Chapter 1: Jr's got a Date with Destiny

A/N: Hm…enjoy.

Bold: Flashbacks/Dreams
(Italics): Thoughts
(Bold):Telepathy
------:Scene Change

Disclaimer: I don't own Xenosaga. Nor their ships. Nor their places. Nor their characters. The list goes on and on. Just their two game boxes and their CDs. And my imagination.

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Overview: A couple of weeks have passed after Jr. kills Albedo at the space-time anomaly when the Omega System collapsed. Lots of things have happened. A ginormous Gnosis called Abel's Ark appeared and absorbed the original Zohar. After it did, it disappeared into another region of space and hasn't been seen since. Shion Uzuki, Allen Ridgeley, and the Gnosis combat android KOS-MOS went back to the Dammerung to finish off their mountainous files of reports that they neglected to fill out when they left the first time they had returned. The Ziggurat-8 series known as Ziggy was stationed on the Durandal, monitoring security since a great deal of their workers had run away because of the appearance of Abel's Ark. But recently, he had accepted life extension for MOMO's sake and patiently waited until they were ready with the preparations. The mysterious chaos continued to work on the Elsa with Captain Matthews, Tony, and Hammer. He always had time to visit everyone, which made him a messenger boy between the other members so that everyone could feel that they were in close touch, even though their jobs and lives took up most of their time. Jin returned to Second Miltia to find information on Ormus and Hyams. He also perfected his sword skills, in order to prepare for the deciding battle between him and his old partner and present rival, Margulis. MOMO started living with her mom, Dr. Juli Mizrahi, on Second Miltia. She enjoyed getting to know her and was always helping out S.O.C.E. (Subcommittee on Close Encounters) in any way that she could. Right now, she was updating her sisters', the other 100-series models, programming on the Durandal. As for Jr., he had his hands full managing the Foundation. He did his best to keep it all together but everyone could tell he was still a little guilt-ridden by killing his younger brother, Albedo.

The rain pours down as a red haired boy is running through some dark woods and into a field of dead flowers. He slowly walks past them and looks around. He looks kind of sad, as if something precious to him had been taken away. The flowers had all been ripped out from the ground and stepped on until they were pancakes.

"What is this place?" He sees a white-haired person in the distance, standing over a dead body and approaches him. The flowers there are still alive. They circled all around the body, as if to be his/her resting place.

Rubedo stops as the white-haired boy slowly turns around. "Rubedo…" He starts to say. "I've done it! I finally did what had to be done! This girl is finally dead and now, there's no one left to seduce you!"

Rubedo stares at the body and gasps. He turns to Albedo with an angry look on his face and shouts, "Why did you do this, Albedo!" Trace amounts of red energy are forming about him.

"I hated this girl! She was always flirting with you! She weakened you to the mere fraction of power you have left. Before we met her, we could've destroyed U-DO and ended this stupid charade!" Albedo stares at himself. "But no. You cut the link. You were weak. That's why so many of our brothers died. And that's why I've become this…not that I don't mind." He laughs a little.

"No! If we had eradicated U-DO, then we would have…"

"Yes…I already know about that. We would've died, huh?" He starts laughing. "It wouldn't have mattered because we are all going to die anyways. I wanted that. I wanted to die along with you and Nigredo. I didn't want to be alone. But there was another reason, wasn't there? She was the reason you cut the link, coward. That bi…"

Rubedo explodes with anger. "Stop it!"

Everything is engulfed in red.

Rubedo quickly darts up and starts breathing heavily. He was literally covered in sweat. He quickly wiped himself with a towel and then looks around at his surroundings. The Foundation. His room. His bed. Slowly, everything was starting to return to normal. He stares at his hand. The number 666 is written on his hand in red.

"What the hell…was that dream about?"

Rubedo looks at his clock. It's 12:00 p.m.

He gets up and opens the windows. It's a clear, sunny day. He then goes off to change into his regular clothes. He grabs his guns, a pair of MAKAROVs, and starts spinning them around.

"These seem good today." He holsters them in his side holsters then grabs his jacket and puts it on. "I wonder if Mary and Gaignun wanted me to sleep in today?"

He exits his room and then starts walking to the train. At the corner, he accidentally bumps into an old friend with slicked back blonde hair. He seemed to be a cop or something due tohis physical appearance and clothes. "Hey old man."

"Sleeping in? It's not a good idea since you are one of the heads of the Foundation, are you not? You're not setting a fine example to those who admire you."

"Cut it out. Besides, I gotta have some good sleep if I'm supposed to handle all those conferences Gaignun keeps sending me too. It's not going to do me any good if I fall asleep during a meeting. That would worsen my 'role model' figure."

The man's expression stays the same. "I see."

Jr. punches him playfully in the arm. "You're so dull, Ziggy. Anyways, did Dr. Mizrahi ever tell you when your life extension operation was?"

"Yes. She told me a couple of minutes ago. It starts tomorrow, early in the morning down at Vector."

"So I'm guessing Shion and MOMO must've requested the location, huh?"

Ziggy nods.

"Good luck with that then. I'll try and come visit if I'm awake and can remember."

He starts to leave.

"Jr."

"What old man?"

"I was asked to relay a message to you. She said to meet her down at Moby Dick's and that she's looking forward to it."

And with that, Ziggy left, leaving Jr. to wonder what he meant.

"Meet…? What for…"

(Oh, man!) Jr. thought, looking at a clock. (I completely forgot about that. Ah! It's almost time! Damn, Gaignun…he got me into this and now he doesn't even bother to wake me up! I'll make him pay.)

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(He's late…) The time shows 12:30. A pink-haired girl with amber eyes wearing a red/white dress is sitting down at a table at Moby Dick's, watching the people walk by. To top it all off, she had a cute, little beret on her head. She sighs and takes a sip of her lemonade. (Maybe Ziggy didn't find him…)

The wind picks up and a slight tinkling can be heard from the girl's wrist. It's a charm with a bullet attached. She pulls it up in front of her and looks at it. The writing for 'Sayonara, baby' was still present on it.

The girl flashes back to the time when she received from Jr. and smiles at the thought.

She then sees him running past people, knocking some people down and causing a scene. A big guy whose drink was spilled stood over him, ready to pound the living crap out of him until Jr. pulled out his guns and pointed it at his head. The man looked surprised, not at the guns, but who was holding them. He started going berserk about saying he was always wanting to meet Gaignun Kukai Jr. in person.

She laughs a little and watches him as he apologizes to everyone as well as signing a couple of autographs. After a couple of minutes, he spots the girl and goes over to her.

"Sorry, MOMO. I guess I overslept…"

"It's okay, Jr. I'm just glad that you made it." (Even though it sounded like you were forced to…)

Jr. stares at his computer screen and starts typing some things. MOMO is down with her sisters, helping them out. Two women are watching both of them from a distance. One has blonde hair while the other had purple hair.

"You know what? Little Master hasn't been acting himself lately." The blonde headed woman with a Southern accent says. "It's killing the mood around here!"

The purple haired lady nodded in agreement. "Yes, Mary. The same goes for MOMO as well. She seems to be worried about him but won't talk to him about it."

"Shelley, this just isn't good at all!" Mary starts thinking and then has an idea. "How about we set up MOMO and Jr. for a date! That'll certainly cheer them up!"

"Are you sure? I don't think we would be able to…"

"That seems like a fine idea." A dark haired man walks up behind the two and joins them. "They both need some together time."

"But who's going to tell him, Master Gaignun?" Mary asks.

He starts walking towards Jr. "It's obvious that I will. Since you and Shelley are obviously not going to."

Mary starts jumping up and down like a child, squealing in delight. "Ooooo! This will be excitin'!"

"Jr." Jr. stops typing and looks at his younger brother towering over him.

"What is it, Gaignun? More work for me?"

"The complete opposite. You're having a day off tomorrow. So you're going to be spending it with MOMO."

MOMO looks over to Jr. while his mouth drops wide open.

He turns a light shade of red and then shouts, "Where the hell did this come from!"

"Stop acting like a child. It's obvious that you're still bothered by Albedo and you're not really helping yourself get better. Besides, it's not like it's that hard to figure out that you like her."

He scoffs at this and then continues typing, trying not to let it bother him even though it did. Countless thoughts ran through his head about rejection and images of the 'date.' An angel Jr. and devil Jr. appeared right next to him and he started arguing with them. To everyone else, it was as if he talking to air.

MOMO quickly looks back at her sister and wonders if he really didn't want to spend time with her. She notices Gaignun walking towards her.

"MOMO."

"Hello, Mr. Gaignun."

"Jr. is taking you out tomorrow if you haven't heard yet."

MOMO starts to blush a little. "Um, I overheard what he said. I don't think he wants to go…"

"Don't worry about it, I know he wants to go. He's been in a rather depressed mood lately so he's taking some time off to relax. I know he needs someone special to keep him company so that he can have a lot of fun. And you're perfect for him. He just didn't want to bother you with this just yet because he wanted it to be a surprise."

MOMO blushes a little and then slowly nods. (He has been rather depressed lately. Maybethis could be the chance I've been waiting forto cheer him up like Mr. Gaignun said…)

Jr. then sends out a telepathic message. (Gaignun! If I ever need help, I'll ask you but stay the hell out of my business!)

Gaignun looks at him and has a hint of a smile on his face. (It's obvious that you're not going to say anything to her so I thought I would relay the message for you. That's what brothers do, right? They help each other out.)

Jr. starts to throw a fit and chases Gaignun around the room.

Mary and Shelley are seen laughing hard in the background. MOMO and her sisters join in as well.

"Shall we be going then?" Jr. asks. "A day of fun and relaxation awaits!"

MOMO nods and smiles as the sun shines down on her.
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A/N: Comments are appreciated. More to come.