Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or the game of Xenosaga, that is own by Namco and Monolith (pardon the spelling) Xenogears is owned by Square-Enix and I ave no intention of using this story in any way to earn money or take credit for it's creation. My only intent is to use these characters to make a wonderfull story.
Chapter 2: First meetings and puppy love
If there was one thing Daemar hated, it was not being in control of where he was going. It was one of the reasons he preferred being the pilot when he and Ziggy went on missions, now he sat in the back with the ship's tiny pilot in his lap. MOMO had just given control of the weapons to Ziggy, and a few moments later after braking hard, Ziggy fired and destroyed the three ships that had chased them into hyperspace. Things didn't get any better after that, the second wave from Plemora arrived. Auto-Tech fighters and a large number of them too. Just how badly do they want her? I know she's a 100 series observational Realian but still she'd just a Realian. What is it about her that's so special? His line of thought cut off as the Auto-Tech units began to close in. Without thought he placed his hands, which had changed back to their original metallic form, behind MOMO's and worked the controls behind the flight globes. When she looked back he grinned. "Hey, the least I can do is try and lighten the load for you. You fly the ship, I'll worry about keeping it in one piece."
For a time it was just a matter of outrunning the enemy, but it became more and more clear that the shuttle they had "borrowed" simply wasn't designed for speed like the Auto-Techs were. "I've sent out an omni-directional distress signal..." MOMO started to say. Then Daemar blinked, the sensors picked up something and she identified it faster than he did. "Ziggy! There's a civilian ship in hyperspace! We have to warn them!" Daemar frowned and worked his fingers over the controls, forming a simple link between the computer in the shuttle and the one in his brain. "Can you open a channel?" Ziggy asked. MOMO closed her eyes for a moment, she too had formed a link but just long enough to access the comm systems. "Securing an emergency channel. Go ahead."
"I'll try and I.D. the ship." Daemar said to which Ziggy nodded and began to speak his warning. "Attention, civilian spacecraft. A battle has broken out in hyperspace. For the safety of your ship, we recommend you gate out as soon as possible." After he finished speaking Daemar spoke. "I can't find the ship's name or registry, this system doesn't have a large database. It's mostly U-TIC programs, damn!" The Auto-Tech ships were getting closer, any moment now they'd pull into firing range. Though it wasn't necessary he continued to manipulate the controls with his hands rather than through the link, he began pulling power from any area of the ship that could spare it and route it to the engines for speed. From his perspective he was viewing information about the ship and it's systems, abruptly the display turned red and a klaxon alarm went off in his ears. "Evasive maneuvers, their firing!"
The civilian ship at this point had done a good job of avoiding the battle, but now it too was about to be drawn in. It dodged nearer to the column walls to avoid the laser blasts coming from behind, it seemed safe enough until a stray bolt struck it. "The civilian ship just took a hit on the port side, minimal damage but we might want to think about getting out of hyperspace before they get hurt." He said as they passed it by with Auto-Techs right behind them. Suddenly two of the chasing ships exploded, the civilian ship had opened fire! Daemar looked back using an exterior camera just as MOMO spoke.
"Ziggy!" She said, a note of hope in her voice.
"Yeah. These guys must like trouble. You two okay back there?"
"Yup! I'm fine." MOMO responded and Daemar nodded.
"That's what I like to hear." He said.
The shuttle flew closer to the column walls, so close that the bottom began to leave a large trail of flame in it's wake, in effect making the shuttle "ride" the energy stream like a surfer on a wave. The trail of flame hit a number of the Auto-Tech's, vaporizing them. Daemar blinked as the civilian ship followed suit, riding the wall and creating an even larger trail of flame. The pilot of that ship had to be drunk or insane! Either way the rest of the Auto-Tech's were destroyed in the flame wake, much to his relief.
Just as he started to breathe a sigh the sensors flashed again. "Ziggy, MOMO, more Auto-Tech's approaching and they're firing! I've put all power to the engines, go go GO!" He shouted. MOMO's skills as a pilot we easily on par with his, he was just starting to get the idea in his head that they just might make it out alive. The shuttle lurched hard and the display in his eyes flashed red and yellow rapidly. "We're hit! Left booster is gone! Shuttle power is down to 35%" He suddenly went quiet, there was no chance of survival. Even if he'd activated his P.C.S. he'd never survive in hyperspace, so now it was a race to see what would kill them first. The Auto-Tech ships or the impact with the column walls. He didn't speak, there wasn't a need to after all, and he had no idea what his last words would be.
"It looks like...this is the end of the line. I'm sorry I couldn't see you through this safely." Ziggy said softly. MOMO had taken her hands off the controls and rested them in her lap as she replied in a small voice. "It's okay...I know. Thanks for everything you've done." Ziggy looked back at them. "Are you scared?" She shook her head and patted Daemar's right hand. "A little... But I'm okay. Because your both here with me."
Silence descended on them for the next few moments, then the shuttle lurched again and was still. Daemar blinked, he'd broken the link with the computer already and so was reduced to looking around the cockpit until he saw a sight that made him smile. The civilian ship had just grabbed them with a rather large grappling claw and held the tiny shuttle firmly. Just then a man's voice came in over their intercom. "We're gonna pull you in. Hurry inside once the hatch closes. We'll get rid of 'em." MOMO smiled, as did Daemar, while the claw began to pull them in. Suddenly it halted, was something wrong? A few moments later another voice spoke, also male and much younger. "Attention vessel occupants. Can you make it up on your own? The ship's shielding should cover you a bit, so if you put on your spacesuits and use the hull as a shield..."
"Roger, the three of us aren't human so I'm sure we can make it." Ziggy responded as he opened the cockpit. Ziggy stepped out first while Daemar lifted MOMO down to him. He then followed them down and glanced around the half-closed deck while MOMO and Ziggy shared a few words. He didn't know if they had noticed or not but the heat being generated by the friction of ship hull against the column walls was rather intense. Only when MOMO cried out and pointed did he notice the large Auto-Tech ship slip onto the deck with them, it hovered near the back for a few moments then disappeared. But not after dropping off a number of smaller "gifts" for them to face. Domo's.
Unlike Ziggy and MOMO, Daemar didn't have the ability to use Ether skills as they did. He'd always reasoned that it was because he was made up of very old technology and was therefor incompatible. However like Ziggy, he had a great deal of physical strength and excelled in hand to hand combat. He knew Ziggy still had his beam cannon but it might not be enough, and while he knew MOMO was designed to fight the Gnosis, he had his doubts about her combat ability. Crouching down next to the shuttle he whispered to the others. "I'm gonna charge at them and fight, try and keep them distracted. When I do, you two make a run for it." MOMO shook her head immediately. "No... you can't do that alone, it's too dangerous. If we work together..." But Ziggy stopped her. "No, MOMO. He's right, he's done this before and I think it'll work. We'll run on the count of three after you attack them." Daemar nodded and tightened his hands into fists, turned in his crouch and took up a stance like a runner before a race.
He lifted his body on his legs, and then bolted toward the Domo's as fast as he could. With a roar he threw himself at the Domo's, many turning to face the source of this new sound. One unlucky unit turned to face the sound just as Daemar's metallic fist connected with the red optical sensor, the Domo reared back and hit the floor, unable to see what was happening. Rather than waste his own weapons, Daemar leaned down and ripped the leg off the blinded Domo. He dashed forward again, swinging the leg like a club and screaming like a madman. Ziggy and MOMO by then had both counted to three and started running along the edge of the deck wall to avoid the fight. Ziggy looked as though he wanted to join in and help his partner but MOMO kept pulling his arm, forcing him through the door.
The pair stopped next to a set of stairs next to the door to catch their breath. MOMO kept trying to pull Ziggy along, but the cyborg shook his head. "No, I won't leave him behind. We'll wait." They didn't have to wait long though, three minutes later Daemar stepped through the door and stumbled against the wall. He dropped what was left of the leg of another Domo and panted. MOMO walked over and reached out a hand to his arm. "Are you okay?"
Daemar waved her off and stood again. "Yeah, I'm fine. Guess it's been awhile since I've been in a knock down, drag out fight. C'mon, we'd better keep going. No doubt this ship's captain will want a word or three with us." He lead the way, taking the stairs two at a time with the others following. He stepped though the door and led them around a corner then stopped when another group of people came into view. It was only three people, the first one was a woman wearing a uniform that he quickly identified as that of a Vector employee, and a top class one too. She had long brown hair and light blue eyes, she was really quite pretty but a touch too short for his tastes. The second was a young man easily the same height as the Vector woman with silver hair and eyes that seemed green but sometimes blue if the light caught them right. His choice of clothing was a little different, orange and blue boots with some type of skintight material on his legs and upper body. A pair of very short shorts, a matching pair of orange and blue gloves, and a vest to match. That particular combination made him raise an eyebrow, but then his eyes turned to the third member of the group and his heart skipped a beat.
Standing there was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. She was close to his height and slender, her hair was a light blue, almost like the eyes of the Vector woman's. Her eyes were red, that was the first clue to tip him off that she might not be human. Like it really mattered to him.
Her face seemed almost like it was sculpted, it was flawless and had an almost doll like quality to it. And at the moment it seemed emotionless, that thought saddened him. A face like that should never have to go without a smile at least. Her body was well shaped, so much so that when Daemar tried to describe it words to himself, the only word he could think of was perfect. She wore a skintight, one-piece outfit that look almost as if it were a part of her. He had trouble after that, he could hardly focus on anything else about her. He wasn't standing there like an idiot or drooling over her but he seemed to be in a daze. If he could just stare at her face, at it's flawless shapes and planes then he could die a happy man. Or rather a happy cyborg.
It was at that point that the woman from Vector, who'd just named herself Shion, looked at him with concern. "Are you alright?" She said. "You seem a little, I dunno...tired?" "Huh? What? Oh! Yeah, I'm fine. I think I might have overworked myself a little back there." Daemar grinned and tried to brush it off, he'd just realized that he'd missed the brief round of introductions. After a moment he played back the audio file and heard the names spoken. So, this blue haired goddess is named Kos-Mos...
After a few minutes it was made clear that the only way to rid themselves of the Auto-Techs was to find the Domo carrier that passed them before and destroy it. Daemar nodded and grinned, the holographic image around his arms faded and his metallic blue arms shone dimly in the light. This would be the perfect time to show what he could do! With Shion in the lead the group made their way down to the hanger, facing and destroying the various Domo's that crossed their path. Kos-Mos was proving to be very powerful, she was destroying the Domo's with more ease than Daemar was and taking less time to do it too. When they faced the carrier, Daemar took the lead. He leaped into the air with a roar and attacked, landing a crushing blow on what could only be its head, causing it to stumble.
Yeah! Take that! HA! I'll show you who the better fighter is! He thought as the others began to attack as well. Ziggy closed in and using his blade while MOMO supported him from behind. Chaos seemed to be using some sort of self-generated energy to attack while Shion used a strange weapon what was attached to her left arm. It was red and seemed to be some sort of really large knuckle that could generate both electricity and fire. Kos-Mos by far was the most impressive, she moved gracefully in battle, almost like a swan. Dodging the carrier's attacks and returning the favor with well aimed shots from her blaster. Daemar continued his assault, pummeling the Domo carrier from above. That's it! I'll show her how good I am! Wait...what am I doing? Why am I trying to prove myself to Kos-Mos? I've only just met her...why...?
His thoughts cut off as the carrier suddenly trashed violently, throwing him off and to the floor. Before he even landed the carrier pulled back it's left arm and plunged it straight down, pinning him to the floor in a crushing grip. Damn it! What was I thinking! Letting myself get distracted like that... His eyes started to close as the pain in his chest grew. As well made as he was, even he couldn't stand to be crushed under that much weight. The pain grew worse, his grip on consciousness loosened. It hurt so badly, he wanted to scream, he did scream as much as he could with the air and the very life being crushed out of him.
And then the pain was gone, the pressure lifted and his eyes snapped opened. He looked up and there she stood, part of her right arm had changed into a razor sharp blade with she had just used to slash the pinning leg in two. With her left hand she grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back away from the fight, Chaos fell back as well and came running. As he approached, Kos-Mos returned to the battle. With it's leg gone, the Domo carrier was starting to lose the fight. But none of the mattered to Daemar, he merely watched her as she continued to fight. Had he seen something in her eyes when she pulled him back? A small spark of...something? His eyes rolled back to Chaos who kneeled over him and spoke comforting words that he could barely hear. Light glowed softly around him as he used an Ether spell of some kind.
And then the world went black.
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