Right…so I felt really bad about only posting half of this chapter lol, especially when I was asked to write more soon I've also been listening to Evanescence's latest song, "Call Me When You're Sober", and the soundtrack for Xenosaga III (Gotta love Yuki Kajiura's work!) and it's gotten me in the mood to write fight scenes! Yay! Anyways, I really do hope you enjoy what I've written below; even if it's not ending anything! There's a little bit of a twist in this chapter that I may rewrite. I'm not sure how to do it, but I know where it's going, which is good…it took me this long to figure it out haha' I can't wait to write more, but hopefully this creativity will keep on going! X3

You all rock more than you know!

-Train

"A Cat's Memories" Part 02

My mind was reeling with both shock and anticipation as I felt Creeds fingers digging into my neck, sharp pains shooting up into my jaw. I could struggle-I could prolong the inevitable, but sooner or later it would come down to a moment where one of us would have to lose, and I had it set in my mind that it wouldn't be me.

His face was distorted with rage-maniacal, unprecedented, rage. As I stared into his lit up eyes I could feel his anger leaking into me-like some kind of disease I had tried so hard to remedy against, but the walls were slowly being broken down-falling into a crumbled pile as they let the enemy in.

"Train," Creed seethed as his grip tightened and loosened on my neck, making me wince somewhere within in my strengthening glare. "I didn't want it to end like this. I wanted to create the perfect world together-you and me-to create perfection."

"You can't have perfection, Creed," I strained to spit my words into his face. "Not if you exist."

His rage seemed to halt for a few seconds, but only just, before his fingers tightened again. He let out a scream filled with nothing but pure rage as his hand tightened around my neck and his arm threw me through the air.

I slammed hard onto the marble floor, my shoulder filled with splintering pain as I slid several feet before colliding with a pillar across the room. I lay there for several seconds, regaining my breath and trying to sooth my heart into a state where I could function, but it was no use.

I pushed myself up slowly, my shoulder screaming in protest as I tried to steady myself on feet that felt as though the floor beneath was made of water. I tightened my grip on Hades, anger growing somewhere inside as it began to seep into the rest of me, reaching my mind last, and leaving me a few more seconds of sanity.

Creed had turned on me yet again, slowly making his way across the room, closing the space between us as I dreaded what would come next. His invisible sword was held tight in his hand as his arm began to glow, his anger seeming to fuel the power that I knew rested within him-the power of the Tao.

"I see this will never work as I had planned," Creed growled as he came closer. "But I can't believe, no, I refuse to believe that this has to end in your death."

I was glad we were both on the same page. There was no way I going to die.

I took a step back to steady myself, both hands gripping Hades as I watched him move closer. His arm seemed to ripple from somewhere within as the strange shimmering green I had seen the day he had brought me here began to take over. It wrapped its way up his arm before encircling his shoulder to reveal the strange red gem that glinted in the light of the flickering lightning.

His eyes were strained, the white changing to red, the blue to black and the dark depths turning to slits of rage. His body shook as it shed its old skin and replaced it with power fueled by the new hatred he was releasing in front of me. This was how it would begin, and this was how it would end.

I steadied myself both physically and mentally for what I knew lay ahead. This would be harder than before-harder than anything I had ever done. I had tried to fight him once and had lost, and I couldn't lie to myself and claim that I had barely lost…I had been destroyed; there was no other way to put it.

Now here I stood ready to try again-ready to face defeat or the opposite, but this time around I had so much more behind me. There were so many emotions and memories to rely on now; because in a battle like this there was no way that pure strength could save me.

Sven, Eve, Rinslet, Saya…there were so many names reeling through my mind-so many images. My parents lying dead on the floor, the muzzle of a gun aimed directly between my eyes, Zagine, Saya's body lying on the stone ground, Sven falling…falling…falling…

I shook my head, trying to clear my mind. There I went again-distracting myself with not-so-meaningless memories, but I couldn't distract myself like that, I had to concentrate.

I glared at Creed, his body so misshapen now it was hard to recognize as a human being. His eyes seemed to glow on their own, with or without the light of the electrical storm raging outside I couldn't tell, but something inside of him seemed to be powering him far more than I thought the Tao could.

I was scared, yes, I admit it. I was terrified of the outcome of this. I wasn't scared of dying-I had risked that threat enough times in my short life to know how far from frightening it really was. I was far more frightened of the fact that I could end up killing Creed, something my instincts were telling me to do but something in the back of my mind was trying to talk me out of doing.

"Train," His voice once again brought me crashing back into reality.

Without speaking he was asking without asking if I was ready-ready to fight until one of us was either dead or unable to move. I wasn't ready, but did I have a choice?

He rushed at me again, his sword held high above his head-invisible in the flashing lightning. I threw myself backwards, controlling my movements without thinking about it as I raised Hades at arms length and fired two shots.

Creed cut one of my bullets down and the other grazed his mutated shoulder without so much as a flinch crossing his face. I dodged to the side as he slashed, cutting down one of the pillars and sending it crashing to the floor, the sound drowned out by a roar of thunder.

I bent backwards, barely dodging another swing from his invisible blade. It was hard to tell where his blade slashed, jabbed, and cut, but I had to try my hardest if I wanted to survive tonight.

Seconds turned into lengthening minutes as Creed slashed and I pulled the trigger. Blood was spilt that night, spattering the walls and marble columns and pooling on the shimmering floor. My clothes were torn and splattered with blood. My hands were scratched, my legs torn here and there, my chest slashed, my stomach bruised, and my mind threatening to fail me as I was kept in constant motion by Creed's unforgiving attacks.

I fell hard against a nearby wall as Creed, once again, slashed my skin open with his invisible blade. I gripped my upper arm, the blood pooling beneath my hand and slowly dripping down my fingers. I was breathing hard, my breath coming in painful gasps. I coughed and tasted blood, I moved and felt something tear or spill blood. I was being beaten and I knew it. This was a replay of our fight only months ago.

There wasn't a lot of time left, I knew that. This had to end soon or I was sure to lose. I leaned hard against the wall as Creed studied me from several feet away, his eyes still maniacal as mine bore into them.

I held back another cough-a gasp for air, trying to look stronger than I felt. I had been trained to ignore the pain-to pretend it wasn't there. If you lost an arm you simply used the other, if you lost an eye you acted as though you had been born with only one, and if you were dying you forced yourself to fight until the last second, as if it were the last stretch in a race you planned to win. Those lessons were coming in handy now as I felt blood drip down my skin, and felt my mind wavering. I would win this race; I only had a little more to go.

I pushed away from the wall, holding Hades tightly in my free hand as the other still held tightly to my wounded arm. I took slow and steady steps towards him, focusing on what strength I had and utilizing it to my best use. He continued to study me as I approached him, as if he were trying to read what was going through my head. There was a long moment of silence between us; even the storm fell quiet for a few seconds as if to let us hear ourselves for once.

My hand tightened on Hades as his tightened on the hilt of his Imaginary Blade. It was time to end this once and for all, whether we liked it or not.

His arm flew up high above his head, ready to bring the sharp blade down on me as I threw Hades out in front of me, my finger against the trigger, ready to pull it. If time could freeze it felt as though it did then. I would remember that moment forever, every detail, every second that passed in slow motion. I remembered it all, even the voice that broke through the roaring thunder…

"Train!"

I stopped-we both did, our weapons still raised and our eyes still locked on one another's as though we were afraid that if we looked away the other might attack. It took me several seconds to tear my eyes away from his before my heap whipped to the side, following the echoing voice I had heard only moments before.

My heart stopped, or at least it felt that way. I could barely breathe and my body had gone rigid. The hand holding Hades tightened and loosened as if on its own-I felt as though I had lost all control over my body, but not my mind. Thoughts were racing through it as I stared at the figure that stood across the room in the shadows. It wasn't possible, it wasn't real-it couldn't be.

I heard Creed make a strange noise next to me before we both let our guard down. It seemed as though both of us were confused, but something else was coming from Creed-something I didn't trust.

I moved away quickly, making my way towards the figure and away from Creed. It wasn't possible, but I had to know for sure. Their face was so familiar, as if it had never been gone-as if it'd always been there in front of me. They weren't smiling, but they didn't look the opposite either, just concerned and confused, an expression I hadn't seen in such a long time.

I stood only feet away from them, my hand fallen from the wound in my arm and the other loose on Hades handle. I stared into their eyes, wondering somewhere inside my head if I was standing in a dream or if I was lying unconscious on the floor and living in a delusion I wished was real.

"S-S-" I couldn't finish their name, the word refusing to leave my mouth but instead screamed itself inside my head.

They looked back at me, nothing but concern on their face, but they didn't move towards me. I don't know what was going through my mind, but I know yet again I was focused on only one thing, ignoring my surroundings.

"S-Sven," I finally gasped his name out, relief flooding through me as he responded. "But-but how? You were-you were-"

He studied me for several seconds before glancing behind me, checking my surroundings for me as he often did, and then returning his gaze back to me.

"It's a long story," He replied, and his look told me it wasn't something he planned on telling me until after this was resolved.

"But-it doesn't make sense. You-" I shook my head, trying to figure this out. "You were dead-I saw you."

"Train, it isn't important right now," He insisted, his voice pleading.

"But-"

"Train," His voice sounded urgent as he glanced behind me again. "Here. It's from Sephiria."

He shoved his hand into mine, something cold and smooth falling against my palm before he stepped backwards into darker shadows and away from me. I wanted to follow him, to interrogate him about how the hell he was back, how he somehow wasn't dead when I knew I had seen him dead not long ago, and just to see him-to make sure he was real, but a sharp pain in my side erased those thoughts from my mind as I fell forward and crashed against the marble floor.

"Train!" Creed's voice was strained and maniacal as he towered above me, my blood running down the invisible blade and ripping off its tip.

I rolled onto my back, clutching my bleeding side as I glared up at him. I whipped Hades up only to have his invisible blade slash it out of my hand, leaving my fingers cut and bleeding.

I rolled onto my wounded side and threw my hand out in an attempt to grab hold of my gun but Creed stabbed his sword into the ground so close to me that I could feel the hold metal against the front of my throat.

My fingers were brushing against Hades handle, touching the cold metal but unable to take hold of it. I slid myself back before stumbling to my feet and taking an unstable step backwards.

"Give up, Train," He whispered, his words drifting towards me on the sound of the storm. "Stay with me-like you know you want to."

I simply glared back as a response, feeling vulnerable without Hades, but knowing I might have to end this without my weapon.

"And tell me," He said, his voice calm and frightening. "How is it he's returned?"

"Don't pretend I know!" I threw my words in his face. "You had him killed, I saw it! If anyone should know what's going on it's you!"

I tightened my hands and it was then that I remembered what Sven had pressed into my hand. I glanced down to see a sleek golden bullet in my hand. The Orihalcum bullet…so Sephiria wanted me to kill Creed. But Sven had said she had given it to him to give to me, which meant Sephiria knew Sven was alive…so maybe Creed really didn't know what was going on…someone else was in on this, I just didn't know who.

"Let's finish this," I growled, my hand tightening around the bullet and my determination restoring itself. "One way or another."