Something In-between
By Karen Hart
Disclaimer: The Xenosaga series is the property of Monolith Software Inc. and Namco Bandai. I write these fanfictions for love of the game(s) and make no profit off of them.
MOMO watched the scenery beyond the autocar's window. The bustling freeway had turned into a quiet two lane street, and now the car was insinuating itself onto a well-kept gravel road. A row of young deciduous trees on either side cast dappling shadows on everything below them.
The car made one final sharp left before it came to a stop at their destination: the beach and its attendant house.
They—the house, the shore, and the sea beyond—were a hybrid of synthetics and natural materials, like everything else on the Kukai Foundation. If MOMO looked carefully she could see stars between the big tapered mirrors that provided some semblance of a day sky to the people living on the space colony.
The house and the stretch of shoreline weren't open to the public, but belonged to the Foundation's two Directors and their family. MOMO was there as a guest.
She yelped when she felt a hand ruffling her pink hair.
Mary Godwin smiled at MOMO from her place at the control seat. "I'm surprised I could get the jump on you."
MOMO squirmed a bit. "It's kind of boring to know everything that's coming, so I have my sensors turned down."
They unbelted and exited the car, letting it shut itself off automatically.
Where the gravel ended a mix of grass and sand began. Small white and pale yellow flowers dotted the ground. Technically they might have been considered weeds but MOMO had a feeling they weren't unwelcome here.
The house itself was simple. It was single-story and wide, with a deck that ran the entire length of the front. Inside there was a central common area with kitchen facilities along the back wall. There were four bedrooms, two to a side, with attached baths.
Outside there were a couple of white wrought iron tables with matching chairs. A set of folded beach loungers were leaned up against the deck's railing, along with a pair of bright yellow surfboards. On the house's western side a small shed housed cleaning supplies, a state of the art grill, a portable mini-fridge, extra beach umbrellas, more folded loungers—anything that might aid in throwing an impromptu beach party.
It was to the shed that they initially made their way. Mary unlocked it and pulled out brooms and clean dust rags. "I don't think we'll need to do much more than wipe the sand off everything and give the floors a quick sweep. It hasn't been that long we were here last."
MOMO took the pile of rags that Mary handed her. "But you weren't here last time."
The brooms fought Mary before she wrestled them into submission. "Well, we had fun vicariously. And Shelley and I were glad to have Jr. out of our hair for a bit. Okay: you wipe down the tables, chairs and railings—and anything else you think needs it—and I'll handle the floors, then we'll get the fridge and the grill set up."
MOMO did a quick check through her conversation logs. "I don't think I've heard you use his personal name before." Usually Mary referred to him as Little Master.
"That's because I'm not on duty right now," Mary said over one shoulder.
Something in Mary's tone said to leave the subject of Jr. for a bit, though her body language suggested that he wasn't a forbidden topic. So MOMO got to work clearing the tables' surfaces of sand and stray leaves and anything else that had collected in the last few days.
She heard the sound of furniture being shoved around, but from the lack of grumbling she thought Mary had things well in hand. She got to work on the chairs next.
Tonight's party was Mary's idea. The last twenty-four hours had been—call it eventful. Yes, eventful was a good word. Jr. would like it.
The Kukai Foundation had been charged with treason. The evidence had seemed damning: a video clip of the Foundation's flagship Durandal firing on an experimental Federation vessel. It was all a ruse by their enemies to get at MOMO and the data sealed inside her, though. Luckily her friends had done everything they could to keep her safe.
Clearing the Foundation hadn't been easy. One of MOMO's new friends was a Vector engineer named Shion Uzuki. It had been Shion's idea to make an unauthorized dive into virtual space to obtain a record of what had really happened to that Federation ship.
The dive hadn't gone well. Instead of Shion making a quick recording of the Woglinde's actual fate, the handful of people who'd been with her had been pulled into virtual space as well—MOMO included.
And they'd been transported to the wrong destination.
Instead of a battle that was still fresh in the newscasts, they'd been sent to the battle at Old Miltia, fourteen years ago.
There were things MOMO wished she hadn't seen. She told herself there was nothing she could do about them, that it was wisest not to dwell. So she focused on the problems of others.
Like Jr. She was pretty sure it had been mostly his memories she'd seen in that warzone.
It had been a nighttime battle. Most of the fighting had taken place in Old Miltia's capital city, Dasgupta. Streets had been torn up by assault vehicles, buildings holed by artillery fire. The power had been cut where they'd arrived, but they could still see by the light of the flames.
The first soldiers she'd seen had been children. They'd been identical, all blond, all blue-eyed, all slender, none of them older than twelve.
Other than a difference in coloring, they'd also been identical to Jr.
At first they'd marched in disciplined ranks, but that changed the further MOMO and her friends had ventured into the area. At some point the juvenile soldiers had traded their eerie cohesion for what looked like individual madness, gunning down anyone that crossed their paths.
She'd stood beside Jr. as he watched his doppelgangers commit murder. In time the vision ended but he seemed to be locked in a new one only he could see. Later the same thing happened. He'd backed away from ghosts she couldn't see.
She'd never seen him terrified before.
Dimly MOMO began to realize that she'd stopped moving. A cough sounded behind her.
"You look like you've got a lot on your mind. Why don't you come inside for a spell?"
MOMO thought that was a good idea, and in moments she was seated on the couch next to Mary. Unfortunately she couldn't think of anything to say, so she glanced around the room, trying to clear her mind of the fog that had descended.
The floors and furnishings were a pale wood, slightly weathered. The couch was upholstered in off-white canvas, and there were two sling back chairs of the same material. The coffee table was scarred and worn but sturdy. The larger dinner table and the chairs around it looked equally well-used and comfortable.
Shelves held dog-eared books interspersed with jars and small bowls filled with interesting shells and rocks and dried plants. There was a scent of lavender that mixed with the sea tang.
This was where the Kukai Foundation's directors and their aides came to relax. MOMO understood that being here was a compliment.
Mary didn't seem to mind that the minutes ticked by in silence.
Eventually MOMO squirmed before growing silent again. Then she spoke up. "Is Jr. okay?"
Mary waved a hand vaguely. "Oh, he's fine. A little miffed about being framed, but other than that—"
MOMO shook her head. "No, I mean, really okay."
Mary waited.
"I saw things when we got pulled into Shion's Encephalon dive. We all did. And I saw that Jr. was really hurt by something in there, but I couldn't see it." MOMO continued, "When I tried to ask him about it, he snapped at me."
Mary twirled her yellow ringlets around one finger. "That's a bad habit of his that we still haven't been able to break." She shifted, pulling one leg up and facing MOMO directly. "No, he's not really okay. There're things he and Gaignun have never told me, though I've known both of them since I was eight. Did you know, they and Helmer practically raised Shelley and me?"
MOMO shook her head "no."
Mary smiled. "And Jr. was my very first crush. But he's never been good at opening up to others."
"But why not? He's got you and Shelley and Gaignun and all the 100-series Realians and the Elsa crew and—" Mary's hand touched her arm, cutting her off.
"And you," the older woman finished.
MOMO nodded. "And me." Then she sighed. "But I can't do much."
Mary gave her a look. "Hey, now." Then she expelled a breath hard enough to make her hair flutter. "Okay, I'm just going to say this outright. You're an observational Realian, so you've probably already noticed what's unusual about him."
It was a subject MOMO hadn't been sure how to broach. "I noticed he hasn't exhibited any growth in the time we've spent with him. It's almost like he's in some sort of stasis." Realians could be expected to remain unchanged throughout their existence. Humans, though—
"Stasis," Mary echoed. "That's well put. You're right, he doesn't age. He looks like the same twelve year old boy I met twelve years ago. But inside he's not. He's as clever and reasonable as any adult. He's not just a kid."
Mary paused. "But he's not an adult, either, not really. He's not good at dealing with his own problems, or even just accepting that they're there."
This might have been more than MOMO was ready to hear. "He's helped us so much."
"True. He'll do anything for someone he considers a friend. He's a sweetheart. But he tries to keep whatever's bothering him bottled up. He thinks that's what being an adult is all about."
MOMO traced circles in the couch cushion with her index finger. "So do some adults, I think."
Mary smiled. "True. And we don't see any need to force him to be more mature. He's our dear, abrasive, temperamental 'Little Master.' But what I've been trying to say is: you can help him. He sees the world a lot like a real twelve year old. And like a real twelve year old, he needs a lot of love."
There was another long silence, more comfortable than the last, as MOMO processed that.
Jr.'s image flashed through her mind, all bright red hair, blue eyes and wide smile. The smile did seem a little forced at times. But maybe, like the invitation into this private space, that lowering of his guard around her was a sign of trust.
The corners of MOMO's mouth turned up gently. "I can help with that."
"I know you can. He's really taken to you." Mary noticed the change in the shadows. "And we had better get back to work, or it's going to be a pretty dreary party tonight."
MOMO stood. "I'm almost done with the deck. I'll finish up and help you get the appliances set up."
Mary ruffled her hair again. "That'a girl."