Disclaimer: I do not own xenosaga

This is my first Xenosaga fanfic so...not sure how it's going to turn out. This is set right after Jr. boards the E.S to fight Albedo.

Not sure if I'm going to chapter or keep this one one-shot...but tell me what you think...thanks!

Mechanical Angel

Momo folded her hands up to her chest as she watched the boy she had come to know and care so deeply about walk away. Her golden eyes walked Jr. as he climbed in the E.S until it took off and out of sight.

The 100-series realian stood their idly for a few moments before turning to walk down the hallway. Her steps were heavy and her head was hung low. The all too fresh memory was burning in her mind.

"You're coming back right?" Momo asked almost desperately.

Jr stood idly looking at the E.S in front of him. When she didn't receive an answer Momo feared the worst.

"Please promise me. Promise you'll come back. If you don't, I… I…"

Momo tried to speak but her voice failed her. She wanted him to stay, she needed him to stay. What would she do without Jr.? Her knight in shining armor? The one who she could count on to be there for her time and time again. He was always trying to take on things by himself. He was always trying to protect her. Why wouldn't he let her protect him?

He didn't answer her. Unlike so many other times he left without an explanation. The only thing he left her with was that smile. A smile that he always gave her to assure her that everything would be alright. It was that characteristic trademark Jr. smile. Was it the last time she would ever see it?

Momo continued to walk down the hall until she reached the elevator to the bridge. She didn't want to go up and face all those people. By now she knew that everyone would already know that he was gone. The girl turned around and headed for the shuttle. Not caring where its destination was she took a lonely seat by the window.

The shuttle was almost empty with the exception of a few other people and realians on board. Continuing to look at the glass window she caught sight of her reflection. With her orange pink hair and golden eyes there would be no mistaking her of a real human child. There was no doubt at first glance that she was a realian. Underneath her navy blue beret were her two bright red sensors.

It was hard to believe that she was an almost exact copy of her older sister Sakura. No she wasn't anything like Sakura. Sakura had brown auburn hair and natural green eyes.

Momo put both hands on her heart and tore her eyes away from her reflection.

"Is this my emotion that I feel?" she whispered to herself.

Flashback

"We will be shutting down your artificial personality layer during the analysis. Your artificial emotion and abstract cognitive functions will temporarily cease to function, but please do not be alarmed," the 100-series realian said as she punched the keys on the keyboard.

"Artificial emotion…?" Momo said as she clutched to her chest. It had seemed that it had become a habit of the young girl.

The same realian continued to explain not aware of what Momo had said, "Since your artificial personality is an option for interpersonal interaction, this procedure will have no effect on your observational functions."

"My heart is just an optional function?"

End of Flashback

Momo let her hands drop in to her lap as she continued to stare down on the floor. If her heart could be turned off then was this real emotion that she was feeling or was it just part of her programming.

The shuttle came to a sudden halt as more people came in and others exited. Momo continued to stay in her seat even though the shuttle had already gone around the ship twice. She was starting to get confused looks from the man who worked at the shuttle door.

Flashback

"Um… Can I also call you Rubedo, too? It's a very pretty name?" Momo asked innocently.

Jr. stood with his back facing Momo. He shifted uneasily thinking of what to say.

"S…Sorry it's just…" Jr. said struggling with his words.

"Oh I'm sorry…" Momo replied quickly. She was almost hurt by his words, but had quickly brushed it off. It wasn't like her to hold a grudge of get angry at anyone, especially Jr.

"Nah, nah, it's just… I don't have a lot of good memories of that name," Jr. said turning back to the girl.

End of Flashback

It was until the dive in to her subconscious she understood why he didn't want her to call him that. It was because that was his name back then. It was because she would remind him of her if she would call him that. And who could blame him? Beside their eyes, hair, and other specfic features their faces were almost exactly alike.

"Jr. if I was Sakura would you let me call you Rubedo?" The words rolled off of Momo's lips barely audible.

During the dive she had learned more about Jr., and more about herself than she had learned in the past fourteen years of her life. It was the first time that she saw her older sister, Sakura. Afterwards she learned why Jr. would always watch after her. Why he was always protective of her. It wasn't because of her as a person no, it was because of the promise that he and her sister had made that day. It was that and nothing more that kept Jr. tied to her.

He had promised Sakura that he would take care of her, and that's what he did. He looked at her as a real girl, because that's what Sakura would have wanted. Even with Momo's kind demeanor she still couldn't help but wonder what would she be it weren't for her sister?

Sakura was her means of existence. She was created because of her. She wasn't created to carry the Y-data, she wasn't created to be an observation realian, she was created so her sister Sakura would be able to link her emotions to her. So that Sakura would be able to express herself in the outside world like a normal person. Momo was just the messenger girl accidentally turned into something more.

Flashback

The red haired boy sat on the bench with the brunette girl sitting beside him. It was a picture perfect scenery. The bench swung back and forth as the sunset lit their faces with a golden light.

"I'll watch her as if she was my own!" Jr. exclaimed to Sakura in response to her question.

Sakura smiled and appeared to say something else, but before leaving for the door she placed a small peck on the boy's cheek. After saying one more thing the girl disappeared inside the house leaving a very stunned Rubedo. He held his hand to his cheek and seemed to be in a state of immense shock and happiness.

End of Flashback

She remembered seeing that when they had dove into her subconscious. Even though in a comatose state she could still here, see, and feel. Everything that she saw she felt, but was unable to react. She remembered the shock and hurt that she felt when she saw Jr.'s face of happiness after the small kiss Sakura had given him.

And it was at that moment she realized that she would always be in her sister's shadow. Jr. would look at her as another girl, but only at her sister's request. Would her mother even love her for what she was?

For the tenth time the shuttle stopped. Looking up Momo saw that she was back where she started: the bridge. Finally after sorting through her thoughts the girl stood up and walked off the shuttle. She walked towards the elevator ready to face everyone's questions.

"You're so easy to manipulate, my mechanical angel. Mizrahi and his crazy whims… Anyone can see what it would've been smarter not to give you human emotions."

"Maybe…Albedo was right. It would've been smarter not to give me human emotions…" Momo said to herself as a single tear rolled down her cheek.