Heaven's Order: Xenostar
Chapter 6: Forever Our Fate
A/N: Ah, yes another chapter. I got such a positive response from the last one! (thumbs up to reviewers!) First off, you can find Xenosaga 2 shots at gamespot I think. Second, I still hate the new designs but I have new info: First the game should be done this winter and Jin is playable from the start. Also an anime and manga are in the works that follow the story faithfully. (so my chaos will still be anime somewhere!!)
I'm
glad to see you guys liked the fic so much!! However, don't think the pairings
are set in stone for…certain story reasons (dramatic music plays in
background). I'm also glad you liked the plot so far…it's hard to write but…I
want to have this fic done before the game so that I won't be tempted to take
story elements from it. Anyways, Second Miltia and Jin await so let's go!
"Tic tock tic tock." Albedo sang softly as he looked at the huge chunk of rock floating in space. He piloted his large mech towards it and smiled. "Ah, wonderful gate. I'm here so don't worry." He tilted his head back and forth, taking in the dull looking bolder. "Well now…all I need is the other key."
"Yeah yeah I got it…" Virgil's shaded over face appeared on the monitor. "Got three of them right now. Is that good enough for ya?"
"You want to ruin my fun don't you?" Albedo pouted. "I want all the keys…don't you think it will be nice to open them all at once?"
"You know you can't do that ya idiot." Virgil scowled at him. "Besides, we need to do this in order…"
"You spoil my fun. Why can't I have a nicer watchdog?"
"Just shut up and use it." Virgil's equally huge robot handed Simeon a Zohar Emulator. "Now please don't mess around? We've got to keep a schedule."
"I could care less about your 'schedule'. I have my own you know." Albedo smiled and leaned closer to the monitor. "And let me be the star? It's my show."
"Fine whatever hurry already." Virgil grumbled as Albedo raced forward with his A.G.W.S. He disappeared into the asteroid and soon thereafter, a bright light erupted from inside the rock. The light fanned out and continued going for miles. Virgil watched with only mild interest, waiting for his 'partner' to return.
"Oh wasn't that beautiful?" Albedo cried as he emerged. "The light looked like a sun exploding!"
"Yeah, that's great. Now let's go, Gnosis will be all over this place real quick." Virgil and a sulking Albedo left the site, going deeper into space. "Besides, Wilhelm just finished the 'Gears'. I love to see those."
"Hmph, as you know, I've already got one." Albedo boasted.
"Yes I know but these ones are different…"
Virgil smiled at the milky haired man. "They go to our friends…"
Somewhere far away, a little girl with orange hair and a gray haired Realian suddenly fell over in pain.
"It would appear another gate was opened…" Nephilim winced and stood back up.
"Why does it hurt us?" Febronia asked.
"Because we are being freed." The glowing girl smiled. "Do not fear…this pain is only telling us we are close to living."
"I know." The Realian smiled back and looked over at the tree where her sisters played. "Not much longer is it? The curse of the Zohar will be lifted and we shall all be free."
"I can only hope so…" Nephilim paused for a moment. "I miss my family after all. My brother was born without me."
"And my friend went mad without me." Febronia sighed. "However, we are tied to our fate until they take care of everything."
"I'm
sure they will." Nephilim watched the girls go round the tree. "…They have to,
it's their fate as well."
"So this is the Don-gai area?" Allen looked out the car window. He, Shion, chaos and KOS-MOS were riding in one Taxi while Jr. MOMO and Ziggy rode in the other. He wasn't really sure why chaos was riding with them though.
"Yes, it's a very beautiful place. I think the park is especially lovely." Shion noticed that KOS-MOS was also taking in the sites. If Shion didn't know any better, she'd say the android was smiling. chaos, however, was staring at the floor with a sad look in his eyes. "Is something wrong chaos?"
"Huh?" His eyes quickly left the carpet and he smiled. "No, nothing is wrong. I'm just thinking I guess." Inside his mind though, he could feel Nephilim's pain. "Just thinking…"
"Ah well I'm sure you're just tired!" Allen patted his friend on the back, causing chaos to fall forward slightly. "I'm wiped out…I mean we've been pretty busy lately so being at Jin's will give us the rest we need." chaos just smiled at him and went back to looked down. No one said a word after that until the Taxis stopped in front of a quaint little home by a cliff.
"Ah, it hasn't changed." Shion took a deep breath, a grin crossing her face. "Of course Jin would never change this house, not in a million years…" A tall man suddenly threw open the door. His long dark hair and eyes were the same as the last time Shion has seen him. However, the second he saw her, a big grin came on his face and he rushed forward. Shion jumped in surprise as he hugged her tightly.
"Shion!" Jin laughed as his little sister returned the embrace. "Oh Shion I knew you'd come home soon!" He let go of her and saw KOS-MOS grabbing luggage. "That must be the android then?" His eyes shone with curiosity as they scanned the group. "And I remember you Allen, Shion told me about you." He walked over to chaos. "Hi there!"
"Um, hello." chaos smiled and Jin hugged him as well. Jr. and MOMO walked over to see what was going on and got pulled into the hug as well.
"Hey watch it!" Jr. cried, trying to pull away.
"I'm so happy to see Shion with so many friends!" Jin laughed again as he released them. "I'm Jin Uzuki! I'm Shion's older brother but I guess you guys knew that."
"I'm chaos. It's nice to meet you."
"My name is MOMO." The little Realian smiled at Jin.
"The name's Jr." The scarlet haired boy crossed his arms. "What's with the hug?"
"Well I'm sure that Shion would be still researching KOS-MOS in some dark corner of the universe if you guys weren't with her." Jin sighed. "That's all she does you know. So it's my thanks to you!"
"Yeah well…" Jr. froze as he noticed the long sheath at Jin's side. "Wait…that's not a Katana is it?"
"Huh?" Jin looked down at his waist. "Oh yeah, this is my baby!" Jin grabbed the handle and drew his sword with ease. "I named it Tasogare. Nice huh?" Jr. stared at it with fascination.
"That's a Keystone model right? With the gold and silver Water Dragon on the tsuba and the Sky dragon climbing the handle? Handle's wrapped in special cloth to stop blisters but with enough grip right?" Jr. reached out and touched the blade. "Made with that special alloy that makes it damn near indestructible…not to mention rust proof…"
"Yep, my pride and joy, along with my book collection…" Jin beamed at the younger boy.
"Books?! As in paperbacks?"
"Of course!"
"I think Jr. has found his twin." Allen joked in chaos' ear. The green-eyed boy laughed quietly and nodded.
"I think our stay here will be enjoyable." chaos agreed.
"Well, how about we talk inside?" Shion butted in. Both Jr. and Jin pouted but sighed and went inside the house. Everyone else, bags in hand, followed as the Taxis drove off. They walked inside his house and saw why Shion called him a bookworm. Each wall had at least one huge bookshelf filled to the hilt with books. Above the TV monitor were three beautiful swords, each without a speck of dust on them. Even the books looked brand new.
"Well, at least it's clean." Shion smiled. "I'm impressed Jin…I was afraid everything would look sloppy."
"Come now Shion! Give me some credit!" Jin frowned. "You may think I just sit here reading all day but sometimes I do other things! Like eating and sleeping and going to work and once and awhile yes clean!" Shion just shrugged and Jin showed everyone to their rooms. "Ok now MOMO right? You and Shion get Shion's room and chaos and Jr. you sleep across the hall and KOS-MOS ummm…well you mind being with Ziggy?"
"Not at all." The blue haired girl nodded. "Those sleeping arrangements are the most logical given the number of rooms."
"Er, yeah I was thinking that too." Jin smiled. "Well, anyways you guys get settled and I'll make…" Jin looked up at the clock. "Dinner I guess." Jin left the group standing in the hallway. Everyone went inside their rooms and unpacked their things. About and hour later Jin came down the hall. "Break…err…Dinner everybody!"
"What'd you make anyway?" Shion asked as she sat down. Everyone sat down and Jin opened the lid on a large pot in the center. "Oh, it's just stew?"
"Yes it's stew! But it's also the best stew around!" Jin smiled proudly. "Plus I have this bread that goes great with it and salad so actually it's not just stew!" Jin took his place between Shion and Jr. and grinned. "Well everybody, dig in!"
"So are you still teaching at the dojo?" Shion asked as she laded some stew into everyone's outstretched bowls.
"Huh, oh yeah!" Jin swallowed some bread. "Yeah, you know I wouldn't give it up for anything." MOMO looked over at him curiously.
"Um, Mr. Uzuki? What is it you teach?" The pink haired girl asked.
"Ah, don't call me that! Jin's fine." The raven-haired man smiled. "I teach the same thing Shion uses."
"You teach how to use that M.W.S thing?" Jr. asked. "It doesn't look to hard to use."
"Huh? Mws? I don't know what that is but I teach RyuKyu kempo to well…" Jin paused then laughed. "Anyone who asks I guess. Of course I do have to think they're worthy." Jin looked over at Shion. "And dear sister why haven't you been using it?"
"Well…err…" Shion laughed nervously. "Oh you know…"
"Now Shion you know you really should use it!" Jin sighed. "Our father taught us that style hoping we'd use it."
"Not this again…" Shion shook her head. "You know that style is quite deadly. I don't have any use for it."
"Oh sure you don't!" Jin crossed his arms. "You say that but you told me what's been happening lately. As your older brother I think you should for your safety!"
"Oh please Jin, I've been doing fine without it." Shion said in a 'that's final' tone. Jin moped a bit but then bounced right back.
"So you're a Realian?" He asked MOMO she nodded slowly and he smiled. "There's a lot of Realians training at the dojo. They're such hard workers. I could teach you I bet!"
"Jin!" Shion glared at him.
"It's alright Shion." MOMO grinned at the older Uzuki. "I'm ok though, I don't need to learn it. I know a lot of other things though…"
"Really? That's great." Jin then grew quiet and the others indulged in some light conversation. It wasn't until dinner was nearly done that Jin spoke. "So then you guys are going to Miltia huh?"
"Well, we don't know that until our orders co-" Shion began but Jin cut her off.
"Yeah but even then you'll end up there right?" Jin sighed and looked over his sister. "You're such a troublemaker." Shion didn't say anything but looked slightly alarmed. Everyone watched the two. "You know…I might come with you." While his tone sounded light, his eyes lost some of their goofiness, looking more serious. "I mean, I know you'll need me."
"What makes you think that?" Shion asked. Jin gave his sister a small smile and shrugged.
"You know I believe in Fate…" Jin looked over the group at the table. "I know Fate well and this is mine." He stood up and his darker look disappeared. "But what do I know right? You guys done? Hope so cause we've been talking forever and now it's late!" MOMO and Shion helped Jin clear away the plates and everyone soon thereafter went to bed.
"Oh your brother is so nice Shion!" MOMO yawned as she flopped down on the bed.
"Well, yes he is nice…" Shion sighed. "But sometimes he's so odd."
"I think it'd be fun if he came with us." MOMO smiled. Shion just shrugged.
"Maybe…anyway, we should sleep. Jin has something planned for me tomorrow and I know you've got plans."
"Yes, Jr. and I are going to an arcade." MOMO shut her eyes. "It's going to be so much fun…"
"Yes…I
hope so…"
"RISE AND SHINE PEOPLE~E!!" Jin screamed at the top of his lungs. Jr. jumped and fell off the bed, nearly crushing chaos. Jin peaked into their room. It appeared that chaos hadn't heard Jin as he looked surprised to see Jr.'s still slightly sleeping body on top of him. The tanner of the two grinned as Jr. opened his eyes. They met with chaos' emerald ones and Jr. froze. chaos continued to smile, placing one hand on Jr.'s chest but Jr. felt strangely and broke eye contact. "Oops, didn't mean to disturb you two!" Jin left the room snickering and all chaos could do was grin!
"Dammit Jin…" Jr. growled as he pushed himself off chaos. The silver-haired boy just chuckled and sat up. "Geez, what's with that wake up call? Sounded like a Gnosis screaming."
"Really? I didn't hear it." chaos smiled. "You woke me up when you fell on me. I take it you're a light sleeper?"
"Huh well…yeah most of the time." Jr. shrugged and stood up. Shion glanced into the room.
"What are you two doing in here??" Shion cried. "Jin came in and yelled 'MOMO, Shion wake up there's going to be yaoi!'"
"Nothing, your brother just startled me!" Jr. grumbled but chaos continued to chortle. "Would you stop laughing?? It's not funny!" Jr. then realized he was wearing just his boxers (as was chaos) and Shion was also wearing hardly anything, just a tight small tank top and some short shorts. Shion glared at him when she saw his eyes go below her face.
"First chaos now me huh?" Shion glowered and left the room quickly. The boy's face turned a dark shade of crimson and he muttered something about leaving to change his clothes. He exited the room and moments later MOMO walked in.
"What was all that shouting for?" She asked. chaos, (now fully clothed) smiled and patted MOMO on the head.
"Sorry
but I don't think you want to know." chaos said. MOMO frowned but nodded and
set off for the dining room.
"So what's on the agenda for today?" Jin asked over breakfast.
"I need to get my new orders. My mission has changed apparently." Ziggy said.
"I know Vector is giving us new orders as well, right KOS-MOS?" Shion looked over at the woman, who nodded in agreement.
"I'm taking MOMO to the arcade." Jr. glanced up at the Realian, who smiled.
"It sounds like so much fun!" MOMO grinned at the URTV who nodded.
"Is chaos going with you?" Jin asked, gathering a few chuckles around the table. chaos' face didn't change but Jr.'s turned bright red. Shion coughed and everyone looked up at her.
"I believe you should get going then. Who knows when our situation will change." Shion looked so grave that even the air grew heavy.
"Lighten up Shion!" Jin laughed, clearing the room. "Let everyone have some fun! Besides, you and I have things to talk about right?"
"…right…"
The red haired beauty said quietly.
"Have fun kids!!" Jin shouted as he dropped off MOMO and Jr. "See ya later!" Jin drove away and the two ran inside the arcade. Along the walls were many games, most involving balls to be thrown and also large machines with fake guns near them for shooting. Jr. grinned and noticed a huge area next to them with tons of cheap but cute stuffed dolls plus other trinkets.
"Oh Jr.! Look at that!" MOMO pointed at a small stuffed doll that looked like it was from a magical girl anime series. "She's so cute!"
"Yeah, she is." Jr. looked her over. A man behind the counter walked over beaming.
"Oh, yes that's from a cartoon show called Spiritcatcher Cherry." The man took it down and showed it off. "It's only 100 tickets too, a real bargain. Would you like one?"
"Yes but we don't have any tickets." MOMO said.
"Well, go win some. The more games you win, the more tickets you get!" The man said. Jr. looked over at the shooting games grinning.
"I think I'll get those tickets real quick." Jr. took MOMO's hand and the two ran over to the shooting games but quickly saw they needed tokens.
"I'll get some for you!" MOMO took some money from Jr. and returned moments later with a mountain of gold coins. Jr. slipped some into the machine and pulled the lime green gun from its holster.
"Now watch this MOMO…" Jr. watched the screen closely, his trigger finger steady as always. On the screen the words appeared 'Mission: Destroy all enemies! Begin in three two one!' Right off the bat, three men appeared randomly. Jr. pulled the trigger three times, barely even moving the gun's barrel. All three went down quickly, replaced by five more. Again Jr. easily took care of them.
"Oh you're doing wonderfully Jr.!" MOMO cried happily. Jr. grinned and continued to blast away at the men until new words appeared on screen. 'Mission: Destroy Boss by hitting critical points! Begin in three two one!' A huge, towering creature showed up on the game. Jr. took only a moment to analysis it then fired off five shots, hitting the monster in both its knees, elbows and the center of its forehead. The beast fell to the ground.
"That was too easy!" Jr. grinned, flipping the gun before putting it in its holster. A long stream of tickets flew out of the machine. MOMO gathered them up and smiled.
"Jr.! That was great!" MOMO smiled. "Look at all the tickets we got!" She showed him the spool, which looked to contain ten tickets.
"Alright!" Jr. looked around. "There are some more shooting games over here, c'mon!" MOMO followed him to the west wall where Jr. played the remaining shooters. They ended up with eighty tickets. "Nice, now what do you think should we play?"
"Umm…" MOMO looked over and saw a basketball shoot game. "How about that one?" The duo put in the tokens and balls came flooding down to them. 'Player with the most baskets wins!' a robotic voice shouted.
"A competition huh?" Jr. and MOMO grinned at each other then a buzzer sounded and they grabbed their basketballs. At first Jr. was in the lead but point-by-point MOMO gained on him until finally she was in the lead. The balls made a swish noise going through the hoops before bouncing back to their owners. This game was really more about speed and MOMO had it.
"Hee, sayonara baby!" MOMO giggled as she tossed the final basket, landing her one point ahead of Jr. as the buzzer sounded again. "That was so much fun!"
"Wow MOMO…" Jr. smiled. "You're good at that!"
"It wasn't too hard after projecting the correct path of travel according to force used!" MOMO beamed at him and Jr. laughed. Sometimes he forgot she was a Realian and could do those kinds of equations on the fly.
"Yeah well, that was fun." Jr. agreed as tickets flew out of the machine slot and MOMO gathered them up.
"Ok, what should we play next?" MOMO asked.
"It's up to you; I want you to have fun ok?" Jr. said. The cherry haired girl looked over the room and saw a large pad with directions on it in front of a screen with the words 'Dance Dance Revolution'. MOMO turned to Jr. "Oh let's play the dancing game!"
"How do you play?" Rubedo asked as they stood on the dance pads. MOMO looked it over, her sensors using their logic to figure it out.
"As the music plays, press the buttons on the pad that are the same as the symbols on the screen." MOMO explained. "Oh you have to use your feet but that's why this is a dancing game." Jr. slid in the tokens, put it on easy mode and selected a random song. Soon music started to play and going up the screen were the directions. Left, up, right, right, down, down, up, left, down, right. Jr. moved his feet quickly, which it turned out wasn't so hard. The music was catchy and his feet wanted to move.
"I'm going to beat you this time!" Jr. called. MOMO grinned and increased her footwork but ended up falling over. Jr. was about to stop and help her up but the girl jumped to her feet and went back to dancing, even though the music was ending.
"Ah, you won Jr." MOMO smiled. "But next time I'll win." The tickets came out and, once counted, the two found they had enough to get the doll. They walked over to the counter again.
"Well hello again!" The man smiled. "Get enough for the doll?"
"Yep, it wasn't that hard." Jr. said as he slid the tickets over the counter. The man looked them over and handed Jr. the doll.
"Yes I saw the way you were shooting!" The man nodded. "No slacker with a gun, I can tell." Jr. handed the doll to MOMO.
"Here you go MOMO." Jr. handed her the doll and she hugged it.
"Thank you Jr.!" She moved forward and embraced him. His cheeks grew hot but he smiled nervously and returned her hug.
"Hey it's no problem." Jr. said as MOMO pulled away. She hugged the doll again and looked towards the entrance.
"It's nice out, let's go outside ok?" She asked him.
"Sure, why not?" They got to the exit just as someone was coming in. The man ran into both of them.
"Hey watch it!" He yelled. Jr. started to apologize but recognized his voice. It sounded just like chaos'. He looked up and saw a man who also looked just like chaos, only with different color clothes, eyes and hair.
"…chaos?" MOMO also saw the resemblance. The golden haired man stared at them for a few minutes, and then extended his hands.
"Well? You want help up or not?" The chaos look-alike asked impatiently. MOMO and Jr. took a hand each and the man lifted them to their feet. "So I look like him huh?"
"Um, yes but you don't act like chaos." MOMO gazed at him. He wasn't chaos that was for sure. He acted rude and didn't hold the same gentle air that chaos did.
"Yeah, that's a shocker." The man watched them unblinkingly. "My name's Theos. If this chaos you know looks like me only with silver hair and green eyes then I'm looking for him."
"What do you want with chaos?" Jr. asked, stepping in front of MOMO defensively.
"I like you." Theos laughed. "You know not to trust me. I'm looking for him for my own reasons. You're a URTV aren't you?"
"Huh, how did…" Jr. shifted his hand towards his gun.
"Oh I'm sure chaos knew too when he saw you." Theos looked over at MOMO. "You are the Y data storage unit aren't you?" MOMO winced and looked away towards the floor.
"Please don't call me that." She said softly.
"Oh, ok, whatever makes you happy." Theos frowned at her then finally groaned. "Ack, don't look at me like that! It looks like you're going to cry! I'm sorry for calling you a storage unit."
"Wow that was quick." Jr. said. "What don't like making women cry?"
"As a matter of fact I don't." Theos crossed his arms. "So anyway, I'm sorry…umm…what's your name?"
"…It's MOMO." The young Realian smiled slowly. "I accept your apology Theos."
"And I'm Jr." The ruby headed boy said. "And yes I am a URTV but that's none of your damn business."
"I guess you're right." Theos looked over the two and smiled. He actually looked nice when he smiled. "Well, I think I'll go now. I'm just looking for chaos but I'll just tag along later." Theos turned around and left. Jr. and MOMO followed him out but they were surprised to see he wasn't there.
"I only blinked for a second." Jr. said, his eyes searching.
"Me too!" MOMO looked around. The two stood there on the sidewalk until finally Jin's car drove up, being driven by none other then KOS-MOS. "KOS-MOS?!"
"Affirmative." She opened the car door. "Please enter the vehicle." MOMO and Jr. climbed in.
"Why are you here? Where's Jin?" Jr. asked. In the backseat MOMO muttered 'KOS-MOS can drive?'
"I am here to take you back to Jin's. Shion requested it." The blue haired girl drove surprisingly well. "The power output for the gas and brake pedal is small. It is a good test of my power capabilities."
"Is Jin busy?" MOMO asked.
"Jin and Shion are having a heated discussion on the new orders. Gaignun Kukai has also arrived."
"The new orders came?" MOMO was surprised but not as much as Jr.
"Gaignun's here?!" He frowned. "Why's he here?"
"The new orders are for Ziggy to take MOMO to the Dammerung while Shion and Allen are to accompany me there as well." KOS-MOS paused. "Also Gaignun Kukai came with a message for you, stating that five Zohar Emulators have been stolen over the past two days. He said he would have contacted you otherwise but all communications are down."
"The Dammerung? The Vector ship?" MOMO asked.
"Yes." The woman nodded. Jr. looked outraged.
"FIVE ZOHARS ARE MISSING??!! STOLEN?! HOW THE HELL COULD SOMEONE STEAL FROM THE DURANDAL?!" Jr. shouted, punching the door. No one else spoke until they reached Jin's house. The three walked inside but instead of being greeted, they saw Jin and Shion facing each other, equal anger on both their faces. Everyone else, including Mary, Shelly and Gaignun, was watching quietly.
"Shion, I am going with you!" Jin cried.
"No, you'll only be in danger! This is our mission!" Shion yelled.
"It doesn't matter! You're weaker then I am and you've lived!" Jin countered. "So I'll be just fine! I'm going Shion!"
"Jin, these are our orders!"
"Shion, we both know how you got into Vector!" This insult from Jin came unexpectedly. Shion's mouth fell open a bit. "Now will you listen? This is your fate Shion, that's how this all started. Everyone it this room is tied to your fate and that includes me!" Jin walked over to her. "…Sister, I'm going no matter what. I'm sorry but I have a mission too."
"Oh? And what's that?" Shion asked.
"I have someone I need to kill. Your paths will cross and I need to be there." Jin said softly. Shion's eyes grew wide and she stared at her brother.
"Jin…"
"Shion, you're my sister and I love you but sometimes you can be so thick headed." He smiled at her. "So I'm lending my sword to your cause. We're all going to the Dammerung right?" Shion couldn't stop staring. He knew? He'd always known…her goofy, bookworm brother had always known this was coming…why hadn't she? Was she that thick-headed?
"Affirmative." KOS-MOS said.
A/N: yay, another chapter completed!! I don't have much to say really but there no pairings that have been decided and I'm not overly worried. They'll come to me. Oh yeah, now Gaignun's going with them! YAY!