Black Wings
Prologue: In a Nightmare
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Xenosaga or any of the characters, save one. That character is entirely mine, and I will viciously attack you through e-mail if you steal it without my permission.
Author's note: This story takes place almost exactly after the end of Xenosaga Episode 2. For those of us with poor memories, the main characters were distributed like this: Jin Uzuki, working with Second Miltian Government. Chaos, Jr., MOMO, and Ziggy: currently assisting the Kukai foundation. Shion Uzuki, Allen, and KOS-MOS, onboard the Dammerung, continuing the KOS-MOS project. The location of the Bad guys (please excuse the term) is not known.
People have been bugging me about this, so I'll state the pairings upfront: JR. and MOMO are effectively a couple. Shion and Allen are a couple (sort of), and there is a tiny possibility that KOS-MOS will be paired with someone. TINY CHANCE.
Encephalon. It's what makes up the part of the human body associated with the mind, the brain. In creating an artificial brain from this substance, is there really any difference between a real brain? Theoretically this should be true. The human brain changes and evolves constantly as pathways in the brain are broken and new ways opened, the process humans associate with "thought." On this basis, an artificial human built for any purpose has the capacity to evolve beyond its original purpose and become a unique, thinking, "living" individual. If this is also true, then what is to stop a weapon constructed in this manner from acting on its own?
"Nothing," Shion said, staring at the data in front of her. KOS-MOS's neural data was erratic, at best. The Android had been asleep since the completion of her upgrade, yet the data showed that she was still functioning in autonomous mode, despite multiple attempts to shut it off.
"Dreaming isn't supposed to be part of her programming, but that's the only thing that explains this," Shion thought aloud. It wasn't as if anyone would overhear; this section of the Dammerung was in its night phase so most of the researchers were in bed. Of course, Allen had slumped against his console instead, but he had insisted, despite Shion's suggestions.
The Dive Equipment was hooked up to KOS-MOS still. Shion stared at the black coffin that contained the android, and then looked back at the data. Whatever was going on inside KOS-MOS was certainly worth risking a little pay cut to find out, surely? After all, she'd broken into the restricted area and she hadn't been fired, so how could an unapproved dive hurt her compared with that?
It only took a moment to boot up the program. The subconscious domain was the only logical destination for a dive, but it was also one of the most dangerous places to go in KOS-MOS's head. Shion set the program to automatically terminate if her pulse reached a dangerous level, and slipped the dive visor on.
There was a brief moment where there was no sensation at all, and then Shion could feel stone beneath her feet.
She opened her eyes and stepped back in surprise. Well, there were some things you really couldn't predict with KOS-MOS, after all.
"Hello, Shion. Would you like to see my house?" A tiny, white haired girl stared up at Shion. "It's much better on the inside."
Shion looked past the child to the sprawling mass behind her. It looked like it had once been a house, but various mechanical pieces had been added on and many of the walls were cracked and sagging.
"It looks a little unstable," Shion said, looking back at the girl. She looked remotely like KOS-MOS, but that was to be expected. This child was probably the representation of the android's consciousness here.
"It isn't, really! And it's much warmer inside. It's so cold out here that even the Gnosis have died," the girl pleaded. "And there's someone you should meet, too!"
Shion hadn't even noticed the cold, but suddenly it was almost unbearable. Suddenly, the junk house looked much more appealing.
"Okay, let's take a look in your house," Shion said, shivering, and started towards the house. The girl smiled and skipped along ahead of Shion.
Something crunched loudly under Shion's boot, sending small white shards everywhere.
"What is…?" Shion asked, looking down. She stared in horror at the human skeleton stretched out in front of her. "Why is this…"?
"Oh, that's just one of the people that used to live here. They died a long time ago, though. I can't even remember their names!" The girl said cheerfully, totally at ease with her surroundings. "Hurry up, or you might freeze and die just like them!"
Shion stared in horror at the child. People had died here? What was this place? How could any living thing be so calm so close to so much death?
The wind picked up and nearly threw Shion to the ground. She could worry about the child later. If she froze here, then she'd never find out why KOS-MOS's subconscious was acting so strange. Shion ran for the door, refusing to look down at any of the other bodies.
As the child had said, the inside was much better. There was no sign of any of the mechanical add-ins on the inside, and the room was actually very nice.
"Who exactly are you?" Shion asked as the child carefully laid wood in an old-fashioned fireplace.
"Who? I don't know if I have a name. Maybe Big Sister knows?" The child answered, smiling happily. The wood ignited without any perceptible flame being applied, and she sat down on the floor next to it.
"Big sister? Where is she?" Shion asked, looking around the room. This child, like the rest of this place, didn't make any sense to her. It looked vaguely like a winter home, but KOS-MOS hadn't had any real life experience with that, had she?
"Oh, she's upstairs. But why don't you stay here instead? There's tons of fun stuff we can do together!" The child said, turning and looking at Shion pleadingly.
"I…I'll come back and play with you after I see your sister," Shion said, walking towards the stairs.
"I wouldn't, if I were you. Sis isn't in a good mood right now. That's why it's snowing," the child said weakly.
"I'll just take a little look, okay? I won't even bother her," she assured her. This entire thing was ridiculous; KOS-MOS's subconscious domain shouldn't have changed this much since the last time Shion dived into it.
The stairs creaked threateningly as Shion ascended them, becoming more and more unstable as she ascended. As opposed to the lower level, the upstairs was in complete disrepair. The floorboards were old and half of them were missing. The walls were split open by dozens of cracks through which cold air poured sluggishly. The pitch-colored sky was clearly visible through a large section of the hall where the roof had caved in entirely. There were several doors along the passageway, but the layers of brown dust that covered the floor only showed signs of disturbance near the far right door.
Shion followed the tracks carefully, trying to keep her heart rate under control. These footprints didn't look even remotely human.
The last door on the right was slightly ajar, just enough for Shion to see the tracks beyond it. She hesitated for a moment, and then switched on her defense unit. Whatever was in there wasn't KOS-MOS, and it certainly wasn't human, so it was probably a gnosis.
Shion pushed the door open carefully and stepped into the doorway.
"Good afternoon, Uzuki," a woman's voice, deeper than the one KOS-MOS used, resounded from inside the room. It was almost entirely dark, but Shion could just make out a shape that vaguely resembled a human woman standing next to the far wall.
"Who's there?" Shion asked, holding up her left arm defensively.
"Hmph. Does no one mind their manners these days? Normally you ask permission before entering someone else's room," the voice continued quietly. Shion could see the figure shaking its head disapprovingly.
"Why…." Shion started, but something cracked loudly against the floor next to her.
"Shh, just listen to the sounds for a moment. Can't you hear what's going on out there?" the voice continued.
Shion paused, wondering at this. She hadn't heard any noise from the outside world until now, but now that she focused on it, there were faint noises filtering in through one of the tiny windows in the room.
"It sounds like…screams? And gunfire?" Shion said, looking up in surprise.
"Screams…yes, there are screams," the voice continued. A slow, rhythmic clicking noise came from the floor, gradually growing louder. "They're screaming for death. They are calling my name."
Shion froze. The thing was just out of sight, but she was certain it was moving closer.
"Stay back, I'll…" Shion started, but her voice caught in her throat.
Red eyes opened and looked out of the shadows at Shion.
That's just the prologue. I should have the next chapter up in a few days. Feel free to review (I'm competing for the most reviews).