Chapter 4: MOMO's Subconscious Domain Summer

U.M.N. Control Center

12:37 P.M.

chaos:

The Yuriev Institute for Research was located on Earth originally back when Anima was conducting his cloning experiments—namely me and my brothers. I thought of it much like a prison cell to spend my days in until I went mad. I kept myself hidden from Azaria for a few days, not bothering to come out to eat or drink. Keeping myself alive didn't matter as long as Azaria was disappointed in me. I blew my silky strands out of my face with a heavy sigh. Without my daily hairstyle, my hair had fallen out of its typical straightness.

"chaos, what are you doing in here?"

Anima? My body went rigid with fear. Now I was in trouble. I was not supposed to be in the research facility; it was banned by Anima.

"I-I'm sorry, Anima. I-I know I should be back with Azaria," I stammered.

Two strong hands lifted me off of the floor and sat me down onto my feet.

"Maybe it's time…Yeshua, that you come live inside the facility with me."

"The facility…"

"Here, chaos, drink this."

I glanced up and saw Mary holding a mug above my head. I reached up and grabbed it gently.

"Thank you, Mary," I said gratefully.

"You're welcome, dear."

I took a sip of the contents of the mug and found that it was fresh tea.

"Oh no. Poor MOMO."

Was that Shion's voice?

"I'm so sorry. We were right there and we still let this happen to her."

That was Jr.'s voice. Poor MOMO. I regret not being able to do anything other than what I did.

"Her basic functions have recovered. Though she avoided death, her neural network, the rough equivalent of her brain, has been completely shattered to pieces. We need the expertise of Vector's Third Division if we stand any chance of recovering the Y-Data. This crisis isn't just Second Militia's problem anymore. On behalf of the entire government, I am hereby requesting your official assistance," Helmer informed.

"MOMO…All this to protect her father's wishes. Very well. We would be honored to assist you. Besides, MOMO is a close friend," Shion replied.

Well said, Shion. Well said.

"Ok, people. Shion should be here in a few minutes. Let's prepare for anything," Jr. ordered.

I took another sip of my tea and stood up. I needed fresh air.

"chaos, sit tight. I need to speak with you."

I gave Jr. a confused look.

"I really need some fresh air, Jr. Perhaps we can talk later," I said quickly.

"I'm afraid you can't get fresh air. Come with me, chaos," Helmer said tersely.

Oh fantastic.

Second Militia Government Offices

Twenty Minutes Later

chaos:

"What are you talking about? What reason could there possibly be for the Immigrant Fleet to deploy ships to Second Militia?"

"Now, now, let's not be so quick to judge. Let's at least hear what they have to say."

The Immigrant Fleet? I knew about them. They were loosely connected to the U-TIC Organization. So…why were they addressing the Parliament?

"Thank you for allowing me to the opportunity to speak. Once, in this region of space, there existed the great land of Militia. As you all know, when the unfortunate events occurred fourteen years ago, that land along with mankind's greatest treasure, was sealed away like a cursed past. That greatest of treasures originally belonged to all of mankind, and we of the Immigrant Fleet had been its caretakers for time immemorial."

Patriarch. Wow, what a great sob story. Even I know that they wanted the Zohar for their own desires.

"Now wait just a minute. All Zohar activity currently falls under the jurisdiction of the Federation. You aren't trying to monopolize that great treasure for yourselves, now, are you?"

Yes, they are.

"We wouldn't dream of it. All I am saying is there are those who would claim it as their own."

Translation: Yes, I'm going to use the Zohar for my own personal gain.

"Are you insinuating that the Militian Government would do such a thing?"

I shook my head.

"Enough, Wilhelm. Turn it off. I don't want to hear anymore," I snapped.

Wilhelm nodded and pressed a button on the desk. The screen with the Representatives of the Parliament vanished into thin air, leaving only silence in the room.

"I have a bad feeling about this, Yeshua."

"The Patriarch's lying to them. He's going to use the Zohar for himself."

"Do you know that for certain?"

"Margulis has told me about the weapon they are planning to develop. It's a giant mech."

"Even so…we don't have solid proof."

I know.

"I know. I have to have physical or visual proof."

Wilhelm sighed.

"How is the Realian?"

"Barely alive, so to speak. Helmer has asked Vector's First and Third Division to help."

"This is troubling. You know Albedo's just biding his time."

I growled.

"I'm well aware he's still around. I hope he'll like my gift as well."

"Gift? Yeshua, what did you do?"

I smirked.

"Something wonderful."

"Yeshua!"

"I have to go, Wilhelm."

U.M.N. Control Center

Ten Minutes Later

chaos:

I watched with mild interest as Shion and Allen walked into the control room.

"Shion! I thought we were getting someone from the Third Division. This is outside of First Division's jurisdiction, isn't it?"

Thanks for the proper greeting, Jr.

"Yes. Normally the Third Division would have sent someone, but we were closer. It's just easier for me to take care of it. Besides, I've already had everything we need transported over. Don't worry, we've got the technical side covered. You can relax," Shion said, voice oozing with confidence.

Allen walked up to Shion's side.

"Honestly, chief, you're so stubborn. You know, you're gonna have a hard time with the Third Division later."

I rolled my eyes.

"Yet, in spite of that, Allen, you're still right here helping," I commented.

"What? Ah…well…I can't leave it all to the Chief, how can I?"

"Jr., we want to save MOMO, too. Or, do you think Allen and I aren't reliable enough?" Shion pointed out.

"No, no! Well, I don't know about Allen, but I'm glad you're here, Shion," Jr. said carefully.

"Hey! What's that supposed to—" Allen started.

"We're short on time. As soon as you're ready, let's go."

Shion nodded.

"Right."

She exited the room with Ziggy and Jr. on her heels. Allen sat down in a chair and sighed. I walked out of the room, ignoring the weight that had started to build up in my stomach. After each one of us took our places around the circle, Shion motioned to Allen.

"Is everyone ready to dive? MOMO's subconscious domain is likely in a highly unstable state. If there are no problems, I'll commence the dive. Are you ready?" Allen announced.

"Ready!" Shion shouted.

"All right! Then I'll initiate the dive. The dive subjects for this operation will be the chief, Jr., chaos and Ziggy. I've also arranged for KOS-MOS' data to be simultaneously transmitted from Second Division into the Encephalon. I'm sure having her around will be reassuring."

"That's good thinking, Allen."

"Our dive target is MOMO Mizrahi's subconscious domain, which is modeled after Sakura Mizrahi's memories. Like the dive into KOS-MOS' Encephalon, there is a possibility of resonant memory playbacks with those who've closely shared time and space with her."

"This time, that'd be me," Jr. said softly.

"Jr.?" Shion asked.

"Dr. Mizrahi told me that Sakura suffered from a central nervous system disorder. Did you have contact with her?" Ziggy.

Jr. nodded.

"I did. The going theory was that Sakura's symptoms were somehow connected to unusual wave pulses within the U.M.N. She was being attended to at the Yuriev Institute, where her treatments were also a part of the U.R.T.V.'s U.M.N. link training."

Yuriev? Something cold snaked its way down my spine. I knew Yuriev…before…

"Sakura was the girl MOMO was modeled after, right?" Shion asked.

"I'd like to ask you something. What is U-DO, exactly? Why were you U.R.T.V.'s created? To fight it?" Ziggy asked.

You answered your own question, Ziggy.

"U-DO is the Unus-Mundus Drive Operation system. From the name, it might sound like some U.M.N. controlled A.I., but that thing was not created by human hands," Jr. answered.

That's a lie. U-DO was created by human hands. As was the Zohar.

"Yes. That thing…that's no A.I. Nothing that simple could have created a space-time anomaly," Shion mused.

Well, I find U-DO being created by human hands easy to accept. Hey, even the gnosis are mini miracles themselves. For something composed completely out of salt to be so very deadly…

"Exactly. They just picked the name because it sounded good. At that, they tried to make us believe it, too. They said it was an artificial consciousness within the U.M.N. that was carrying some kind of dangerous waves. But that was a total lie. Our father, Dmitri Yuriev, knew about it from the start."

As do I, Jr.

"So, what is it?" Ziggy asked.

"It's energy from a higher dimension. An entity humans couldn't possibly control. It's ironic that we U.R.T.V.'s are its anti-existence, and yet we were never told what it really is."

"U-DO…" Shion muttered as she put on the red glasses designed for a dive.

The rest of us followed suit after her quietly, processing all of what we heard.

"Encephalon construction complete. We can open the interconnection at any time now," Allen announced.

"Okay, go ahead," Shion replied.

"All right everyone, just relax and enjoy the trip. And don't worry, I'm a pro at this."

"He's right. We're in good hands."

I could feel Allen's triumphant smile.

"KOS-MOS data transfer confirmed. Initiating reconstruction. All preparations for direct approach complete."

"All right. Let's go," Jr. said softly.

Within a blink of an eye, we were standing in the middle of a lush green yard with a medium-sized two story house. Ok…this was way different from KOS-MOS' encephalon. I kinda…liked it.

"Where are we?" Ziggy asked.

"The world inside MOMO's subconscious domain. Sakura's inner world. MOMO!" Jr.

Sure enough, MOMO was sitting on a bench on the porch of the house. Jr. walked up to her…

"MOMO, you're ok! Hey, can't you hear me? Say something!"

"It's no use, Jr. She's not going to answer," Shion said softly.

"Why not? She's right here in front of us!"

"Her personality layer is offline. Plus, her neutral network's completely fragmented. She can't understand anything we say. She may not be able to even hear us right now."

"No! Damnit!"

"The MOMO you're seeing here is nothing more than a product of her own subconscious. Even if she were able to take some sort of action, it would only be a simple reflex. MOMO…even in her current state, she's trying so hard to help us."

And your sacrifice will not be in vain, MOMO.

"What are you doing? We don't have much time. Do you want to worry MOMO even more?" Ziggy asked.

"Right. MOMO…just hang on a little longer," Jr. whispered.

Let's get this done.

"Let's check in the house…upstairs preferably," I suggested.

I had no idea if checking the house would produce results, but it was a start. Surprisingly, no one said anything against my suggestion. We entered the house and walked up the stairs. Around the corner of the stairs was a small bedroom. The moment one of us touched the carpet, a flash occurred. When the light faded, we saw a girl sleeping in the previously empty bed.

"Is that…MOMO?" Shion asked.

"No…" Ziggy muttered.

"It's Sakura," Jr. stated.

So this was Sakura…she looked a bit different from when I saw her.

"Rubedo…it's all dark…"

Rubedo?

"It's kinda cramped in here."

"I know! Just shut up for a second, will ya?"

"I'm scared. Turn the light on!"

"Cut it out! Quit movin' around so much…Ow!"

"Quit pushing, stupid!"

Albedo, Nigredo, and Rubedo.

All of a sudden, the closet opened and all three tumbled out onto the floor.

"What is this place?" Rubedo asked.

"We must've messed up the connection coordinates," Albedo replied.

"Albedo, you stepped on my foot in there!"

"Huh? I did not!"

Shion blew a loud sigh.

"Uh-huh. That's us fourteen years ago," Jr. commented.

That wouldn't be something I'd own up to. I watched as Rubedo and Albedo started arguing with each other.

"That girl is our contact target. The coordinates were correct," Nigredo stated.

Sakura opened her eyes and sat up.

"That girl…she's looking at us?" Albedo asked.

The girl looked directly at the small three.

"I…I'm sorry!" Rubedo said loudly, embarrassment lining the edges of his voice.

"Ah, you guys…" Sakura said softly.

All the while, the boys were back in the closet, trying to get back to whatever they came from.

"Next time, we'll come in through the door," Rubedo said loudly.

"Wait!"

"Huh?" The trio asked.

"You guys…You can hear what I'm saying?"

The trio nodded.

"I'm…I'm so happy you came," Sakura said gratefully with a tear in her eye.

The trio approached her bed carefully. A flash of light occurred and the room was instantly back to normal, but not before we saw the phantom trio running down the stairs. Without a word, we followed them out onto the front yard, where they vanished into a glowing portal. Without hesitation, we followed them into the portal. The next thing we saw the figures of Dr. Dmitri Yuriev and Dr. Juli Mizrahi. I ground my teeth against each other. Yuriev…that bastard!

'chaos, I am detecting a disturbance on your end. Do you need to pull out?'

Allen? I had forgotten that he was monitoring our wave patterns by the computers.

'No, Allen. I'm fine, really.'

'All right, chaos.'

I have got to calm down. I know I didn't have any pleasant memories of Yuriev…but I couldn't make people worry.

"Dmitri. Are you sure those boys are going to be able to help with Sakura's treatment?" Dr. Mizrahi asked.

"I don't believe the condition your daughter suffers from is a mere natural disorder. Therefore, contact with the anti-U-DO waveforms within the U.R.T.V.'s will be beneficial for her," Yuriev replied idly.

"Hypersensitivity to the synchronicity of the U.M.N. We never had diseases like that when the universe was still small."

A buzzer sounded.

"U.M.N. dive operation Phase Six complete. U.R.T.V. team commencing dive-out, starting from number 660. Now opening dive-pods."

There were three dive pods in particular that opened up…and Rubedo was the first to awaken. He stood right in front of his pod and looked Yuriev right in the eyes.

"That girl…that girl gave me a message. She said, 'Please tell my mother…Please tell my mother that I love her.' What else…she said, 'I got a seashell treasure box for my birthday last year. If you tell my mother that she'll understand.'"

Dr. Mizrahi approached Rubedo with a small smile on her face.

"So, the wavelengths matched up…" Yuriev mused.

"You were able to talk to Sakura?" Dr. Mizrahi asked.

Rubedo nodded.

"So, what's your name?" She asked.

"Rubedo. Uh…I mean…U.R.T.V. unit number 666."

Dr. Mizrahi knelt in front of Rubedo and held his right hand with both of her hands.

"Rubedo. Please keep telling me the things she says, all right?"

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Mom…" Shion whispered.

That's right, she does have a connection to this place…as do I. Now, we were in one of the main entrance ways to the Yuriev Institute. The place I had grown to hate more than death…

"What is this place?" Shion asked.

"The Yuriev Institute. It's the U.R.T.V. development facility. The place where I was made," Jr. answered.

And the place where I grew up.

"It feels strange, like time has stopped. The people here can't see us?"

"Yeah, looks like it. This place is frozen in time at a point when Sakura was alive. But why here? How do we save MOMO?"

"Hmm…it would seem that those three phantoms are the key. They look like they're leading us somewhere," Ziggy commented.

"Right, we don't have time to wonder around. Let's go look for them," Shion suggested.

Thus began our phantom chase. We followed the trio to a place where we could see a piano through a window. A flash of light told us that we were right on cue. Now, we saw Dr. Mizrahi with her daughter at the piano. Rubedo was standing in the middle of the space, watching them intently.

"Sakura…" Rubedo whispered.

Sakura continued to play the piano, undisturbed.

"She really can't talk in this world."

"That's right. The neural pathways that recognize the outside world and allow her to express herself have been completely severed. Her electric potential pulse control was determined to be unstable, but neither medicine nor nanomachine-based Glilial supplements had any effect," Dr. Mizrahi explained.

"It's weird that restoring her membrane electrical potential didn't do anything."

"Yes…but now your waveform, the particular wavelength you possess, is making up for her deficiency."

With another flash, we were back at the house we previous started at.

"I hear my dad is researching treatment for me, too. He's making a Realian that's a lot like a human, and he's gonna make it so my senses are always linked up with it. That way, I won't have to make my mom sad anymore." Sakura…

"Sakura, you sure have nice parents." Rubedo…

"What about you? Your dad is Dr. Yuriev, right? Don't you have a mom?"

I don't have a mother either…not in the normal respect.

"Yeah, we have one. Genetically speaking, anyway. She had a healthy ovum with a perfect set of chromosomes. That's all we really know about her."

"How come you're not looking for her? Don't you wanna meet her?"

I could see the hurt in Rubedo's eyes.

"What's the point? So I can say, 'Hi! You're the mother of a bunch of genetically engineered bioweapons?'"

Sakura placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't say that. You're not a weapon. You're a wonderful boy."

"Oh yeah? The only time we can leave the Institute is when there's a war going on!"

I covered my eyes with a gloved hand. All of this was much too painful to bear. This wasn't my memories…but I was still there…

"Hey, Rubedo. I have a favor to ask of you."

"My little sister is gonna be born soon. She's kind of different from a normal sister. I mean, my mom won't be giving birth to her, but…my mother and sister…I want you to look after them for me, okay?"

Sakura…how noble of you.

"Okay! If she's you sister, I'll look after her like she was my own!" Rubedo said enthusiastically.

"You promise?"

"Of course! Leave it to me—"

"Good night, Rubedo. See you tomorrow."

I moved my hand from over my eyes and sighed. Sakura walked inside the house and closed the door behind her. Rubedo wave and touched his cheek. Another flash and we were back in the courtyard. None of us said much as we followed the phantom trio further into the Institute. Another flash…and we were bathed in another memory. This time, Rubedo was throwing a harmonica up into the air.

"So, you practice along with her piano. If you're that interested in her, why don't you just stay there in virtual space? I'm sure she'd like that too," Nigredo commented.

"It's not like that," Rubedo muttered.

"Your concentration's been slipping lately, Rubedo. It's almost time for our training in the U-Do simulator. You know that, right?" Albedo pointed out.

"Hey, I know all about it. I'm the link master. I'll fulfill the mission," Rubedo said confidently.

"I can trust you, right? As long as you're here, I don't have to be afraid of U-DO, right?"

It was amazing how different the younger Albedo was from the older Albedo. The younger was so…innocent, untainted. Just like I used to be…before I killed.

"Of course! Pull yourself together! We're the variants. Your waveform's way beyond a normal U.R.T.V."

Albedo gasped and started to cry. Another flash. Another chase. This time, the trio was facing a female U.R.T.V.

"Pleased to meet you, number 666 Rubedo. I am U.R.T.V. number 668. You may call me Citrine."

Citrine? How original.

"668? I've never seen a female type before!" Rubedo exclaimed.

"Don't be surprised. The original fertilized eggs had born X and Y stock. I am an X-type, designed to preserve the egg's mtDNA. We'd be in trouble if the project hits a dead end with nothing but just simple Y-types."

"I'd heard there was a girls' ward somewhere," Albedo mused.

"I thought the missing number was dead," Nigredo commented.

"It's certainly true that a lot of units were disposed of. Unlike you male types, we have only nine female types remaining. It's a shame because theoretically, we are superior," Citrine said haughtily.

"Disposed of? Who do you think you are?" Rubedo snapped.

"And just who do you think you are, Rubedo? We aren't normal children, you know. Even if we lost control of our waveform and died, we wouldn't have the luxury of complaining about it."

Another flash and yet another goose chase. I was strangely fatigued by all of the information bestowed to me. But I wouldn't slow the party down. Not now, at least. A flash of light told me that we were in another flashback. Rubedo, Albedo and Nigredo were in the dive capsules, facing the other U.R.T.V.'s.

"I can't stand them," Albedo muttered.

"Shh," Nigredo hissed.

"Just look at them. They don't even have wills of their own. All of them together just form one collective consciousness. Why is everyone up to 665 like that?"

"The standard types have weak anti-waveforms. It's not their fault they were born that way," Rubedo explained.

"Ew…yuck," Albedo mused.

A buzzer sounded.

"This is not a drill. You will initiate a U.M.N. dive into the subconscious domain of the sleeping patient and repair her sensory impairment. This mission will also serve as valuable anti-U-DO training for you," Yuriev announced.

"Your descent target is a white beach. This beach is a subject image created by the patient that exists below her consciousness. Within it lies whatever is obstructing her neural connection. We want you to identify and eliminate it." Dr. Mizrahi.

"The beach?" Rubedo asked.

"I've never been to the beach!" Albedo exclaimed.

"We'll definitely have to go sometime!" Nigredo suggested.

A few moments later, the trio fell silent.

"Why? Why are you the leader, number 666?"

"You're a variant…you're a monster!" Judgmental U.R.T.V.'s.

Rubedo looked at his palm questioningly.

"Shut up, you losers! Don't make fun of Rubedo! Your power doesn't even come close to his!" Albedo shouted.

"That's enough, Albedo. They're not our enemies. It's all right, Rubedo. We both believe in you," Nigredo said calmly.

Instead of another flash and another chase, we found ourselves at a gas station out in the middle of nowhere. I was certainly relieved to be away from that cursed Institute…and my spirit felt much lighter for it.

"The target is the beach. We should reach it if we proceed north through the forest. Let's go!" Rubedo shouted as he ran off.

The trio was off again and it was up to us to follow them.

"Yet another goose chase," Shion muttered as we set off across the street.

A cold feeling snaked down my spine, causing me to stop in my tracks. Only one thing could make me feel uneasy and that was…

"KOS-MOS, activate Hilbert Effect now!" I demanded.

"chaos, what has gotten into you?" Shion asked.

"Activating Hilbert Effect. Gnosis materialization complete," KOS-MOS announced.

Instantly, hundreds of little orbs surrounded us, growling menacingly. I stood up carefully and considered my options. All of the gnosis could be eliminated if I knew what their weaknesses were. The little orbs formed into floating human-like gnosis and huge burly gnosis with giant axes.

"KOS-MOS, information and weaknesses," I ordered.

"The human-like gnosis are Expressions. Expected life energy: 700 units. Weakness: Zones B and B. The bigger gnosis are called Necessities. Expected life energy: 1280. Weakness: Zones B and C."

That wasn't what I need to hear. Sure, they would be easy to destroy, given my powers. I was just worried about the others.

"Everyone…are you ready?"

"Ready as we're ever going to be."

Shion shot into action to the right of me by firing several blasts of energy out of her M.W.S. A barrage of gunfire told me that Jr. was in action. I sent energy to my hands, preparing for assault. I had to admit it was wonderful to be able to get action. I threw my hands up into the air and released the energy. Milky white energy erupted from my gloves up into the air and fell back down onto the various gnosis. Over a hundred death rattles filled the air, forcing me to cover my ears. I didn't like hearing things die, especially the gnosis. When it stopped, I uncovered my ears and glanced at everyone.

"Why would gnosis be in MOMO's subconscious domain?" Ziggy asked.

Even I couldn't answer that.

"I don't know," Shion admitted.

"chaos, how did you know that the gnosis were around?" Jr. asked.

"Uh…think about it, Jr. Just how long have we been fighting the gnosis?"

Question with a question.

"You've got a point."

"Yeah, I do. Let's go."

After twenty minutes of walking, we found ourselves in the middle of a field with windmills in the middle of it. And now, we were in the middle of another flashback. The trio was standing in the middle of the pathway, looking up at a reddish purple orb in the sky. I held back a shuddering gasp. That was U-DO…

"So this is…the fear that Sakura holds," Rubedo whispered.

A wave from the orb suddenly shot out, narrowly missing Rubedo and the 'normal' U.R.T.V.'s that accompanied them.

"Look out! Behind you!" Nigredo shouted as he took a hit from the orb of U-DO.

More waves shot out however this time, they headed for Albedo.

"What is this thing? Cut it out!" Albedo shouted.

"Are they ready? Let's spread out a psych-link and take care of this," Rubedo ordered.

"Rubedo, look!" Nigredo shouted.

The waves circled around the orb.

"The waves—"

The trio suddenly donned a worried look on their faces.

"The waves are coming!"

"Hey! What are you talking about?" Rubedo asked.

The blast waves from the orbs shot out and slammed into the normal U.R.T.V.'s.

"No!"

Slowly and surely, the U.R.T.V.'s became infected and turned into monsters. I suddenly became aware that my hands were shaking.

"They've been infected! But we're not even inside the U-DO simulator!" Albedo shrieked.

Rubedo screamed out loud in fear as the flash of light occurred. The only difference was…the infected U.R.T.V.'s were still around. I backed up quickly, hand covering my mouth. My stomach heaved violently. As the rest of the group jumped into battle, I fell back onto my butt, holding back bile that wouldn't stay down no matter how I tried. The mutation that U-DO caused was horrifying. The most terrifying thing was that…

"chaos, are you all right?"

Shion's voice brought my attention back to the present. Everyone was standing around me with worried looks on their faces, including Jr. I knew Jr. was suspicious about what had happened earlier in the U.M.N. Control Center. After all, I didn't tell him why I reacted like I did. I had Wilhelm to thank for that.

"I-I'm fine. Let's keep going, shall we?"

I was trying to take the attention away from myself. Shion and Ziggy pulled me up to my feet and nodded. I was feeling a little bit better now. Just a little bit. The group started along the path again, this time, with me and Shion in the front. At the end of the path was a cliff, a dead end. And that triggered my senses…my abnormal senses. Something was waiting for us here. All of a sudden, an infected U.R.T.V. jumped out of the bushes and landed in front of us.

I stopped in my tracks and waited with invisible tendrils of energy caressing my body. Instead of attacking us, its body split in half at its torso, spewing forth another body. The bile that threatened to rise the first time had returned in full. Once the monster had fully formed, it lunged at me, knocking me to the ground. The wind was easily knocked out of my lungs, throwing off the concentration that I needed to use my powers while I had on my gloves.

"chaos!" Shion and Jr. screamed.

My vision went completely white as Shion fired her M.W.S. The creature roared in pain and retaliated with a long distance claw swipe. I prayed that she was all right. With my mind still very hazy, I couldn't possibly hope to help them.

"We've got to do something!"

The monster looked at me, jaws dripping with saliva. With one huff, it blew a green mist into my face. I felt my throat tighten up…as well as the rest of my muscles. I screamed, agonized beyond all belief.

"Charging…R-Cannon!"

I never thought I would be relieved to hear KOS-MOS's powerful cold voice. The infected U.R.T.V. was thrown back, well out of my range of sight. Two strong arms lifted me onto my feet, but I could hardly manage the strength to stand. It was very funny that I was feeling this way. Normally, my body would have cleansed the poison from my veins, but this was something different.

"Get him an antidote, quickly!"

No…don't feed that to me.

"N-No…" I managed to stammer.

Shion gave me a strange look.

"Why not?"

"It may not be good for him," Jr. answered.

"Enemy exterminated. Your orders, Shion?"

KOS-MOS. I closed my eyes, trying to conserve what energy I had left.

"I told you to leave Rubedo alone! Variants aren't monsters! You guys are just weak!"

Albedo?

"Stop it! You'll kill him!" Rubedo.

"Rubedo…Don't look at me like that! Rubedo!"

When will this nightmare ever end?

Author's Note: I decided to split chapter four up into two parts, because it would be VERY long and because I didn't want to feel like I was rushing to get it done. And if I kept it in it's original format, I would be rushing to get it down by the weekend. Thank you for reviewing, you guys. I will continue to deliver Yeshua's goodness. Will chaos be able to recover for the Winter Domain? What is his relationship with Dmitri Yuriev? Why is he so afraid of U-DO? What is his relationship with U-DO and Sakura? These answers and more next chapter!