[AN: I couldn't resist the Allen/bartender scene, sorry. XD Please read and review... And thank you Reflections, Lizabeth and Kyosnekozukigirl for your reviews. Here's chapter 2!]
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She wrapped herself involuntarily around Ziggy's metal arm at the sound of footsteps echoing through the empty hallway ahead, knowing that, quite simply, no one should have been up and wandering at this time of night. No, especially so, knowing the Elsa crew's schedule. The Elsa's bowels were scarcely lit and forbidding, accentuated by the lifelessness of its metal build and vast cielings. Wandering them at an hour most certainly past midnight wasn't something that appealed to MOMO, rather something which she would most often see in her nightmares.
Run back, go back to your cabin, you'll be safe there, her common sense cried. But an equally influential voice told her to keep a steady pace ahead, if only to keep Ziggy company.
MOMO released her firm grip of Ziggy and fell silently to one side, stepping carefully onto each metal plate beneath her feet as she would if someone were sleeping nearby. The Elsa at night was a horrible, scary place, and she'd rather not be there. But Ziggy, Ziggy had to stay here all by himself, and the noises wouldn't go away. She bravely offered herself as a companion, to go with him to find the source of the disturbance.
Shion had submitted to restless slumber on Cabin B's couch (after an especially difficult night, she'd explained point-blank, and MOMO assumed that it had something to do with Allen); chaos, Tony and Hammer were heavily absorbed in a detailed discussion of the next morning's flight plans, as Captain Matthews snored quite loudly in his elevated chair, despite the combined efforts of chaos and MOMO to relocate him to his bunk. It would be most unpleasant if there were a repeat of the last week's incident, where a sleeping Matthews fell out of his perch and landed flat on his head, leaving him cussing fervently for the next few days afterwards. Jr. had retreated to Gaignun's chambers directly after their meeting on the beach, as had Mary and Shelley Godwin. As for the others-
A particularly odd noise caused a momentary pause in their progression towards Hangar 1. Ziggy drew a blade from his left arm and held it at an ominous angle at his side, ushering MOMO a few steps back as a gesture of caution. She associated the small sequence of metallic strains that followed with those made by a relatively large gun; now, who else but Jr. had a gun...? Shaking her head, she concluded that that scenario was impossible, and continued to follow Ziggy down the hallway.
"Maybe it's nothing," Ziggy spoke into the semi-darkness in a monotonic tone, reaching his right arm out and running it along the wall until it met with a small button. A slight "whirr" filled the air as the door to his chambers opened and closed behind them, and though now standing in a well-lit room she couldn't calm herself; the sounds became stronger, more foreboding. Studying Ziggy's face, the sudden uncertainty she saw unnerved her a great deal more than she'd been previously. In a panic, she once again fell back several steps and narrowly missed Ziggy's maintenance bed at the room's central area.
I'm depending on your strength here, don't you go getting scared! It's just a little noise, nothing big, right...?
Of course it wasn't anything big. If anything, it was probably Allen tinkering with the AGWS units to blow off steam... He'd done it before. In a sudden fit of daring she strode to the door and opened it just slightly, peering through the slit most cautiously. Shion's trademark VX-10000 shone in the sudden light; seeing nothing, MOMO opened the door another inch, straining herself for another sign of a presence. A moment passed, and she threw the door open so that the light fell fully into the hangar, illuminating a tall, silvery figure at its center in the process.
MOMO gave a heavy sigh of relief and threw herself into the hangar, landing on all fours on the rough, cold surface of the hangar's floor and crawling a few paces forwards. "KOS-MOS, you scared us!" Though a smile, even the slightest sign of recognition from the android would have been more comforting, her usual blank, expectant stare did justice. It didn't hit MOMO (until much later, that is) of the oddity of this situation; KOS-MOS, her blue hair swaying loosely from the force of movement, handgun cocked and gloved finger on its trigger, pacing repeatedly up and down the empty corridor as if expecting something to happen. Even more, the ominous way she looked up at MOMO when she finally detected their presence.
Their eyes locked, MOMO giving a slight shiver at the malicious look she recieved. Any sense of comfort died then and there, and a need to leave the hangar set in.
"Um... Well...Goodnight then, KOS-MOS... Sorry to disturb you..." She muttered, pulling herself to a standing position and fumbling for the door handle behind her. "You should get to sleep, it's late, and I'm sure you have lots to dream about." Succeeding, she spent no time dawdling and stepped back through the door, red eyes watching until it closed and the muffled sound of a pair of urgent voices faded as they headed back to the main area.
KOS-MOS gave an odd little smile into the darkness and continued to pace.
]---------------------------------------------[
Shion left before MOMO had the oppurtunity to find her the next morning, with the promise to return by the day's end. The urgency to discuss KOS-MOS' recent behavior with her creator caused MOMO to become abnormally agitated, despite her best efforts to ignore it and continue the day as usual. Deciding that human interaction might be the best way to distract herself, she rose from bed and wandered towards the Elsa kitchen, hoping to meet the regulars.
The doors opened to reveal a distraught Allen (Who, once again, was attempting to kill himself through excessive consumption of Shion's best curry), seated beside an unusually fatigued chaos, silver hair askew and eyelids drooping. No doubt, the meeting had lasted later than it normally would have, and obviously Allen's behavior hadn't helped much. Regardless, he smiled generously as she stepped through the doorway, then glanced to his left, where another group had seated themselves. Hammer and a flustered captain Matthews sat across from Gaignun Kukai and Jr., the "elder" smiling slyly at Matthews' latest statement. At the other end of the room sat Mary and Shelley, trying to conceal their boredom as Gaignun dealt with official business.
"Strange activity?" His lips curled up in a mock smile, his fingers drumming on the edge of the counter out of boredom; Gaignun struck her as the sort who'd become used to Matthews' 'tall tales'. "I would appreciate a more thorough explanation, if you expect me to believe-" He cut off and raised his eyes to MOMO, who'd stopped near Allen and, once caught in the director's gaze, now made a great deal of trying to take the plate of curry away from him. Finding it most comical, he continued to watch, attracting Jr.'s attention as well.
"MOMO- Giffer back!" Allen swallowed a mouthful of curry and reached, but couldn't seem to grab hold of the plate. In an almost Shion-like manner, MOMO narrowed her eyes and set the plate down at her side, then frowning slightly, in a most sympathetic manner.
"What happened? Did you get in another fight with miss Shion?" Allen raised his jaw defiantly and muttered something which sounded close enough to 'no'. He then reached for his plate, which she pushed further away. With a scowl, he admitted to another fight, and burst into detailed explanation, knocking MOMO off balance with the force of his voice.
Gaignun chuckled softly and continued to watch as Allen knocked the plate of curry to the floor with a particularly grand gesture, causing the mechanical bartender a great fury. It rolled slowly out from behind the counter, towel in hand, and slapped Allen's shoulder with it before mopping up the mess and returning to its post. Needless to say, he was thereby refused another helping, under the accusition that he'd already eaten enough. MOMO hovered nervously at Allen's side as he buried his face in his hands and glared loathingly at the bartender through splayed fingers.
"I might come here more often," he noted to Jr., sitting anxiously to his left and gazing fixedly at MOMO. "Your crew is quite comical, to say the least. Oh, and Matthews, I'm expecting a detailed report on these... so-called "strange activities" within the next week... If they are indeed happening," and with this his grin became almost cat-like, "We'll need to sort it out right away." Matthews nodded profusely and sank into his seat, dreading the thought of more paperwork to come, as Gaignun stood and made his way towards the door. Mary and Shelley bolted from their seats to follow, leaving Jr. behind. Gaignun winked briefly at MOMO as he passed.
Allen and the bartender had now declared a full-fledged battle; the robot holding a sauce-pan lid in a shield-like manner as Allen bombarded it with dirty spoons. MOMO winced as several explicits were launched over the counter, and shot a withering look at Matthews, whose interest had suddenly increased (He immediately sunk into his seat, muttering indignantly about a certain 'miss Vector'). A metalic 'clang' echoed through the room as a spoon came into contact with the robot's forehead, knocking it to the ground. Allen gave a battle cry and strutted from the kitchen in triumph, leaving behind three bewildered teammates.
"I think he's lost it," grumbled Matthews, turning his attention back to his own plate, which had now grown cold. chaos focused his gaze on the door through which Allen had just left, his expression one of complete and utter shock. MOMO smiled comically and watched as Matthews rose from his seat, cursed his ruined breakfast and followed in Allen's wake. Her gaze drifted up and stopped, meeting a pair of unfathomable blue eyes.
*
She wanted to sit in the sand and watch the sunrise and sunset and midnight moon as it hovered peacefully through the sky, the clouds overhead, sitting through the rain and heat and cold. She would draw in the sand and write messages for the stars to see. She'd be twelve years old and trapped in wonderland through hell and high waters.......
*
Memories of yesterday were fresh in her mind. Picking up a menu to hide the rising tint in her cheeks, she inched forward and stopped at the side of the table. "Aren't you going to eat?" She asked, playing her cheerful voice. Jr. shook his head.
"Not hungry. I was going to go with Gaignun, but it's a lot more interesting to just stay here." He gestured towards the doorway, where Allen had re-entered in hopes of making ammends with the bartender; Sadly, the robot had prepared, and rushed him with a pair of tongs and a carving knife. "And I wanted to see you, of course."
MOMO had dropped the menu to her sides, and now regretted it dearly. The tinge in her cheeks became even more apparent, though she wasn't exactly sure it was a bad thing; no, it certainly couldn't be a bad thing, though it caused her some discomfort. In the background, Allen gave a blood-curdling scream and launched himself over one of the stools in an attempt to avoid his pursuer. While rather amusing to her, she noticed that Jr. was growing agitated, which wasn't a good sign. "Let's go for a walk," she suggested, grabbing his hand and dragging him from the kitchen as Allen and the bartender fought for posession of the saucepan lid.
]---------------------------------------------[
She wanted to see something different, she said. After a moment of thought, she wrinkled her nose and asked if he would mind taking her to see the Zohar. Though it didn't make sense why she'd want to see something of such a sort, he obliged and they began their slow progress toward the Durandal's restricted areas, taking the train to cross through sections.
"I like the train," she chimed, standing on her knees on the velvety texture of the seat and looking out the window as various parts of the Durandal flashed before her eyes. How her eyes danced with glee, he thought, secretly wishing that the experience of riding the train were as new and genuine to him as it was for her. On a similar note, she added that "I could spend all day here, going around and around the Durandal and watching the people go by... Oh!" She pointed at a young woman holding a small child in her arms, wandering aimlessly around the platform. "So cute!"
She strained to continue watching the mother and child, but lost them as the train turned a sharp corner. A slight frown played across her face, but soon faded as she spotted a young couple, holding hands and laughing richly, intimately. She didn't seem to have anything to say about the pair, but later commented on a middle-aged man, dressed in a dark trench-coat, selling illegal silvers. Jr. couldn't help but take a look and laugh as the man attempted to pawn off an old watch on a teenage boy, however unsuccessfully.
"It would be fun to live here," she giggled, more to herself than to him. "So many fun people, so much to do... Ah!" A group of tourists had come equipped with cameras and had snapped pictures of the trains, effectively catching MOMO in the window. After blinking several times, she gave a giggle and turned to Jr. "Isn't it great, being here?"
Not wanting to ruin her fun, he faked a smile and told her that yes, it was very fun living here. Of course, it was fun for a civilian. But for himself, Gaignun Kukai Jr., it was closer to abysmally dull. Gaignun often insisted that he help with legal papers, or run errands of importance while he worked. Otherwise, he was to oversee operations onboard the Durandal, or distract Mary and Shelley (which had become increasingly difficult over the last few weeks, as their attention spans had seemingly shrunk). Today was an exception; riding the trains with MOMO had proven to be quite interesting. He knelt on the seat beside her and allowed her to point out people and things of interest as they sped by.
There were a few moments where she said nothing, then suddenly gave a little gasp and pointed sharply at a woman with long, red hair. "Shion! Hi, Shion!" But Shion continued walking, unable to hear them from the other end of the platform. In her arms were several bags of necessities (No doubt Matthews had requested she go shopping, being a rather important womanly figure for the Elsa and all), and to her right was KOS-MOS, also laden down with Shion's purchases. Jr. felt MOMO tense at his side, and turned to look at her, somewhat alarmed.
"It's nothing." She gave his a reassuring smile, glancing back out the window and laughing. "Imagine, KOS-MOS shopping!" Still unconvinced, Jr. poked her shoulder and asked again; and once again, the answer was the same: "It's nothing."
She sank into her chair and he followed suit, looking her over as he did so, yet deciding it best to drop the topic. However, there was one thing he had to ask her about, which had bothered him all morning. "You look tired," he commented, noticing the dark circles under her eyes. "Didn't sleep last night?"
"Yeah, I was just up late, that's all," Her slight shoulders shrugged carelessly. "Tony, Hammer and chaos had a meeting, so I stayed up to help. And then caos and I tried and get Matthews to bed, because he fell asleep in his chair again." MOMO giggled and folded her hands on her lap. "Remember last time? I thought he'd have hurt someone, and oh, I've never heard such foul language before!" By now she'd collapsed against her seat in laughter, recalling the entire catastrophe. Jr. decided that he enjoyed seeing her laugh, and in an attempt to prolong it, laughed too. She laughed until there were tears in her eyes, and hiccoughed for several minutes afterwards.
Jr. glanced anxiously at the clock and sighed. "Another half hour," he grumbled impatiently, studying it as if willing the time to pass more quickly. While he was preoccupied, MOMO decided to take a chance, settling her cheek on his shoulder and yawning.
"I guess I'm gonna take a nap, then," she told him. "I hope you don't mind... But I want to be rested and ready to go when we get to the Zohar hangar." He turned his head away to hide the red creeping into his cheeks, and stared anxiously at the clock for roughly five minutes afterwards. He finally chanced a look at MOMO, now sleeping soundly on his shoulder, and smiled awkwardly. Just like an angel.
She slept for twenty minutes, mumbling softly as she dozed. At some point he drifted off as well, falling into a light slumber, only to be awakened (from a rather pleasant dream, mind you) by the harsh sounds of the train coming to a stop. MOMO awoke as well, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from her eyes before standing. Then, as if completely renewed, she grinned, grabbed his hand excitedly and waited until he'd stood, making their way out of the doors and breaking into a brisk run down the long, wide catwalk leading into the isolation area.
The Zohar emulators, held in massive containers, stood before them in all of their glory. MOMO read the names of each silently, remembering a story Shion had told her about "Marienkind" and the gates of heaven. The story of the "twelve apostles" also came to mind; rather lost in her own thoughts, she accidentally muttered out loud, "It's so sad." Jr. turned and studied her inquisitively. "Marienkind," she explained, looking up at the central Zohar. "But I guess it makes sense."
They stared for several minutes, completely enthralled by the towering majesty of the Zohar. Jr. was vaguely aware that she hadn't let go of his hand (not that he minded), and gave hers a little squeeze. Enveloped in the silence of the massive room, neither spoke, just stared and stared at the Zohar, untiring.
"Daddy," She whispered at his side, so quietly that he almost felt as if he shouldn't have overheard. Met with a perplexed look, she smiled and continued with an explanation. "Daddy studied the Zohar, didn't he? Quite a few people know that now. Daddy wanted to hide Miltia so badly-" Feeling that she'd overstepped her boundaries, MOMO closed her mouth firmly and said no more.
She let her hand drop from his to her side, staring helplessly at the towering figures before her as if expecting them to come to life and answer her question personally.
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[send feedback to cathe@kururu.org]
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She wrapped herself involuntarily around Ziggy's metal arm at the sound of footsteps echoing through the empty hallway ahead, knowing that, quite simply, no one should have been up and wandering at this time of night. No, especially so, knowing the Elsa crew's schedule. The Elsa's bowels were scarcely lit and forbidding, accentuated by the lifelessness of its metal build and vast cielings. Wandering them at an hour most certainly past midnight wasn't something that appealed to MOMO, rather something which she would most often see in her nightmares.
Run back, go back to your cabin, you'll be safe there, her common sense cried. But an equally influential voice told her to keep a steady pace ahead, if only to keep Ziggy company.
MOMO released her firm grip of Ziggy and fell silently to one side, stepping carefully onto each metal plate beneath her feet as she would if someone were sleeping nearby. The Elsa at night was a horrible, scary place, and she'd rather not be there. But Ziggy, Ziggy had to stay here all by himself, and the noises wouldn't go away. She bravely offered herself as a companion, to go with him to find the source of the disturbance.
Shion had submitted to restless slumber on Cabin B's couch (after an especially difficult night, she'd explained point-blank, and MOMO assumed that it had something to do with Allen); chaos, Tony and Hammer were heavily absorbed in a detailed discussion of the next morning's flight plans, as Captain Matthews snored quite loudly in his elevated chair, despite the combined efforts of chaos and MOMO to relocate him to his bunk. It would be most unpleasant if there were a repeat of the last week's incident, where a sleeping Matthews fell out of his perch and landed flat on his head, leaving him cussing fervently for the next few days afterwards. Jr. had retreated to Gaignun's chambers directly after their meeting on the beach, as had Mary and Shelley Godwin. As for the others-
A particularly odd noise caused a momentary pause in their progression towards Hangar 1. Ziggy drew a blade from his left arm and held it at an ominous angle at his side, ushering MOMO a few steps back as a gesture of caution. She associated the small sequence of metallic strains that followed with those made by a relatively large gun; now, who else but Jr. had a gun...? Shaking her head, she concluded that that scenario was impossible, and continued to follow Ziggy down the hallway.
"Maybe it's nothing," Ziggy spoke into the semi-darkness in a monotonic tone, reaching his right arm out and running it along the wall until it met with a small button. A slight "whirr" filled the air as the door to his chambers opened and closed behind them, and though now standing in a well-lit room she couldn't calm herself; the sounds became stronger, more foreboding. Studying Ziggy's face, the sudden uncertainty she saw unnerved her a great deal more than she'd been previously. In a panic, she once again fell back several steps and narrowly missed Ziggy's maintenance bed at the room's central area.
I'm depending on your strength here, don't you go getting scared! It's just a little noise, nothing big, right...?
Of course it wasn't anything big. If anything, it was probably Allen tinkering with the AGWS units to blow off steam... He'd done it before. In a sudden fit of daring she strode to the door and opened it just slightly, peering through the slit most cautiously. Shion's trademark VX-10000 shone in the sudden light; seeing nothing, MOMO opened the door another inch, straining herself for another sign of a presence. A moment passed, and she threw the door open so that the light fell fully into the hangar, illuminating a tall, silvery figure at its center in the process.
MOMO gave a heavy sigh of relief and threw herself into the hangar, landing on all fours on the rough, cold surface of the hangar's floor and crawling a few paces forwards. "KOS-MOS, you scared us!" Though a smile, even the slightest sign of recognition from the android would have been more comforting, her usual blank, expectant stare did justice. It didn't hit MOMO (until much later, that is) of the oddity of this situation; KOS-MOS, her blue hair swaying loosely from the force of movement, handgun cocked and gloved finger on its trigger, pacing repeatedly up and down the empty corridor as if expecting something to happen. Even more, the ominous way she looked up at MOMO when she finally detected their presence.
Their eyes locked, MOMO giving a slight shiver at the malicious look she recieved. Any sense of comfort died then and there, and a need to leave the hangar set in.
"Um... Well...Goodnight then, KOS-MOS... Sorry to disturb you..." She muttered, pulling herself to a standing position and fumbling for the door handle behind her. "You should get to sleep, it's late, and I'm sure you have lots to dream about." Succeeding, she spent no time dawdling and stepped back through the door, red eyes watching until it closed and the muffled sound of a pair of urgent voices faded as they headed back to the main area.
KOS-MOS gave an odd little smile into the darkness and continued to pace.
]---------------------------------------------[
Shion left before MOMO had the oppurtunity to find her the next morning, with the promise to return by the day's end. The urgency to discuss KOS-MOS' recent behavior with her creator caused MOMO to become abnormally agitated, despite her best efforts to ignore it and continue the day as usual. Deciding that human interaction might be the best way to distract herself, she rose from bed and wandered towards the Elsa kitchen, hoping to meet the regulars.
The doors opened to reveal a distraught Allen (Who, once again, was attempting to kill himself through excessive consumption of Shion's best curry), seated beside an unusually fatigued chaos, silver hair askew and eyelids drooping. No doubt, the meeting had lasted later than it normally would have, and obviously Allen's behavior hadn't helped much. Regardless, he smiled generously as she stepped through the doorway, then glanced to his left, where another group had seated themselves. Hammer and a flustered captain Matthews sat across from Gaignun Kukai and Jr., the "elder" smiling slyly at Matthews' latest statement. At the other end of the room sat Mary and Shelley, trying to conceal their boredom as Gaignun dealt with official business.
"Strange activity?" His lips curled up in a mock smile, his fingers drumming on the edge of the counter out of boredom; Gaignun struck her as the sort who'd become used to Matthews' 'tall tales'. "I would appreciate a more thorough explanation, if you expect me to believe-" He cut off and raised his eyes to MOMO, who'd stopped near Allen and, once caught in the director's gaze, now made a great deal of trying to take the plate of curry away from him. Finding it most comical, he continued to watch, attracting Jr.'s attention as well.
"MOMO- Giffer back!" Allen swallowed a mouthful of curry and reached, but couldn't seem to grab hold of the plate. In an almost Shion-like manner, MOMO narrowed her eyes and set the plate down at her side, then frowning slightly, in a most sympathetic manner.
"What happened? Did you get in another fight with miss Shion?" Allen raised his jaw defiantly and muttered something which sounded close enough to 'no'. He then reached for his plate, which she pushed further away. With a scowl, he admitted to another fight, and burst into detailed explanation, knocking MOMO off balance with the force of his voice.
Gaignun chuckled softly and continued to watch as Allen knocked the plate of curry to the floor with a particularly grand gesture, causing the mechanical bartender a great fury. It rolled slowly out from behind the counter, towel in hand, and slapped Allen's shoulder with it before mopping up the mess and returning to its post. Needless to say, he was thereby refused another helping, under the accusition that he'd already eaten enough. MOMO hovered nervously at Allen's side as he buried his face in his hands and glared loathingly at the bartender through splayed fingers.
"I might come here more often," he noted to Jr., sitting anxiously to his left and gazing fixedly at MOMO. "Your crew is quite comical, to say the least. Oh, and Matthews, I'm expecting a detailed report on these... so-called "strange activities" within the next week... If they are indeed happening," and with this his grin became almost cat-like, "We'll need to sort it out right away." Matthews nodded profusely and sank into his seat, dreading the thought of more paperwork to come, as Gaignun stood and made his way towards the door. Mary and Shelley bolted from their seats to follow, leaving Jr. behind. Gaignun winked briefly at MOMO as he passed.
Allen and the bartender had now declared a full-fledged battle; the robot holding a sauce-pan lid in a shield-like manner as Allen bombarded it with dirty spoons. MOMO winced as several explicits were launched over the counter, and shot a withering look at Matthews, whose interest had suddenly increased (He immediately sunk into his seat, muttering indignantly about a certain 'miss Vector'). A metalic 'clang' echoed through the room as a spoon came into contact with the robot's forehead, knocking it to the ground. Allen gave a battle cry and strutted from the kitchen in triumph, leaving behind three bewildered teammates.
"I think he's lost it," grumbled Matthews, turning his attention back to his own plate, which had now grown cold. chaos focused his gaze on the door through which Allen had just left, his expression one of complete and utter shock. MOMO smiled comically and watched as Matthews rose from his seat, cursed his ruined breakfast and followed in Allen's wake. Her gaze drifted up and stopped, meeting a pair of unfathomable blue eyes.
*
She wanted to sit in the sand and watch the sunrise and sunset and midnight moon as it hovered peacefully through the sky, the clouds overhead, sitting through the rain and heat and cold. She would draw in the sand and write messages for the stars to see. She'd be twelve years old and trapped in wonderland through hell and high waters.......
*
Memories of yesterday were fresh in her mind. Picking up a menu to hide the rising tint in her cheeks, she inched forward and stopped at the side of the table. "Aren't you going to eat?" She asked, playing her cheerful voice. Jr. shook his head.
"Not hungry. I was going to go with Gaignun, but it's a lot more interesting to just stay here." He gestured towards the doorway, where Allen had re-entered in hopes of making ammends with the bartender; Sadly, the robot had prepared, and rushed him with a pair of tongs and a carving knife. "And I wanted to see you, of course."
MOMO had dropped the menu to her sides, and now regretted it dearly. The tinge in her cheeks became even more apparent, though she wasn't exactly sure it was a bad thing; no, it certainly couldn't be a bad thing, though it caused her some discomfort. In the background, Allen gave a blood-curdling scream and launched himself over one of the stools in an attempt to avoid his pursuer. While rather amusing to her, she noticed that Jr. was growing agitated, which wasn't a good sign. "Let's go for a walk," she suggested, grabbing his hand and dragging him from the kitchen as Allen and the bartender fought for posession of the saucepan lid.
]---------------------------------------------[
She wanted to see something different, she said. After a moment of thought, she wrinkled her nose and asked if he would mind taking her to see the Zohar. Though it didn't make sense why she'd want to see something of such a sort, he obliged and they began their slow progress toward the Durandal's restricted areas, taking the train to cross through sections.
"I like the train," she chimed, standing on her knees on the velvety texture of the seat and looking out the window as various parts of the Durandal flashed before her eyes. How her eyes danced with glee, he thought, secretly wishing that the experience of riding the train were as new and genuine to him as it was for her. On a similar note, she added that "I could spend all day here, going around and around the Durandal and watching the people go by... Oh!" She pointed at a young woman holding a small child in her arms, wandering aimlessly around the platform. "So cute!"
She strained to continue watching the mother and child, but lost them as the train turned a sharp corner. A slight frown played across her face, but soon faded as she spotted a young couple, holding hands and laughing richly, intimately. She didn't seem to have anything to say about the pair, but later commented on a middle-aged man, dressed in a dark trench-coat, selling illegal silvers. Jr. couldn't help but take a look and laugh as the man attempted to pawn off an old watch on a teenage boy, however unsuccessfully.
"It would be fun to live here," she giggled, more to herself than to him. "So many fun people, so much to do... Ah!" A group of tourists had come equipped with cameras and had snapped pictures of the trains, effectively catching MOMO in the window. After blinking several times, she gave a giggle and turned to Jr. "Isn't it great, being here?"
Not wanting to ruin her fun, he faked a smile and told her that yes, it was very fun living here. Of course, it was fun for a civilian. But for himself, Gaignun Kukai Jr., it was closer to abysmally dull. Gaignun often insisted that he help with legal papers, or run errands of importance while he worked. Otherwise, he was to oversee operations onboard the Durandal, or distract Mary and Shelley (which had become increasingly difficult over the last few weeks, as their attention spans had seemingly shrunk). Today was an exception; riding the trains with MOMO had proven to be quite interesting. He knelt on the seat beside her and allowed her to point out people and things of interest as they sped by.
There were a few moments where she said nothing, then suddenly gave a little gasp and pointed sharply at a woman with long, red hair. "Shion! Hi, Shion!" But Shion continued walking, unable to hear them from the other end of the platform. In her arms were several bags of necessities (No doubt Matthews had requested she go shopping, being a rather important womanly figure for the Elsa and all), and to her right was KOS-MOS, also laden down with Shion's purchases. Jr. felt MOMO tense at his side, and turned to look at her, somewhat alarmed.
"It's nothing." She gave his a reassuring smile, glancing back out the window and laughing. "Imagine, KOS-MOS shopping!" Still unconvinced, Jr. poked her shoulder and asked again; and once again, the answer was the same: "It's nothing."
She sank into her chair and he followed suit, looking her over as he did so, yet deciding it best to drop the topic. However, there was one thing he had to ask her about, which had bothered him all morning. "You look tired," he commented, noticing the dark circles under her eyes. "Didn't sleep last night?"
"Yeah, I was just up late, that's all," Her slight shoulders shrugged carelessly. "Tony, Hammer and chaos had a meeting, so I stayed up to help. And then caos and I tried and get Matthews to bed, because he fell asleep in his chair again." MOMO giggled and folded her hands on her lap. "Remember last time? I thought he'd have hurt someone, and oh, I've never heard such foul language before!" By now she'd collapsed against her seat in laughter, recalling the entire catastrophe. Jr. decided that he enjoyed seeing her laugh, and in an attempt to prolong it, laughed too. She laughed until there were tears in her eyes, and hiccoughed for several minutes afterwards.
Jr. glanced anxiously at the clock and sighed. "Another half hour," he grumbled impatiently, studying it as if willing the time to pass more quickly. While he was preoccupied, MOMO decided to take a chance, settling her cheek on his shoulder and yawning.
"I guess I'm gonna take a nap, then," she told him. "I hope you don't mind... But I want to be rested and ready to go when we get to the Zohar hangar." He turned his head away to hide the red creeping into his cheeks, and stared anxiously at the clock for roughly five minutes afterwards. He finally chanced a look at MOMO, now sleeping soundly on his shoulder, and smiled awkwardly. Just like an angel.
She slept for twenty minutes, mumbling softly as she dozed. At some point he drifted off as well, falling into a light slumber, only to be awakened (from a rather pleasant dream, mind you) by the harsh sounds of the train coming to a stop. MOMO awoke as well, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from her eyes before standing. Then, as if completely renewed, she grinned, grabbed his hand excitedly and waited until he'd stood, making their way out of the doors and breaking into a brisk run down the long, wide catwalk leading into the isolation area.
The Zohar emulators, held in massive containers, stood before them in all of their glory. MOMO read the names of each silently, remembering a story Shion had told her about "Marienkind" and the gates of heaven. The story of the "twelve apostles" also came to mind; rather lost in her own thoughts, she accidentally muttered out loud, "It's so sad." Jr. turned and studied her inquisitively. "Marienkind," she explained, looking up at the central Zohar. "But I guess it makes sense."
They stared for several minutes, completely enthralled by the towering majesty of the Zohar. Jr. was vaguely aware that she hadn't let go of his hand (not that he minded), and gave hers a little squeeze. Enveloped in the silence of the massive room, neither spoke, just stared and stared at the Zohar, untiring.
"Daddy," She whispered at his side, so quietly that he almost felt as if he shouldn't have overheard. Met with a perplexed look, she smiled and continued with an explanation. "Daddy studied the Zohar, didn't he? Quite a few people know that now. Daddy wanted to hide Miltia so badly-" Feeling that she'd overstepped her boundaries, MOMO closed her mouth firmly and said no more.
She let her hand drop from his to her side, staring helplessly at the towering figures before her as if expecting them to come to life and answer her question personally.
.
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