Chapter 35: Cecile and Cathe -- Lost Souls

As the group entered the Zohar Room, they looked in awe at the large golden statue ahead of them. The group approached closer. "Looks like we made it in time. Look, that's the Zohar. The original," Jr. said. Shion moved up then bit her lip some. "This place… I saw it in my dream. The cage Feb's sisters were trapped in." Jr. looked to the brunette with a confused look on his face. "What cage?"

"Shion. I am detecting faint life signs in the capsules in front of us," KOS-MOS said. Shion looked to the blue-haired android. "Life signs?"

"That is correct. Their design is quite old. However, they are definitely Realians." As the group approached even closer to the two cage-like capsules, Shion then saw the names 'Cecilia' on the capsule on the left and 'Catherine' on the capsule on the right, next to each other. The mist around the capsule revealed the two girls' bodies horribly disfigured; attached to life support systems. The brunette-haired woman gasped, terrified by the looks of the girls then fell to her knees to the ground. "It…it can't be. That's…Cecily and Cathe…" Jr. began to tremble as he shook his head slowly. "Wait… You…you're saying that those are Realians?" he asked aloud stepping back slowly.

"Jr.? What's wrong?"

"MOMO, stay back!" MOMO approached the capsules slowly then glanced at the girls who were breathing through a tube connection and gasped, terrified at the sight; covering her face with her hands. "Shion… What is that? It's horrible," she said. "Who the hell did this to them..." Shane fell to her knees, covering her mouth with her hand.

"It's horrible. I can't stand this!" Shion yelled in an disgusted outburst. "I'm…I'm sick of all this! I just… I can't take it anymore! I just can't! Uh!!" chaos had helped the red-haired girl up then looked to KOS-MOS. "Is there any way we can help them?"

"Unfortunately, because they are fused with the system, it appears they have already lost their individual functionality and consciousness," she stated looking at the Realian girls in the capsules. "In their current state, separating them from the system would result in complete shutdown."

"So then...if someone came for the Zohar...they couldn't do it because of Cecily and Cathe are attached to the system...damnit!"

"Bastards! Why'd they do this?" Jr. asked aloud only to be met with an older man's voice. "Because using them in their natural state proved difficult." Suddenly, a older man surrounded in a yellow beam of light appeared at the scene. "It was necessary to isolate their consciousness from the outside world," the man said to the group. Shane bit her lip. Shit, the Patriarch... "Who the hell are you?" The older man didn't respond but only stared down at the group.

"Why would the leader of the Immigrant Fleet be here?" Jin asked. "There's really no need for me to answer questions from the likes of you. But very well. The Zohar. That object originally belonged to us—to Ormus. Yes, since the dawn of recorded history, we have been its guardians. In turn, we use it in any way we see fit. That is the way of things."

"Ormus… So that's the real name of your organization."

"That's right. Ormus has enlisted in the shadows since ancient times. Indeed, since before the crucifixion of the messiah. Human beings…no…all life throughout the universe must be guided forward by Ormus and the Zohar," he said. "And they shall be led unto a higher plane of existence. That is the mission that god has entrusted to us." Jr. growled lowly then gripped his fists. "Damn you!" Shion stood up slowly, a darkened look on her face. "You… You did this to them for that?" she asked angrily.

"What, is there a problem? They are tools, created specifically for that purpose."

"Shut up! I refuse… I refuse to accept this!" she yelled as Shane grabbed onto her arm. "Shion, calm down!" She looked back into the dark blue eyes of the red-haired girl who lowered her head. "You refuse? Then, we'll just have to make you accept it." The Patriarch then raised his hand, the Zohar beginning to glow. "This power is granted to us by god!" Suddenly, the golden Zohar began to resonate.

"That's…" Shion gasped. She jumped along with the rest of the group as Shane held her head; screaming like she was being killed. "It's… It's the voice of U-DO! Stop the system! Now!" Jr. yelled. He looked to his red-haired counterpart then bit his bottom lip. Rukia...even in Shane's body she can still heard it too?! She fell to her knees, clutching at her head. "Make it stop, big brother...it hurts really bad...!" she cried out. He ran over to her while chaos grabbed her shoulders. Jr. looked up at the Zohar. "If you don't, it's gonna wake up again!" KOS-MOS walked over to where Shion was, looking at the capsules in front of the group.

"Shion, please stand back. I will destroy the system and cut the bypass to the Zohar." The android held out her hand as the large machine gun appeared in her hand. The brunette moved in her way, holding up her arms. "KOS-MOS, wait. They're still—"

"Shion. If you interfere, I will be required to take drastic measures."

"No, KOS-MOS!"

Before KOS-MOS could open fire, the area around the group instantly froze in black and white color, making everyone except for Shion along with Shane frozen. She looked up to feel that the pain throbbing in her head was gone as she stood up slowly. "..The hell?" The brunette looked back at the red-haired girl who looked at each other in confusion.

"Shion?"

"...Shane?" The two women walked over to one another until a female voice called out the older woman's name softly. "Shion..." She slowly turned her head around and saw the astral image of a female Realian she saw die 14 years earlier. "...Feb?" Shion turned around slowly, her face in a look of shock. "Shion," the silver-haired Realian said in a gentle voice as she spread out her arms. "Set my sisters free."

"Feb… No, I can't!" The brunette held her face, trying not to cry but she was extremely upset at what Febronia asked of her. "Why does it have to be me? Why did you call me? I won't do it! I can't do it!" She held her head, sobbing softly. She felt Shane touch her shoulder as she looked back at the red-haired girl. She, too, was crying; the tears streaming down her face.

"Shion… You've always been this way. Such a kind child." The brunette looked back at Febronia, tears streaming down her face. "Feb… Feb…" she repeated in a saddened voice. That's when she broke down. Shion began to sob uncontrollably; lowering her head as the tears hit the metal floor. "..Set them free, Shion. Or they'll continue to suffer uncontrollable pain," Shane said in a strange yet soothing voice. "They'll be free from their pain. That is what Febronia wants." Shion sniffled, wiping her tears from her eyes and nodded.

"...KOS-MOS," she said in an upset voice as she and Shane moved out of the way quickly. "Fire!" Time instantly unfroze then KOS-MOS opened fire at the two sisters Cecily and Cathe in their cage, destroying everything near them in the process; killing both the girls. Shion looked on with an extremely upset face after seeing the destruction. As KOS-MOS continued to fire her Minigun at the sisters along with the objects near the Zohar, the Patriarch shook his head.

"Foolish. Truly foolish," he said. "It doesn't matter what you do now. You cannot stop this power." The large machine behind the Zohar suddenly activated and concealed the legendary item in its torso. Jin's eyes widened at the sight. "It can't be! Proto Omega!...It's been completed?"

"Oh? You know of it. I'm impressed. It seems I may have underestimated you slightly. These past fourteen years have been of great help to us. As has the data from the Conflict," the Patriarch told the group. "As a result, we now have a symbol of overwhelming power. With this, we will wipe the Gnosis from the cosmos and place the entire star cluster under the jurisdiction of Ormus." Shane growled at the older man as Shion looked down at the ground, still upset. "Of course, we hardly need anything this overwhelming now, thanks to the U.M.N. and the Federation." The brunette moved her head up slowly.

"They've managed to reduce the people to a simple mass of spineless weaklings."

"Spineless weaklings?! You old bastard...just fucking die already!!" Jr. moved to stand in front of Shion and pulled out his two handguns. "Shion, out of the way!" The red-head along with KOS-MOS opened fire at Proto Omega only to have a shield absorb the bullets. "Wasting your time!" The brown/gold machine unleashed a flash attack as it slammed into the group, pushing them back. "Now… let the festival begin!" The red-haired girl sat up then watched Proto Omega descending into the chasm below; the area beginning to shake and crumble away.

"This is bad. We gotta go!"

Chapter 35: End