Author's note – This was a quick update, but this chapter didn't take me too long to write because it's a shorter one. I know I don't write MOMO all that confidently, so forgive me if this chapter is a bit stilted. Also, I think my previous author's note was confusing in that it appeared that this would be the chapter that Shion has the baby. I wrote that note out when Chapter 23 and 24 were still one single chapter, so I meant it would be the chapter after this one. Sorry about that! I do swear that she'll have the baby in the next one, though! Even she's starting to wonder if she's going to be pregnant forever. XD
--- Aboard the Dämmerung (just slightly over two months later) ---
MOMO glanced back at her mother and Ziggy. "It looks like we were right. There's another planet that survived, so we have to go and see if there's anyone still alive there. How long do you think it will take us to get there, Mommy?"
Juli brought a finger to her chin in thought. "I'm not quite sure, sweetheart, but I don't think it will take more than a few days. I'm afraid, though, that we might be too late." Her voice was quiet.
MOMO shook her head hard. "Don't say that, Mommy! We won't know for sure until we go and see! You were almost positive that no one could be alive on the Foundation, and they were all fine. Let's keep our hopes up until we know for certain. Okay?" Her golden eyes beseeched Juli to agree with her.
Juli knew MOMO was clinging to hope desperately because of all she'd been through in the past few months regarding Rubedo. She had attempted contacting the Elsa herself a week or so ago due to MOMO's reluctance to discuss Rubedo with her lately. She'd intended to speak with him and find out what exactly was going on, but Tony had answered and informed her that the Little Master was unavailable at that time. Juli was very proficient at reading body language, and she had been well-aware that Tony was nervous as he'd spoken to her. Unable to draw anything else out of him, she'd told him to let Rubedo know that he was to call her back the instant he became available. She'd never received that call. Juli had not spoken of it to MOMO, unwilling to upset her even more. So now she simply nodded and pulled her daughter into her embrace. "Yes, we'll keep our hopes up until we find out otherwise." She pulled back with a tremulous smile. "Now, didn't you say you needed to speak with Melissa and Charles?"
MOMO nodded. "Yes, I did, so I'm just going to see if I can hunt them down. I'll see you both later, okay?" She hurried out of the room, and Juli moved to stand by Ziggy.
"I wish that there was something I could do for her," she sighed. "I hate seeing her as sad as she's been these last few months. I'd never have believed Rubedo to be capable of avoiding her like this when he tried so hard to protect her before."
Ziggy replied, "Unfortunately, none of us can know what is truly going on unless Jr. explains the situation to MOMO. And I might be incorrect in what I'm about to say, but I have some suspicion regarding Shion's refusal to speak with her."
Juli's glance was sharp. "What do you mean by that?"
Ziggy appeared thoughtful. "I can't quite explain it. It's simply that Shion has always looked after MOMO, and for her to abandon her the way she has is not something that makes sense to me." Juli had finally explained the situation to him after she'd attempted contacting the Elsa, and she had not been surprised to learn that Ziggy had already gleaned much of it for himself. "For now, we can only speculate upon what could be happening aboard the Elsa to cause all of them to be acting as they have been…"
MOMO located Melissa and Charles in one of the dining rooms. Joshua was happily playing with his toys in the playpen they had sitting by the table. "Hi, you two," she said with a smile before leaning in to give Joshua a kiss on the top of his head. He giggled up at her, waving one of his toys around. "Looks like you're keeping busy," she told him, her eyes crinkling.
Melissa laughed. "That he is. You're seeing him just after he had one of his infamous temper tantrums over being put in there. He always seems to be on his best behavior when you're around," she teased, making MOMO laugh, too. "So, did you need us for something?"
MOMO sat down across from them. "I wanted to ask how Shion's doing," she said softly. "I know you just had an appointment with her, Charles, since she's due to have the baby very soon. It's sometimes hard to believe that she's going to be a mother, but I know she'll be a good one."
Charles met Melissa's eyes, and she shook her head at him inconspicuously. While Charles had made her aware that Jr. was present for each of Shion's appointments, he'd been afraid to say anything to MOMO, and Melissa had agreed that it was best that she not know. He'd asked in the beginning why Jr. needed to be there and had been told by Jr. himself that he was looking after Shion. When Charles had attempted to question him further, Jr. had told him firmly that he was going to be at all of Shion's following appointments and he'd refused to say anything else on the matter. Charles gave himself a slight shake, forcing his attention back to MOMO. "She's doing as well as can be expected, considering that she's rather exhausted and quite unhappy at the moment. She's at the point in her pregnancy where she's ready to have the baby. It shouldn't be much longer now. Shelley seems well-equipped to handle the birth of the child, and her sister, Mary, has promised to aid her."
Melissa asked, "How have you been, sweetie? Have you been holding up well? You look a little tired. Did something happen?"
MOMO tried to smile at her but found she lacked the ability to right then. "I think I've had better days, Melissa, but please don't worry about me. Something has happened, though. Remember when I was telling you that we thought we might have come across another planet that survived?" Melissa nodded silently. "It turns out we were right, and we're heading in its direction now. I'm hoping the people there will be okay. I wanted to stay strong in front of Mommy because I know she's worried, but I'm scared. It's been over a year now, and as much as I want to believe that somehow they've managed to survive all of this time, I just don't see how they could have. Mommy worries enough about me, though, so I don't want her to see how scared I am. I know how angry she is with Jr. because of his silence, but I can't bring myself to tell her that I know why he's been avoiding me." She looked so forlorn and lost that Melissa scooted out of her side of the booth to sit by her, drawing her into a hug.
"We're all worried about you. You've been so sad for the past few months, and I feel as though there's nothing I can do for you."
MOMO sniffled quietly. "I don't want you worrying about me, either. You have the sweetest little boy who needs your attention, so please look after him instead." Pulling away from Melissa, she got to her feet with a sad smile. "I have to go and speak to Doctus, but I hope I'll see you later at dinner." After leaning down to say goodbye to Joshua, she disappeared.
A few days later, the planet they had been looking for came into view. MOMO took hold of Juli's hand. "I want you to stay here, Mommy. Ziggy said he'd go with me in the shuttle to see how things are there. I'd feel better if I knew you were safe while we went and checked on everything. I'm going to see if he's ready to go. I'll see you when we get back." She disappeared before Juli could do much more than open her mouth to protest.
"MOMO, are you sure you are all right?" Ziggy asked as they exited the shuttle. "You were quiet for our entire trip down to this planet, and that is not like you. Maybe it would be best if you were to remain here while I survey the area."
MOMO set her shoulders determinedly. "No, I'll be fine, Ziggy. We need to find out if there are survivors here, and if there are, we need to convince them to come back with us. So please let's go and see what's here." She turned away from him and headed off. Ziggy gazed after her analytically for a few seconds and then followed her.
They walked for some time, coming across obvious ruins of civilization but nothing living. MOMO was beginning to lose hope that the inhabitants of the planet had been able to survive the length of time since the catastrophe. She reluctantly faced Ziggy, her golden eyes relaying to him her feeling of hopelessness. "It doesn't seem as though there's any form of life left here," she whispered softly. "I think we're too late."
Ziggy laid a hand upon her shoulder, seeing that she was trying very hard not to let him know how close she was to crying. "We did as well as could be expected under the circumstances, MOMO. We traveled down to this planet and searched it in hopes of finding survivors, as we have been doing all along. I do not think we could have done more."
MOMO's lower lip was trembling slightly. "I know, Ziggy, but I can't help but feel that we should have been able to do more. Why couldn't we have gotten here sooner?" She suddenly became very still. "Ziggy…I don't think we're alone anymore." As soon as the words had left her mouth, figures began surrounding them. Looking around at them, MOMO sighed with relief. "Oh, thank goodness there are people who are still alive! We're here to help you, if you'll let us." She smiled at them, trying to set them at ease.
None of the people spoke to them; they continued to watch them suspiciously, and that was causing Ziggy's protective instincts toward MOMO to appear. He pulled her behind him, making sure to keep a hand on her arm to assure himself that she remained by him. "We're here to see if any of you wish to leave this planet and return with us to a ship that has the amenities to take care of all of you."
A man stepped forward, and his voice was hoarse from disuse when he spoke. "We will not leave. We've lost loved ones that we've had to bury, and we won't leave them behind. Go back to where you came from."
MOMO cried, "But you can't stay here! If your loved ones have died, that means you'll all die, too! I don't want to see that happen! Please, please come back to the Dämmerung with us." Her golden eyes pleaded with the man to listen to her.
He shook his head. "No, we all have decided to stay here. This is our home, and it's where we all wish to die. You'd do well to forget you came here, little girl. It is best if you leave now. Don't think of this place again." He turned away from her and began walking away, and the people who were with him trailed after him.
Tears falling freely, MOMO ran after him to tug on his hand. She noted how skeletal they all looked, and she tried one last time to convince them to go with her. "I can tell that none of you have much time left! You're all sick from lack of nourishment. If you come back with us, we can take care of you. I don't want to leave you here to die!" she sobbed.
The man gently removed his hand from hers. "From this brief contact, I know you're a very courageous and caring young lady. I don't want you to think that this is your fault that we stay. Thank you for coming here and attempting what you've done. Now please return to your ship." He and the others disappeared, and MOMO fell to her knees, bringing her hands to her face.
Ziggy approached her and stood behind her. "I'm sorry, MOMO," he said quietly. "You did all you possibly could to convince him, and he chose to remain. There is no need to blame yourself for what's happened here."
Her voice shook as she answered him. "Why did they want to stay, Ziggy? We could have helped them if they only let us!"
"In the end, it seems to be that it's what they wanted. We stood no chance of changing any of their minds when they had decided long before we arrived. Can you stand?" he asked her, putting out his hand.
She took it silently, allowing him to pull her to her feet. She threw herself into his arms, and he held her somewhat awkwardly as she cried. Finally, her crying started to taper off, and she glanced up at him with a sigh. "Let's get back to the shuttle, Ziggy. We've been gone a long time, and I'm sure Mommy's worried about us." She didn't utter a word again until they'd returned to the Dämmerung, despite Ziggy's attempts to talk to her. It was almost as though she'd shut down her emotions. While he could understand why she'd want to do so, considering all that she'd been through recently, he didn't think it would end up benefitting her to bottle up her feelings on what had happened that way. He could only hope that Juli would find a way to speak to her about it.
"Sweetheart, you might feel better if you were to talk about how you're feeling. I don't think it's a wise choice to try to suppress it." Juli placed a hand upon MOMO's hair, and MOMO smiled bravely up at her.
"I'm not suppressing my feelings, Mommy. Ziggy was right. We couldn't force them to come with us. It was their decision, and although I didn't agree with it, there wasn't anything I could do. I'm going to go and rest for a while." She gave her mother a kiss on the cheek and was gone an instant later.
As she passed by one of the rooms that contained a UMN terminal, she heard a beeping from within it. "I wonder who'd be calling the ship," she thought aloud. She hurried into the room and pressed the button to show the image of the person sending the transmission. "Jr.!" she cried, caught off-guard.
Jr. nodded. "Uh, yeah, I was returning Juli's call. I know it was at least a week or two ago, but I haven't had much free time lately." He took notice of how withdrawn she looked. "Hey," he said quietly, "what's wrong, MOMO?"
Hearing concern in his voice for the first time in months, MOMO couldn't hold back her tears. Her shoulders began shaking, and she wasn't able to answer him right away. She could sense him standing there, staying silent until she was ready to speak again. "We discovered another planet that survived, and Ziggy and I went there to see if there were any survivors earlier." She swiped at a few wayward tears.
"It didn't go well then, huh?" Jr.'s eyes were grave as he looked at her.
She shook her head, trying not to sniffle. "No, it didn't. They wouldn't come back with us, Jr. They said they wanted to stay because they had laid their loved ones to rest there, and they didn't want to leave them. I tried to convince them that they'd be better off aboard the Dämmerung, but I couldn't. I feel like I let them down," she said softly.
"You did what you could, MOMO. You can't blame yourself for how it turned out. It was their choice, and they chose to remain in a place where they know they're going to die. As hard as it is to accept their decision, you've got to take comfort in the fact that you did everything you could to convince them to come with you, right?"
The fact that he was listening to her and not rushing to end the transmission caused MOMO to break down once again. "I'm sorry I keep doing this," she managed to say.
Jr. answered, "Don't apologize, MOMO. I know I've been acting really distant with you, and I'm the one who needs to apologize." He paused for a moment, seeming to come to a decision about something. "I've got a reason for why I've been acting the way I have, though, and I think you have the right to know what it is."
MOMO stiffened. I already know the reason, Jr. I don't want you to tell me, though. If you say it, it's going to make it real, and I don't think I can handle that! Out loud she told him, "It's okay. I'm sure things have been rough over on the Elsa. Do you want me to go and get Mommy so that you can talk to her?" Every part of her was screaming for her to leave the room before Jr. could say what she didn't want to hear.
"No, I want to talk to you first. I've been acting like a total jerk with you, MOMO, and you haven't done a damn thing to deserve it. What you do deserve is the truth from me. You know how much I care about you…" He ground to a halt, sighing. "Then again, maybe you don't since my actions of late haven't shown it. I wish to hell that what I have to say wasn't going to hurt you, but no matter how I say it, it's going to. A lot of things have been happening over here on the Elsa -"
She took a step backward, shaking her head back and forth. "I think I hear Mommy calling me, Jr. I'll just go get her, and the two of you can talk." Although Juli hadn't told her she'd tried to get in touch with Jr., MOMO couldn't be upset with her. She knew her mother was only trying to discover what the problem was, since MOMO refused to speak of it with anyone but Melissa. "Hold on one second, okay?"
Jr. said desperately, "MOMO, don't go yet! I don't want to keep this from you anymore! Look, I'm in love with Sh-"
MOMO cut him off quickly. "I just remembered Mommy is really busy, so she won't have time to talk right now. I have to go, Jr." She reached out to end the transmission and sank to the floor in a shuddering heap.
--- On the Elsa ---
Jr. was staring at the blank screen dumbly. "Why did she cut me off like that?" he questioned, not addressing anyone since he was the only one on the bridge at the time.
I do believe that I can be of assistance in answering, Rubedo. Do you recall when you and your friends dove into ma pêche's subconscious after she had destroyed her mind to keep me from extracting the Y-Data? Albedo awaited his twin's reply before continuing. I spoke of Mizrahi's crazy whims in giving her human emotions, did I not? It was those very human emotions that caused her to end the transmission so abruptly. She doesn't wish to hear the truth from you, despite already knowing it.
Jr.'s shock rippled through the both of them. "What the hell are you talking about, Albedo?! How can she possibly know that I love Shion? I've never said a word to her about it until that transmission!"
Rubedo, please do not underestimate my intelligence, Albedo said dryly. You know very well how to conceal your emotions when need be, and yet you refuse to when you are in contact with ma pêche. You're more than aware of her observational abilities and that she would sense your rather passionate emotions when it comes to the princess. It may be somewhat unconscious, but it's rather easy to determine that a part of you has wished for her to know how you truly feel. It doesn't seem to have had the outcome you were hoping for, however. Her love for you is forcing her to reject what you were trying to tell her.
"But she does know," Jr. said slowly. "Even if she won't let me say it, she knows how I feel. That's a start. I can't tell Shion how she reacted, though. If I do, she's going to think hiding it from MOMO is really the best thing we can do. I'm not hiding it from MOMO forever, and once the baby's born, I'm going to try talking to Shion again to convince her we need to tell MOMO. Speaking of my wife, I'd better go and check on her. Hopefully she's in a better mood after resting for a while than she was before she decided to take a nap. Even I felt kinda bad for Scott with how she went off on him in the lounge for asking how she was." He headed off toward the cabin, his pace a little slower than usual.
--- Back aboard the Dämmerung ---
"MOMO, are you okay?" She'd managed to make it into a sitting position to draw her knees against her chest and bury her face in them, so she hadn't seen who'd entered the room. She knew Melissa's voice, though, and she wanted to say something in response. She just couldn't seem to stop crying long enough to do so. She felt Melissa drop to the floor beside her. "Sweetie, what happened? Juli told me you'd rushed out of the room after she'd tried talking to you when I ran into her in the dining room. Is it because of what happened on that planet?" She embraced MOMO sympathetically.
MOMO sniffed back tears and lifted her head. "It's a mixture of things, Melissa. Yes, I'm crying because I couldn't save those people. It doesn't sit right with me that we had to leave them there, and yet I know that they had to make the decision for themselves. Knowing that doesn't make the knowledge that they're going to die soon any easier for me. I'm meant to help people, and I failed to do that." Her golden eyes became teary again.
"I can't know how difficult it was for you and Ziggy to leave those people there, but I know you, MOMO. You did everything in your power to convince them that they'd be better off on this ship. There's no reason to blame yourself. You care for people, and it makes things like this hurt all the worse for you. Just know that there's nothing more you could have done," Melissa told her quietly.
MOMO nodded jerkily. "Okay, I'll try not to think that way. That's not the only reason I'm crying, though, and I feel so selfish that I'm upset over something that concerns me when those people are more important than how I feel!" She pulled away from Melissa and got to her feet.
Melissa stood as well. "How about you tell me what happened, so that I can try to help you sort through it?" She smiled gently at MOMO.
MOMO lowered her head. "I heard the terminal beeping as I passed this room, so I stopped in to see who it was. It turned out to be Jr., returning Mommy's call from a few weeks ago. For the first time in so many months, he noticed me and was concerned about me, Melissa."
"But that's a good thing, sweetie! It means you were worried over nothing, and he really does still care about you." She saw MOMO's shoulders start to shake, and she said hesitantly, "Doesn't it?"
"I talked to him about what happened," MOMO sobbed. "He was like the old Jr. who used to worry about and protect me. Then he said he wanted to apologize for how he's been acting lately. He told me th-th-there was a…r-r-reason for it!" She found she couldn't continue.
Melissa, already knowing the reason, brought a hand to her mouth. "Oh, sweetie, I'm so sorry."
MOMO brought her hands to her face. Her voice muffled, she said, "I wouldn't let him finish it, but he started to tell me that he was in love with Shion. It's what I knew it was, Melissa, and I just don't want to hear him say it. I know I've lost him already, but I just can't hear him say the words!"
Melissa drew her into a hug and stroked her hair comfortingly. "I know," she said simply and just held the little Realian close for a time, letting her know she had a friend who would always be there to listen to her.
Author's note 2 - Also, a quick thanks to kait1114 for catching something in this chapter, so I fixed it and re-uploaded it. (But no, I didn't fix the part where Juli says "Rubedo" when she's actually speaking. I only fixed the parts where it's her perspective on him.)