CHAPTER 9

Jr. looked up, and again, he was in a well-lit room, but this time, he was lying in a bed. Gossamer blankets flowed up towards his head and were gently tucked under his chin. The smell of jasmine filled the air and slowly, Jr. sat up, his head throbbing immensely. He carefully peered around the room. A door was in front of him and light poured into the room through opened curtains. The room began to spin as he stood, and his body quickly fell to the ground. Outside the door, Jr. heard loud footsteps and then the unlocking of the doors to the room he was currently in.

"Little Master? Little Master are you alright?" Jr. heard a soft southern accent and slowly he turned to see Mary standing with a tray of water and food. She quickly set the tray down and knelt beside Jr.

"Little Master, let me help you back to bed. You've been through a terrible ordeal." She quickly lifted him into the air and laid him back onto his bed. She pulled the blankets up close to his face and gently kissed his forehead. "I will leave this tray here on the nightstand for you. Now you get some rest, you hear?" Jr. used a great amount of his energy to lazily nod his head in aggreeance.

Mary turned towards the door, walked out, the door closed and locked behind her. "This is strange." Jr. thought to himself. Suddenly, Jr. saw a flash of darkness from the corner of his eye. He turned to look, but there was no one there. He then heard faint giggles coming from under his bed. "Who... who's there?" The giggles began to get louder and he noticed his blankets being pulled on and that a mass was beginning to grow at the end of his bed. Jr. grabbed for the top of his blanket and flung it to the floor. There, at his feet was the body of MOMO.

"Jr!" MOMO sat up, her eyes shining with delight. "I'm so happy to see you. I wanted to thank you for saving me." MOMO knelt at the end of the bed, her hair gently falling on her cheeks. She stared intently ahead. "I want to thank you, Jr." MOMO began crawling up towards Rubedo. She gently swayed her head back and forth as she slowly reached his side. Jr.'s cheeks became hot and red with embarrassment. MOMO inched her face closer to Jr.'s and she gently kissed his cheek. "You're so nervous, Rube-Jr." MOMO ran her hand through Jr.'s hair and gently began kissing down his neck. She made a growling noise deep in her throat.

"What...what's going on here?" Jr. thought to himself. "Somethings not right. This isn't MOMO. This isn't real. What's going on." Jr. pushed MOMO off of him and onto the ground.

"Who the hell are you! What is going on!" Jr. screamed. He had gained enough energy to launch himself from the bed and onto his trembling feet.

A familiar cackle came from the body on the ground. "Oh, but Rubedo, it is me. It's your precious MOMO. Don't you recognize me; or would you rather see me like this?" The body began to shake and transform. A bright light filled the room and as it dimmed, Albedo appeared behind Jr., his hands around his waist.

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"What happened?" Hammer met Shion, chaos, Allen, Ziggy, MOMO, and KOSMOS at the port. "Where's Jr.? What happened to Miss Uzuki?" chaos held Shion gently in his arms, her body limp. Ziggy and MOMO quietly followed behind them, MOMO looked down at her feet as she walked, hiding her emotions. KOSMOS held her damaged arm close to her body and Allen was frantically trying to keep up with KOSMOS as he attempted to reboot her self-repair system. "Will someone please tell me what happened?" MOMO looked up at Hammer, losing control over her emotions.

"Jr. ... Jr. ...Jr. sacrificed himself... he gave himself to Albedo...because...because...because of ... me!" MOMO began to shake uncontrollably and she fell to her knees. Ziggy quickly joined her by her side, holding her hands tightly within his own. He then picked her up in his arms and held her close.

"Don't worry, MOMO. I will get Jr. back. I promise, I will get him back." He gently rocked MOMO's trembling body. He gently stroked her hair and attempted to soothe the poor heart-broken child.

"I...I'm sorry MOMO." Hammer looked down at her, concerned. "Ziggurat, I am terribly sorry. I did not mean to upset her." Hammer quietly turned away and headed back into the Elsa. Ziggy gently picked MOMO up in his arms and cradled her. He carried her into the Elsa and into the sleeping area. He laid her down upon a bed and she continued to cry.

Ziggy sat himself down into a chair and watched over MOMO as she cried herself to sleep. "I will do all that is in my power. I must get that boy back for MOMO. She will never be the same until I have done so. She deserves to be happy. She is, after all, just a child and he is her only friend." He quietly closed his eyes, and he too, slowly fell asleep.

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---YAY- Finally chapter 9 is done. Sorry it took me so incredibly long to update. AOL crashed my computer and it took me an incredibly long time to get a new one. I'm sorry if this update isn't what my readers were looking for, but all well. So... much thanks to those of you that are still reading. Don't worry, I haven't abandoned this story. I love it way too much.