleasant while you are connected to your Heart. You might feel pain, you might feel like you are even going to die, but I can assure you completely, that you can not come to any actual harm." I gave DiZ a questioning look. "No matter how connected you are, you can not be absorbed or attacked by your own Heart. You have no need to fear any sort of retaliation from anything in it either."

"What kind of pain are you talking about?" I asked slowly. This procedure was sounding less and less attractive with every new development.

"You will be transported into your Heart and you will feel everything that the other Nobodies inside you feel. Judging from what Keter was saying, that is not at all desirable." We reached a large white door. DiZ floated forward and held out his right hand. There was a flash of light and a couple beeps, then a click. The door opened.

The room was enormous. Blinding white walls surrounded me, giving off an aura of purity. The floor was streaked with pale green stripes that circled around the center of the room. They glowed soflty, tinting the floor to a strange aquamarine color. In the very center of the room was a large pearl white object. It stood about three feet taller than me and the front appeared to be made out of glass. The entire object looked like a giant blooming lotus.

"That is the device we are going to use," DiZ's voice echoed in the white chamber. Namine looked at the projection, which nodded, and then walked over beside the pod and began to poke at a small raised keyboard that protruded from the ground beside it.

I eyed the pod. It reminded me too much of the years I had spent in stasis in that crystal, waiting for Cloud. I shuddered slightly with the memory of it. While I looked at the ominous machine, I voiced my concerns to DiZ. "Is there anything I need to do? Or prepare for?"

DiZ grinned and chuckled slightly. "All you need to do is step into the pod and wait. Namine and I will take care of everything else." He shook his head and drifted over to Namine. "If you are worried about the pain I was talking about earlier, you should stop, when the test is over, you won't feel any of the pain you experience while inside your heart."

Easy for him to say. The look on Keter's face kept coming back to me. That tortured expression, Binah's screams, Chokhmah's eyes. They all kept flashing inside my mind. If they did come from my Heart, and have that kind of fear, what could possibly be inside me to cause such terror in such strong individuals?

It doesn't matter now though. I need to act, or these things in me will get the better of me eventually. No matter what lies ahead, stepping back will only result in destruction. And besides, the pain won't be permanent, supposedly.

Without a word, I walked to the large pod. As I drew nearer, the thin layer of translucent glass shuddered and shrank away. Quietly, I stepped up and into the pod. It was cool inside the thing, and I felt slightly lighter than I had while outside. I turned around to find the glass layer slowly sliding upwards in front of me. My mind fpasmed for a brief second, pondering the possibility of this all being a trap, but I soon calmed it and took a deep breath.

Without warning, the world on the other side of the glass in front of me twisted and swirled violently. The colors mixed and merged and then split and one by one, all the hues turned pure black. I felt myself shrink. I felt myself growing smaller within my own skin. I felt myself connecting with something deep and meaningful inside myself. I felt pain. It came slowly at first. The pinhole in the darkness appeared and I felt it pierce through me. It began to grow. The glowing light began to brighten and grow until it was all I could see in any direction around me.

I could hear screams. Around me, I could feel presences, simple existences surrounding me, moving fast and crying out as they went. It wasn't really screaming though, it was more of an emotion, no, a definition. These orbiting things around me were too simple to have emotions, but what they had was a very specific tone to their being. A tone of pain and fear.

Suddenly I became aware of my own fear. It washed over me and became me in an instant. This light in front of me hurt so much. I had to get away from it. Fear, pain, and a will to escape was everything I was. Run! Run! There isn't any movement, there isn't any escape from it but I keep running from it while the light is burning me constantly. What is it? What is this light? What is this pain?

AIN.

Everything I am shook with the new thought. It filled me completely and I felt my entire existence burst into flames at that very second. The fear reached a peak and kept on pushing. The screaming grew louder as the light burned brighter. It wants to destroy me!

AIN SOPH.

No…it wants to devour me. Faster and faster I move, my self and being burns without any mercy from the Ain Soph, but I can't possibly get any further from the thing. Is there no hope here? All of us, are we doomed?

In spite of my rapid degeneration of hope, I continue to search desperately for an escape. How, how can I die? How can this thing consume me? There must be a way, but there is no way. The best I can possibly do is to keep running in place to avoid this horrible burning light.

I am going to be devoured!

Stop! Stop it! Make it go away, give me darkness! Let the flames searing my essence burn away! Stop it! Stop everything! Aaaaauuuggghhh!

"Aaaaaaahh!"

I strained forward, crashing against the translucent glass in front of me. My heart was pounding and my eyes were burning with tears. I slammed my fists against the glass and screamed again. The pain! The pain…

My hands searched my body. Everything felt fine. The fire that had filled every molecule of my body and scorched me down to my very soul, had extinguished itself and I found that I felt completely fine. I looked down at my pale sweating palms. They were trembling fiercely. I fell to my knees and let my arms fall limply to my sides. I'm ok? But…just now…that light….

"AAAAAAHHHH!" The memory of the intense light came rushing back to my mind. My mouth opened involuntarily and let loose a scream that rubbed my throat raw. Physically, I was shaky but completely unharmed. My mouth felt completely dry as I slowly stood up again. Whatever that…thing…was, it can't really hurt me. DiZ knows what he's talking about, so why should I feel so afraid? There's no reason for it. Calm down. Calm down and think.

"This is incredible…" DiZ's voice echoed through the large room, piercing my glass cage and reaching my ears. "Namine…rotate the pod, he deserves to see this." There was a low beep and then the room outside of the glass panned by until I was facing Namine and DiZ. Namine looked confused but excited, and DiZ looked completely blown away. They were both staring at a small three dimensional projection of whirring information.

"Well?" I said after a moment's silence. I was annoyed to see that my voice was still somewhat weak. I cleared my throat before speaking again. "What did you find out?"

"So much," DiZ said with a whisper. Then he shook his head and looked up at me. "I apologize for what you must have gone through. According to these readings…it must have been agonizing." I shuddered slightly and nodded. "In any case, let me explain the situation." Behind me, a small white platform protruded from the wall of the pod. DiZ motioned for me to take a seat.

"First things first. We have determined there to be between six and eight pieces of your Heart wandering inside you. We must consider all of them to be threats to you. They have just as much of a chance for escape as did Keter and your other Nobodies." DiZ sighed slightly. "We have also figured out why the shards want to escape. I'm sure you can figure it out as well."

"The Ain Soph…" I whispered, feeling fear wash into my mind again. Silently, I struggled with the irrational fear and finally thrust it back into the corner of my brain.

"Exactly. Keter mentioned it as well. The Ain Soph, a light so pure and bright that it would burn and destroy all those who approach it. There are many legends about the Ain Soph. People like me, obsessive researchers of old, people obsessed with creating and studying, they searched for how to create light, just as I tried to create darkness so long ago." DiZ laughed a melancholy hollow laugh. "Just like Icarus, all those who tried to reach the light, were burned to death by it.

"I myself don't have that much information on the Ain Soph. What I know, is that it is a source of light, not in the sense of how a light bulb emits light, in the sense that it actually creates the very essence of light. It is very dangerous, simply seeing it, can not only kill, but obliterate any person, let alone touching it. It is because of this, that the shards of your Heart are constantly seeking to escape. Because they do not have physical manifestations, they can not be destroyed by it, but it will continue to burn and cause them pain beyond imagining."

"That's horrible…" Namine's soft voice whispered in terror at the thought.

"Of course it is," DiZ said slowly. "But that is not all…each of these shards possess different personalities. Their basic existence is thin, but the components are fascinating. Even from this small glimpse of data-"

"DiZ," I interrupted. The man seemed like he could continue on for days with this recent development. "What can we do to stop them from getting out and leaving me as a Heartless?" Namine looked at me in surprise. She seemed confused about something. That I didn't care about the pain of these Nobodies? Should she really be so shocked? It was thanks to her that I had gotten the better of my sympathy.

DiZ faltered for a seconds, bewildered that he had just been interrupted. When he had recovered, he cleared his throat and spoke again. "Erm…yes…what can be done about it. Certainly." There was a long pause. Despite myself, my impatience was getting the better of me. I was about to tell him to hurry up when he sighed loudly. "There's nothing we can do yet."

What? Nothing they could do? After all the hype of his wisdom, this man could do nothing to help me? Hmph…well…I suppose it only goes to show. I really shouldn't get my hopes up like that.

"But there is a chance that we can avoid catastrophe," DiZ said. He was speaking slowly now. His words seemed to be very carefully chosen. "Your Heart…or what's left of it at this point, is incredibly unstable. This is to say that if you experience severe emotional, mental, or physical trauma, these shards inside you could burst free at any second."

"I understand that," I said darkly.

"Please," DiZ said with a pleading tone. "Let me finish." He looked to me and I nodded grudgingly. "What I propose," he continued, "is that we take the unstable aspects of your Heart, meaning the shards and the Ain Soph, and transfer it into a more stable Heart, into someone else's Heart. Of course, we will leave whatever is still unharmed inside you."

Take my Heart out and give it to someone else for safekeeping? This sounded absurd. "And how is this going to help me put my Heart back together?"

"While the unstable pieces are in someone else's hands, your remaining Heart will have time to strengthen and grow. The hope is that it will grow enough that when you take back the broken pieces, it will be able to tame them itself."

That seems like it makes sense. I wasn't aware that Hearts re-grow themselves. Very strange things, Hearts, Hojo would have a field day with this DiZ character. "So what exactly do I need to do? And where am I going to be while this Heart growing is taking place?"

DiZ nodded slightly as though he was acknowledging my curiosity. "You don't need to do much. You'll be here the whole time, in this pod. The process should take roughly one year. Namine and I will be watching you very carefully to make sure nothing goes wrong." He looked upwards for a moment in thought. "Actually, all you need to do is give us your consent, and a person of your choosing to give your Heart to."

A person of my choosing? Well…that seems easy enough. "Why not one of the other Nobodies that exist currently? If they want a heart so much, shy not give them what they want for a while. Then I can just take it back after a year and be done with it."

Namine's head drooped and I could see a very dark scowl on her face. DiZ shook his head. "It seems I haven't made myself clear. First of all, it is extremely unwise to give your Heart to a Nobody. They will definitely not want to give it back to you when you want it again. Secondly, you need to give it to someone who is very close to you; someone who you already have a deep connection with. Friendship, kinship, love, the deeper the bond runs, the easier the transaction will be."

A bond? A deep bond. How amusing. I never thought I would have to rely on becoming close to others in order to survive. Yet here I am, with a time bomb inside me ticking closer and closer to destruction unless I give it to someone who I know well. Who do I know?

Leon…we only just met…but we seem to have a rather lot in common. The boy is quiet and stoic. He doesn't waste words. He certainly has a strong Heart. Very responsible. Haha…listen to me, I sound like I'm picking a husband. But he won't do…I've barely known him for a few weeks. Yuffie…Cid…no. The girl is too different from me and the pilot is too distrustful of me.

Aerith? Now that's an interesting thought. It's rather unorthodox…but in spite of everything that happened on the Planet, we have something very deep. I don't think I could ever put a name to it, it's not love or kinship or even a matter of respect, but we share something almost infinite. And her Heart must be strong enough to hold mine at bay.

But…what if Keter and the other Nobodies come after her? What if, by some turn of events, they discover this transaction and make a move to capture the caretaker of my Heart? Aerith isn't strong enough to beat them. I can't put that responsibility on her.

Sora? He has enough on his plate already. King Mickey too…they both have a lot to deal with without some intensely strong Nobodies trailing them. Riku? Riku. What stronger bond is there than being created from one another's genes? Riku is strong as well. I remember him standing there against the roiling sea of darkness before I had come to Castle Oblivion. He could take care of my Heart, couldn't he?

No…I'm still not sure how strong his Heart really is. Is it possible that Ansem…no…Xehanort is still trying to possess his Heart? Why weaken his with the addition of mine? What good would that do any of us? So it can't be Riku. Then…who else is there? Who do I have a stronger bond than Riku with? Who is strong enough to fight Keter and live? Who has a strong Heart?

A strong bond…a strong heart…strong…

But…I've already put him through so much. I can't make him deal with anymore of me. I can't keep feeding him my darkness so I can be free of it. All this time, haven't I been seeking his forgiveness? And now I am seriously contemplating giving him my largest problem? But there isn't any other person…and didn't I swear to look after myself at all costs?

"Alright…" I shook myself from my reverie and rubbed my temples with my index finger and thumb. "DiZ, you can send the shards and other pieces to anyone I ask you to?"

"As long as they are alive and fit the requirements, yes, anyone you ask." DiZ paused for a moment and looked down at Namine who looked very anxious. "Ah…there is one more thing you should know…before you make any decisions." He sighed. "I would have preferred not to tell you about this at all, but it seems Namine has more of a conscience than I." He turned away. "Namine, say your piece."

Namine looked at me with her sunken eyes and brushed a pale fingertip against the glass surface. "If you do this…everyone will forget you." What? What does she mean by 'forget me?' "Because my power rests mainly in the alteration of memories, such an intense procedure will erase everyone's memories of you since your world was destroyed, even yours." She faltered for a moment and rubbed her right eye silently. He balled up hand came away moist. "Leon won't know who you are, Aerith will never remember forgiving you. Sora and Riku both, will never know you existed. All their lives will be just like you had never existed. People will only remember when you get the pieces of your Heart back. Until then, you won't even know that you are looking for them."

No one…will remember me? After everything that happened, and no one will remember a thing? How can so much be erased so simply? How can everything I learned, everything I changed…be gone so fast? But…memories are just memories…nothing more. Losing them…maybe it would be better for everyone if they did.

"What about Keter?" I asked quietly.

Namine looked at me sharply. She looked as though she were on the verge of tears. "They will forget, just like everyone else."

"Then…" I could hardly say it. "Then this is for the best."

DiZ turned around and strode up to the glass. "Alright, that's all I needed to hear." Namine began to protest but DiZ gave her a sharp look that silenced her. "He has made his own decision. You told him everything and he chose survival over memories. You can't begrudge him that, Namine." Namine wiped away a sparkling tear and nodded slightly. "Good…engage the device then."

Namine turned away and began tapping on the raised keyboard next to the pod. There was a whir and then a click, then the room dimmed slightly. Another beep sounded and suddenly the ceiling became very bright. I looked upwards to see thousands of tiny strands spider webbed across the top of the room.

"Every one of those is someone who has either seen you or heard about you in some way." DiZ was whispering slightly. "To many of them, it won't make a difference to have your memory gone, all they did was hear it in a passing conversation. But to some, a good part of their life will now be erased and they will never even know." The rainbow strands glittered softly in the dim room. "Have you decided who you will pass your Heart on to?" I nodded silently and DiZ returned the motion. "Very good, please, give us the name and we will establish the link."

Say the name. Say the name and my fear leaves me. Say the name and I sleep for a year. Say the name and everyone forgets. Say the name…and I forget. Say the name…

"Cloud Strife."

There was a rapid tapping of keys and DiZ turned away. "Rest well."

I looked up again. In a split second, all of the magnificent rainbow cords snapped in unison. Thousands upon thousands of strings broke and faded away in something less than time. One remained in the middle of it all. One single glowing strand waited. I felt the fear leave me. I saw the pieces of my Heart travel up that string and out over the horizon. I saw it cross worlds and galaxies. I saw a blond haired young man gaze out into a vermillion sunset. I saw the light enter him and nestle deep within his own brilliant Heart.

And then…I saw nothing.

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That's all she wrote folks. So Angel Memories comes to a close along with my school year. I must say, despite the time it took to write at the end here, I really enjoyed writing it. I hope you all enjoyed reading it. Now let me answer some questions that will be coming up.

THERE WILL BE MORE. I can assure you that this is not the end of Sephiroth's story. I fully intend to follow this through KH2 and even beyond that(not KH3, my own final arc) after all, we hardly know anything about Keter and crew yet.

I will be taking a break though. I wanna write a few chapters of the next story before I actually update any and so far I have written none. I also have a few other brief oneshot Ideas that id like to put out there.

Last but not least, I want to thank everyone who reviewed. You guys don't know how much it means to me that even after I've been writing for so long, you're still there throwing praise at me. There is no better feeling in the world than opening my mail and seeing a review smiling back at me (sounded stupid I know) and it really helped me through a lot of the creativity lulls.

So good night everyone, and have a good one. Cheers!