Fandom: Xenosaga (based on Episode I: Der Wille Zur Macht)

Title: Innocence II

Author: Calidus

Pairing: Jr./Albedo

Rating: R overall

Warnings: Underage (physically, if not mentally), violence

Spoilers: If you haven't played through Xenosaga, read with caution.

Author's Notes: Wasn't terribly happy with the last chapter…if anyone wants to beta read this fic, I would be appreciative. Nothing slashy happening yet, but there will be some in the next chapter.

THIS IS SLASH, YAOI, WHATEVER YOU WANT TO CALL IT. THAT MEANS THIS FIC IS ABOUT A HOMOSEXUAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TWO MALES. IN THIS PARTICULAR STORY, ONE OF THESE MALES IS PHYSICALLY UNDERAGE. IF YOU DO NOT LIKE THAT, PLEASE DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER.

            The Elsa flew – or, rather, slunk – back in the direction of the Kukai Foundation. "We are in serious trouble, guys," Tony said. "We should be at the Kukai Foundation in about four hours, but I'm not sure that we want to go back."

            "Yeah, no kidding," Matthews replied.

            "Um, guys?" Hammer asked, looking up from his terminal. "I think I know what that big robot armor thingy was, and it's not good." He turned back to his control panel, "I'm accessing it now."

            "Well, let's hear it. Things can't get any worse," Matthews grumbled, sitting back in his seat. He knew that as the ship's captain, he'd be held responsible for letting one of his passengers – an unescorted kid, no less – off the ship and into some weird, probably sinister, contraption.

            "When we were docked at the Song of Nephilim, the ship's scanners picked up something that matches it exactly," said Hammer. He pressed a button and brought the previous scan records from the Song of Nephilim up on the main screen, displaying a wireframe of the vessel that had so recently made off with the Little Master.

            "What? Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Matthews shouted, sitting up in his chair and hitting Hammer over the head. "If we'd known that we wouldn't have just let it approach us like Little Master told us to!"

            "I was in the little boy's room when it was detected back then, Captain! It was gone by the time I came back! I didn't realize until now, when I looked up the mission records we left with the Foundation."

            "Moron!" He kicked Hammer in the back of the head. "So that thing must belong to that Albedo guy, huh?"

            "That would be my best guess, sir," Hammer stuttered, rubbing his sore head. "If so…"

            "We're dead," Tony said, throwing up his hands in submission. "Utterly and completely dead."

            Just as he had spoken the last syllable, the zoomed face of the man none of them were looking forward to seeing blinked onto the screen. Gaignun Kukai stood glaring at them through the reaches of space, his arms crossed and his lips curled in a sneer. "I've been trying to get in contact for hours!" he yelled. "What have you been doing?"

            "Master Gaignun!" Captain Matthews said, bolting out of his seat. "I don't know what you're talking about! We never got any sign of communication from the Durandal or the Kukai Foundation!" He had never seen Master Gaignun look so angry. If he hadn't known before that he was in for it, he would have been assured of it from the look on his boss' face.

            "Um, sir…" Hammer tried to interject, tapping the captain's shoulder.

            "Just a minute," the captain hissed, pushing him away. "What were you trying to contact us about?"

            Mary stepped in front of Master Gaignun on the screen, her eyes red and her face bleak. "Little Master is gone! We don't know where he is!"

            "Your ship is the only one that left between the time the Little Master was last seen and the lockdown," Gaignun added with more than a hint of accusation in his voice.

            "Lockdown?" Matthews asked, trying desperately to change the subject. "What lockdown?"

            "When we found out about six hours ago that the Little Master had gone missing, we instituted a lockdown. No ship is permitted to enter or leave the Kukai Foundation at this time." Shelley said in a monotone, walking calmly into view of the screen. "Is the Little Master onboard your vessel?"

            "He was," Tony said. Matthews growled at him to keep quiet.

            "Was?" Gaignun prompted. "Where is he now?"

            "We ran into something out there. Little Master boarded it – of his own free will, I might add…I think." said Matthews, twiddling his fingers and looking distinctly away from the monitor.

            Gaignun ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. "And what, exactly, was this 'thing'?"

            "Sir, our communications channels were blocked off somehow until just a few minutes ago! That's why we couldn't get your transmissions!" Hammer cried, unable to contain himself any longer. "I don't know how it happened, but anyway, the giant armored suit that he left in probably belonged to Albedo!"

            "Little Master must have hacked into their communications and turned off the emergency messaging system," Shelley commented. "Clearly he didn't want to be contacted, and knew exactly what he was getting into."

            "Albedo! No! What was the Little Master thinking! We have to rescue him!" Mary said.

            "Do you know where he's being taken?" Gaignun asked.

            "No, sir," said Matthews. "The thing went into hyperspace shortly after it took the Little Master onboard. But," he added, "Albedo did leave a file on our system for you."

            Gaignun blinked. "That's unexpected. Come back immediately. We'll discuss this upon your return." The screen blinked out.

            "Hey, Captain!"

            "What is it?"

            "You forgot to ask him about our payment!"

            "Tony, shut up," Hammer grumbled.

*************************

            Jr.'s eyes fluttered, and he groaned. His head felt like the victim of a giant drill going through his right temple. Slowly he managed to open his eyes completely and carefully moved his head from side to side. He didn't appear to have been moved from the place where he collapsed; he was surrounded by the unlit metal shell of Simeon. He pushed himself up to a sitting position and saw that the hatch directly in front of him was open, the ramp leading to more darkness – but at least it was somewhere to go. Standing up, already feeling his headache fading, Jr. staggered out of the giant robot-ship hybrid.

            His footsteps echoed loudly in the large, empty room as he explored. He could not see the ceiling or the walls, so he set off in one direction, hoping to reach the wall and follow it around until he found a door in the darkness. Jr. could not bring himself to wonder where he was because it did not matter and he could not convince himself that it did. He could not think of anything to think of during his dreary walk, so he focused on trudging on and trying to keep walking in a straight line. It was difficult, especially since he could not stop looking around him for any sign of life. Simeon had already receded into the darkness.

            Jr. was beginning to question his judgment in leaving Simeon when he finally hit something solid. He felt around until, surprisingly, his hand hit a small screen in the wall. The screen glowed green and the bottom edge of the wall responded, lifting up from the ground and into the ceiling, wherever that might be, and creating a four foot wide gap into which Jr. entered.

            As he walked down the endless string of corridors, Jr. began to wonder just how big this ship or colony or whatever he was in was. No matter its size, it seemed to be completely deserted. He had noticed several bloodstains on the walls, but no bodies, which was typical of Albedo's work; he preferred to keep the bodies clustered around himself for some sick reason or other.

            As the bees of lore hoarded their sweet honey.

            The intrusion sent a shiver up Jr.'s spine, but he did not slow his steps. He knew he was getting closer to Albedo; that reaching him was the entire point of this exercise. Jr. understood, now that he thought about it, why he had been left inside Simeon. It was all symbolism; all meant to show the empty, bloodstained existence Jr. had led up until that point – and, perhaps, to show Albedo's own? He was bothered by being able to comprehend so many of the thoughts of a madman, but not frightened by it. Indeed, the understanding gave him less to fear. His steps were surer as he turned the next – and final – corner.

            In front of him there stood a door, black and metallic, with designs that usually represented a council room. Upon the door were doodles drawn in blood – stick figures. It nearly made Jr. laugh; the simplicity! Not dark sigils of power or warning, but a man holding hands with a little boy, both smiling, and a little girl swinging in a park, with squiggly grass below her feet and her legs stretched out to make the swing go higher. Being absurdly careful not to smudge the image, Jr. pushed open the double doors.

            The corpses were new, for the room did not yet reek from their decomposition. The large table that meetings were undoubtedly held around was leaning sideways against the wall. The legs of most of the chairs had been sharpened and stabbed through the chests of corpses, making a circle around the one remaining chair, in which Albedo sat with a bleeding girl, nearly dead.

            He looked up from the girl and smiled at Jr. "I will know, now, whether this blood tastes of sin." Albedo reached into her opened chest and pulled out the sinewy, still-beating heart from her chest. Aiming one of the ventricles into his mouth, he squeezed, the blood pulsing onto his tongue. He tipped his head back, revealing his throat, and swallowed. Jr. could see the trail the blood spilling from Albedo's lips made down his neck. "Even the young," he said, throwing the body aside, "taste of the aching guilt they feel over minor infractions. Their blood is all the sweeter for their regret."

            Albedo reached out one blood-covered hand to Jr., gesturing for him to come forward. Jr. did so, determined not to be intimidated. As he took his last step, the blood on Albedo's hand evaporated, and when it grabbed his own it was dry and clean. Albedo dragged him even closer, until their legs were touching. "How would you taste? Like the guilty, innocent girl or proud, unrepentant and damned?" He ran his sharp claws lightly down Jr.'s palm. Jr. nearly pulled away before Albedo spoke again. "Shh. I already know the answer. No reason to fear."

            Jr. wanted to say something that would bring the conversation back down to a level on which he was comfortable – on which he could shout at Albedo, condemning him for his perversions – and he was about to open his mouth to do so when he was given a hard slap to the face with Albedo's other hand. The hand holding Jr.'s own secured around his arm to prevent him from falling from the force.

            Albedo nimbly lifted Jr. into his lap and held him tightly against his chest to prevent his escape. "Let me go!" Jr. growled, struggling savagely, the taste of blood in his mouth a reminder of who he was dealing with. He couldn't move his arms, so he kicked as hard as he could and slammed his head backward, occasionally scoring a hit on the other man's jaw.

            "I was disappointed that you brought others to me the last time we met," Albedo said, acting as though he were oblivious to Jr.'s violent attempts at escaping his arms. "I was hoping it would just be you and me." He laughed as Jr. started trying to twist his body so he could find a piece of Albedo's flesh to bite. "You're as lively as I remember."

            "What do you want from me?" he yelled, baring his teeth at his captor.

            "To talk," he smiled.

            The answer took Jr. by surprise and he stopped struggling. "What about?" he asked in suspicion. "Your surrender?"

            "Hardly!" Albedo laughed. "I simply think it's time we caught up." One of Albedo's arms released Jr., but the other still held him tightly. He raised his hand to Jr.'s face and it began to glow with a white light. Jr.'s eyes widened in realization and he began his struggle anew, but it was useless. He could not stop what was happening as his mind opened up to the probe as it was designed to and revealed his memories.

To Be Continued…