ATE: Wow! I got 1 review from the previous chap. yesterday. And they sounded really excited when they read this story too.

Thank you Senom299 for your review and enthusaism for this story. I decided to post this chap today because of you.

Declaimer: I don't own Xenosaga.


Chapter 6

The next day Jr. took everyone from the Elsa to the Isolation Area in the Durandal and I decided to go with them. Shelley came along also. I remembered that he told me that they kept important stuff in that area and I wanted to know what kind of stuff it could be.

The vast room had those huge plates, thirteen in all, surrounding the big room.

"What is this place?" MOMO asked as she looked around. "The environmental controls here seem extremely strict…"

"They're so big… Six to each side, with one directly across…" Shion said.

"Thirteen in all." Ziggy said. "Looks like each block has a name inscribed on it."

"You've got great eyesight!" She said to the cyborg. She looked to the names on the plates. "Hmm, let's see… Peter…Andrew…Boanerges…Thomas…John… Umm…"

KOS-MOS picked up where Shion left off. "Philip, Matthew, Bartholomew, James, Thaddaeus, Simon, Judas."

"That's strange…all those names sounded familiar…" I thought. "Have I heard them from somewhere before I lost my memories?"

"And the last one…" Shion asked.

"It appears to say Marienkind."

"Marienkind…" She said to herself. "I think I've heard that somewhere…"

"It means, 'the child of Mary.'" Shelley stated.

"This is where we store all the really dangerous items. Stuff like this…" Jr. said as he activated the console that made the metal of the plates come off, revealing huge golden cross-like objects, each having a different red colored symbol in the middle of them.

I heard Shion gasp in surprise. "Zohars?!

"Actually, they're all Emulators." I looked to my red-haired friend. "And they've all been sealed, including the one we just retrieved."

"So these are the Emulators that Jr. spoke about. Is that why they had been covered with metal?" I thought.

"Why are these Zohars here…?"

"Well, our corporation does dabble a little in everything. Besides, these days, you can't get by without having something to deal with the Gnosis. And we definitely can't wait around for the Federation to get off its lazy butt."

"What's in the room across from here?" MOMO asked, revering to the door that was across from where we had entered the Isolation Area.

"Nothing pleasant, I'll tell you that much." Jr. said, looking at the door behind him.

"You're not going to show us?" Shion asked.

"Trust me, it ain't something you'd want to see." He said, turning back to face us while shaking his head.

I could tell by the look in Jr.'s eyes that whatever was behind that door must've been something so horrible that he would have a reason not to show them, and possibly me.

"Even if we were to consider the diversity of your businesses, you're still a foundation, right? I mean, the weaponry on this ship far outclass those on any warship… Who are you people, anyway…?"

Jr. started walking over to the console that was beside the door. "We were more or less a government organization, previously." He opened the door to the room. "Well… I guess if you want to see it that badly…"

All of us went into the room and saw the creatures inside the containers.

"What is this?" Shion asked. She looked at the container we were in front of and she gasped.

I wondered why she gasped until I looked at the creature in the container and gasped myself as my eyes went wide. Inside was a woman who was so horribly mutated that it looked like something straight from a nightmare. I suddenly felt sick to the stomach.

"I warned you, you weren't gonna like it, didn't I?" Jr. asked as he walked up to where Shion and I were with a sad look on his face. He expression became stronger when he looked to me, to the point that it reached his eyes as he went to stand next to the container.

"All of these specimens appear to be humans whose bodies turned into Gnosis." KOS-MOS said.

"Transformed bodies… I've only heard of them before…" Ziggy said as he looked around at the containers.

"Most people just turn white and shatter to pieces, but there are a few exceptions…and they end up like this." He said as he placed his right hand on the glass of the container. "We've named this one Betty, for now. It's hard to look straight at them… But I don't want to refer to them by some code name or number. It's just not right to treat the dead like mere objects."

"Is that a lady?" MOMO asked.

"She was a little girl…the last time we saw her."

"T-that was a little girl? That's…that's so horrible…!" I thought.

"People turning into Gnosis…? Have you learned anything about them?" Allen asked.

"Not much. Plenty of Gnosis remains have been recovered to date, but nobody's learned a thing from them. You know what they're composed of?"

"No…"

"Sodium chloride…plain old salt. Even their translucent bodies…they're mostly made up of water and sodium hydroxide. How can ordinary compounds like that form creatures like them? No one really knows why those who survive Gnosis encounters always turn into one of them. Some people think they're a new type of virus; others say they're beings from another dimension who take on temporary forms in this one."

"Always…? No exceptions?" Shion asked.

"Nope. Not as far as I know." Jr. replied.

"So they could be from another dimension? Wouldn't that mean that their true forms might exist somewhere else…?" Allen asked.

"Who knows? All that's certain is that they're hostile to humans. Not that such a sentiment is unique to them."

I saw Allen look at Shion and saw that she looked like there was something troubling her.

"I don't blame her…" I thought.

"Chief, is something wrong? You don't look so good."

"Huh? No, don't worry… It's nothing…" She then turned to Jr. "So…so when did this all begin…?"

"Unofficially, phenomena like this have been occurring periodically for the past few centuries. But…after a certain incident, the Gnosis leapt into the forefront of history…"

"A certain incident?" MOMO asked.

"The Miltian Conflict. Joachim Mizrahi…" Jr. said. "It was he who opened Pandora's Box and unleashed the Gnosis upon the galaxy… And we're all paying for his ambition."

"Joachim Mizrahi… The brilliant scientist who founded the U-TIC Organization…" Shion said.

"Brilliant? He was a lunatic. Unable to bear his curiosity, he invited the Gnosis into our world."

"A lunatic…?" MOMO's voice was soft and was barely noticeable. I watched as she started to walk away from us.

"The Foundation was established after the war by the newly formed Second Miltian government, to clean up and investigate the facts behind the incident.

Technically, that's our real job. Problem is, the funding's tight in peacetime.

On top of that, running the Foundation takes a staggering amount of money, and the management of these Zohars ain't cheap, either. So, we ended up privatizing part of our operations and became a foundation. We never imagined that some of our side businesses would hit it so big, though."

I continued to watch until MOMO was gone. I immediately felt sorry for her.

We headed outside of the room. That was when everyone noticed that MOMO was gone.

"Where's MOMO?" Ziggy asked.

I took this chance to say something.

"I saw her leaving when Jr. was talking about Joachim Mizrahi." I said. "I think it really bothered her."

"We should find her." Shion said.

Allen then came up to Shion.

"Shelley called for me, so I'm heading over to Durandal's bridge." He said.

"I wonder where MOMO went?"

Shion was about to leave when I walked over to her.

"Hey Shion?" I asked.

"Yes Ayame?" She said as she turned to look at me.

"Can I come with you to look for MOMO? I'm worried about her too."

"Of course you can." She smiled at me.

------------------------------------------------------

After awhile of searching for MOMO, we found her in the Park Area sitting on a bench.

"What do you all think…? Joachim Mizrahi, the lunatic…" She said talking to herself. "Was daddy really like that? Since daddy built us, does that mean Realians are bad people, too?"

Shion, KOS-MOS and I walked over to MOMO.

"MOMO… We were looking all over for you." Shion said.

"Hello, Shion…" MOMO said looking at Shion.

"What's wrong? You look kinda down."

"Shion… I…" Shion sat down next to her as I did the same, while KOS-MOS stood. "I was created by Joachim Mizrahi. He designed the 100-Series Realians back when the Federation funded him."

"I know…"

"Shion, I… Daddy wasn't a lunatic. …I don't even know what I am."

"Identity diffusion… The eternal dilemma."

"Identity diffusion is the eternal dilemma…?" I thought. "Am I experiencing it?"

Shion held her hand out as a firefly landed on it.

"Do you know about the environmental bugs onboard this ship? They're actually nanomachines, you know, used to keep enclosed spaces like this clean. I'd say that…of all the things Professor Mizrahi – or anyone else – created, they rank up there pretty high. These bugs may be man-made, but they function as if they've existed all along. Almost as if they were meant to be… I think Realians are the same. The only difference between us, is the length of our histories. But regardless of our origins, each one of us has an important role to fulfill in this world. Besides, I really doubt Dr. Mizrahi was a dangerous person like everyone makes him out to be. And it's not just because of the environmental bugs. The work he did on Realians was incredibly insightful." Shion said.

"The fundamental Gnosis research Professor Mizrahi left behind played a critical role in the development of modern anti-Gnosis technology." KOS-MOS said.

"Thanks for the backup, KOS-MOS! I'm really glad to see you react like that. Empathizing with the feelings of others is a major factor in human relationships."

"Although I do not believe that the current situation called for me to act in an empathetic manner, I am pleased to be of service to you."

MOMO then started to giggle. "…I think KOS-MOS is really funny. Too bad she doesn't take instructions very well." She said. "I never got to meet Daddy, but he used to talk to me all the time before I was born. It's all a little hazy, but I remember him telling me that… I could become a real person if I did good deeds…"

"Really? That's a wonderful memory to have…"

"Uh-huh."

"A wonderful memory…" I said. "If only I could remember my parents…"

"Oh, that's right." Shion said as she turned to me. "You don't really remember your life before you woke up from that capsule Jr. told us about."

I nodded. "I don't even remember my real name." I looked up at the ceiling. "And I highly doubt that there would be any information from the time of Lost Jerusalem about me either."

"Chief!"

We all turned around to see Allen running into the Park.

"Great news! After this ship arrives at the Kukai Foundation, they're gonna take us to Second Miltia!"

"Second Miltia? Really?" Shion asked.

"Apparently, they have some work to take care of out there. The Captain's still whining about repairing the Elsa, but…"

"Some work…? I wonder…?"

"Huh?"

"Well… I'm sure they've got their own reasons, but don't you think it's a little strange that everyone's heading for Miltia?"

"Not really… It's probably just a coincidence. I'm just glad we saved some money. Not to mention that this ship's a million times better equipped than the Elsa. And we'll have nothing to worry about if we run into the Gnosis again. Hey, speaking of which, did you check out your room? They all have jacuzzis and minibars, and…" Allen stopped talking and looked at Shion. "Hey, what's wrong, Chief?"

Shion sighed. "Nothing, nothing. I'm just jealous of how easily swayed you are…"

I started to laugh mentally at what was going on. Allen acted like a kid on Christmas and it was just funny.

I turned to MOMO.

"I hope we were able to cheer you up, MOMO." I said.

"Don't worry. You did. Thank you so much Ayame." She said.

"It was no problem."

I then left for my room in the Residential Area to sleep. Tomorrow we would be arriving at the Kukai Foundation.


ATE: I believe that any of you that have finished this chap would noticed that Ayame didn't talk so much and mostly thought about what was happening around her.

Anyways, Please Review, it really helps.

Gaignun: Only you can prevent a bad story.

ATE: (looks at Gaignun) Uh...isn't it supposed to be 'only you can prevent forest fires'?

Gaignun: And if it is?

ATE: I think you've seen to many Smoky the Bear commercials. (Realizes something) Wait a minute, you're not supposed to be here!

Gaignun: I was wondering how long it would take you to figure that out.

ATE: That's besides the point! You not supposed to make your cameo yet!

Gaignun: But I'll be in appearing in the next chapter anyways.

Albedo: You're defying the laws of the authoress, Nigredo.

ATE: Albedo what are you doing here?!

Albedo: Trying to help your cause to get ride of Nigredo.

ATE: You're not supposed to be here either, Albedo!

Jr.: Ha! She got ya both there!

Albedo: Rubedo's not supposed to be here, is he my authoress?

ATE: On the contrary Albedo, Jr.'s actually allowed since he's been seen throughout the story so far. That means you and Gaignun need to leave.

Albedo: Damn you Rubedo. You lucky bastard... (walks away)

Gaignun: I shall respect the authoress and leave. (walks away)

ATE: I think Albedo's jealous of you Jr.

Jr.: Albedo jealous? He always acts like this when he doesn't get his way.

ATE: Another reminder to the readers. Please REVIEW!!!!! :)