Look at how quickly I'm updating! For a lazy person like me, this is nothing short of a miracle! I've said this before, but I have to say it again: My reviewers are awesome! Oh, and rdsullivan, I'm so psyched that I've motivated you to join Fanfiction, and I'm ecstatic and amazed that this story has inspired you to draw more Xeno pictures. I checked out your deviant account and I was like, "Oh my God! These pics are unbelievable!" Really, I literally shouted that out, scared the hell out of my cat. I can't wait to see something you based off my fic (I'm practically blushing!) Everybody who has even the slightest bit of interest in Xenosaga should really check out her artwork (the link is on her FFN profile). I'm serious. Go look at it right now—wait! First read this chapter, then leave a review (naturally) then go check out her deviant account. Because I kid you not, the artwork is amazing!
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Borne Up on Angel Wings
Chapter Eight
---
She lay peacefully on the hard stone floor. Under any other circumstances, Shion would have been unbearably uncomfortable, but just by virtue of the fact that he lay next to her, she could have been lying on a bed of embers and still felt as if she were sinking into a soft, cushiony marshmallow. And she slept, face bathed in starlight, breathing steadily. Her dreams were sweet and pure, filled with angel feathers and sparkling green pools.
And he watched her, stroked her hair, wiped her tears, but mostly just gazed at her as she slept. chaos sighed and leaned his head against the castle ramparts, his right hand resting gingerly on her head. She knew. Not that he had enjoyed keeping her in the dark, but how much would she suffer now? All of this could have been avoided, but someone had been fueling Shion's natural inclination to rebel against destiny. Nephilim, no doubt. He smiled privately inside. He knew her motives and her hopes, and thanked her for her compassion and her kindness, but...Nephilim was naive, when push came to shove. She went against ancient rules and unbreakable codes. No matter how hard she would try to bend the rules, or twist fate around, or get Shion involved...at the end of the day, chaos's destiny was what it was. If one life could save the cosmos, and ensure the survival of humanity, then that one life was negligible, the sacrifice meaningful. chaos had clung momentarily to the hope that maybe, fate would not have its way in the end, and worse, he had allowed Shion to believe that too, and the consequences had shattered her. Shattered him. For as much as he loathed Wilhelm, for as corrupted as the CEO may be, chaos knew he was right. The extermination of the Gnosis was of crucial importance. Others would rise to meet mankind's other threats, Ormus, U-DO...others like KOS-MOS. chaos's smile turned to a grin. If only Shion knew...the spark she started when she began KOS-MOS's programming. He only wished that he could see KOS-MOS awaken before...destiny took its tole.
He blinked his eyes in the starlight, and sat up against the ramparts. Careful not to wake her, he un-clipped Shion's Communicator from her belt, accessed its text feature, and began typing. There was so much left to say, so much he wished he could say, but the words appeared and vanished in his head like silvery bubbles. Why attempt to hurt her more? There were things she didn't know for a reason, and he intended to keep it that way. Besides, she had always known him as sweet but terse. Best that she would remember him that way as well. After all, if there were anything Shion truly wanted to know, he was sure Nephilim would be more than happy to shoot her mouth off in her trademark cryptic babble.
chaos keyed in his last words and returned the Communicator to its resting place at Shion's belt. He looked at her face and chuckled a bit. It was funny, how people tended to look like children when they slept. In her current state, Shion seemed to be the perfect embodiment of innocense. He smiled, brushing a few stray bangs from her face, and was suddenly surprised by a mouth-splitting, eye-closing yawn. Strange...chaos rarely slept. But the fatigue was real, and the quiet peacefulness of Heaven's Ruins coupled with Shion's calm breathing were enough to soothe even the worse cases of insomnia. He slid back down to the floor and surrendered himself to the peace.
—
"Get up."
chaos's eyes snapped open at the sound of foreign voices. Even before his eyes adjusted to the dim starlight, he knew: Wilhelm and the Testament, three cloaked figures. Red, blue, and black.
chaos was up on his feet, discharging silvery sparks from his hands even before Wilhelm could inhale after his command. He raised his fists protectively and placed himself between the Testament and Shion, although he noticed to his relief that none of them seemed at all interested in her. She continued sleeping, despite the loud voices that echoed off the tower walls.
"Come on, let's go." The red cloaked figure barked. chaos's blood chilled. Wilhelm cast an admonishing glance at the red Testament, like a teacher who was mad at one of his students for speaking out of turn.
Wilhelm returned his gaze to chaos, "It's time Yeshua."
"Not it's not," chaos hissed, "why are you here? And–hey!" His hand sparked and a silvery wave knocked the black Testament, who had ventured closer to Shion, a few feet back. "Don't you dare lay a finger on her. She has nothing to do with any of you."
Wilhelm laughed, "That's rather amusing coming from you. But don't fret over her safety, she's been saturated with sedatives. She won't wake up for another five hours. Then again, that is not to discourage you from coming quickly and quietly. Time is of the essence."
chaos's face burned with rage, "I don't understand. Why are they here?" He indicated Testament with contempt. All of them chose to remain silent, however. Only Wilhelm spoke.
"I believe your privilege to ask questions has long since expired."
chaos clenched his fists defiantly, "And if I chose not to come?"
"Oh, you'll come, one way or the other. It's a matter of whether you want her mangled or not. Accept your fate now, and you have my word that we will not touch a hair on her head."
chaos said nothing.
"You don't trust my word? Have I ever broken a promise, Yeshua?"
"You've kept all the ones you made with the Devil." chaos spat bitterly.
Wilhelm chuckled, "Well, yes, I suppose that's splitting hairs though." He nodded at Shion, "so, what's your verdict? Would you like to see her ripped apart, limb from limb. I have a feeling I know just the person who would love to do that." He glanced nonchalantly at the red Testament.
chaos lowered his fists in defeat, and he knew. Realization burned him like Hellfire. Nephilim was right, so right. A gruesome, perverted, deceitful trick had been pulled, and now millions would suffer forever. chaos thought there was the hope, but that was only the facade...of horror. It was all a heart-chilling mistake, and while Wilhelm pulled the reigns, a much more sinister force was at work. chaos had been fooled. Everyone had been fooled, all but Nephilim. How could they all have been so short-sighted, how could they have failed to see that an inherently evil plot was unraveling, poised to kill humanity's freedom and hopes and dreams...Forever.
"Hit him." Wilhelm grinned coldly.
chaos wasn't sure who did it, but a crushing blow side-swiped him across the fist. A fist surging with black energy. Pure darkness. The essence of U-DO. chaos toppled to the floor and writhed in agony before his body mercifully passed out.
—
I believe everyone has at least one skill they excel in over all others. It's something that defines who they are. Shion...what is it that defines you?
Shion groaned and opened her eyes, then immediately shut them again because of the blinding sunlight that flooded Heaven's Ruins. She rolled over on the hard floor, and waited for the morning amnesia to subside. Where was she?...Oh yeah. And what happened yesterday?...Oh, holy cow, that was important. And what was it that she had learned about chaos and the prophecy?...Oh, right, that's why she had cried her heart out. Morning amnesia: the built in tool that prevented Shion from waking up screaming in horror.
"Hey chaos," She mumbled, groping groggily for the ramparts so that she could lift herself off the ground, "guess what I dreamed of last night? Remember when we first met on the Elsa, and you vaporized that Gnosis? Remember what you told me afterwards?"
No answer. She managed to grab onto the ramparts, half asleep, and nearly pulled herself over the edge of the tower. She opened one sleepy eye and looked down...Whoa! Five thousand foot drop into nothingness. That woke her up.
"Ah! Damn, this tower's high! Where–" She turned around and finally realized chaos wasn't there.
"chaos?" She asked tentatively. It seemed strange that he would have gone to another part of the Ruins, and even stranger that he would have left the Dive entirely, without waking her up.
Her communicator beeped.
"What the–?" She un-clipped her Communicator and shielded her eyes from the sun's glare. Its plasma screen displayed a new message:
Shion, There are so many things I want to tell you, but I fear your communicator's hard-drive isn't big enough... I wish I could photograph you right now, because the image of you sleeping like a child would be enough for me to fall for you all over again, if I didn't already love you with every fiber of my body... Just remember, when the sorrow knocks you down, you will rise again, and you'll rise with more dignity and love than you ever thought you had... I'll always be watching over you... Don't shed any more tears on my account. You will wake up, and you will discover all the wonderful things that life still has to offer you, and the purpose of your mission will ring truer to you then than it does now. Rest assured, I won't leave before saying goodbye. Or before eating your curry one last time. Yours always, chaos.
She blinked. She read the message again, and again, and again. She giggled the second time, apparently this was chaos's stab at poetic metaphor. She spun around happily the third time; she had written, documented evidence that he loved her...heh, heh. The fourth time, a sadness so powerful gripped her that tears wouldn't do it justice. He really was leaving. On his own accord, to be...murdered. For the sake of mankind. She couldn't understand it. That kind of selflessness was lost on her, lost on everybody. Why him?...
Enough. Pity-parties were for those weak of heart, and Shion's was a heart of steel. The death of her parents, the death of her (ex?)-boyfriend, and the abandonment by her brother (although that issue seemed to have resolved itself) had forged and steeled her that way. But a strange, nagging feeling clawed at her heart. The message stated quite clearly that he would not leave until he said goodbye, so why had he left now, without giving the slightest indication of where he had gone? Something was not right. At all.
She turned to face the green insignia on the floor a few feet away from her–the Forbidden Dive device. She started for it, but something caught her eye by her feet and she knelt down. chaos's gloves...Why would he leave them here? She picked them up tenderly and slipped them onto her hands. They felt so soft on her skin, just like his touch...
She bolted to her feet and felt an overwhelming sensation of power surge through her. The Erde Kaiser, her body was capable of summoning it now. She felt almost drunk with Ether energy. Her power most have increased ten-fold. That was handy, considering she planned to hunt down chaos wherever he was, at whatever the cost, and blast those who wished to kill him back to hell. Oh yeah, and that whole chaos being murdered thing, it would be laughable if anyone thought even for a second that she'd allow that to happen. She'd allowed too many of her loved ones to perish before her eyes. There would be no more. Destiny could kiss her ass.
—
When Shion emerged from the Forbidden Encephalon Dive, the entire lab was in disarray. Desks had been turned over, computers destroyed, the transporter was smashed, and all around there were signs of a struggle. A few technicians were huddled around a fire that had broken out at the lab's U.M.N. Terminal and were trying in vain to put it out. Janet spotted Shion amidst the smoke and ashes, and came rushing towards her.
"Oh, thank goodness! Are you alright?"
Shion blinked, confused and slightly afraid, "Y-yeah. What's going on?"
"You don't know? Last night, a group of cloaked figures forced themselves into the lab and destroyed everything in their sights until they found the Forbidden Dive device. I-I told them they couldn't use it, b-because you and your friend were already in there, but somehow they managed to Dive anyway..." Janet turned around and bit her lip. Nothing like this had ever happened before. Her lab, her career, her life—all destroyed! And people had been hurt...
"Janet!" Shion grabbed the technician's shoulders and spun her around, "it's ok! Just tell me what happened."
"T-the cloaked figures, they emerged from the device with your friend. He seemed unconscious. I-I was so flustered, and everything lay either in shambles or had been set on fire, I didn't notice. I thought you had gone with them..."
An icy chill shot down Shion's spine, making her skin crawl. Cloaked figures...Testament? "Where did they go?" She asked, masking the terror in her voice.
"I-I'm sorry, I don't know. They arrived by spacecraft however, and departed against our wishes. They've, they've probably left Second Miltia by now..." Janet broke down in tears.
Shion gasped. She knew where they had gone: Proto Omega. A rage burned within her that words couldn't describe. She whipped out her last paycheck and forwarded it to Janet.
"Here," she said, handing her the money, "this is so you can repair any damages done to the lab. I'm sorry I got you involved in all of this."
"Oh..." Janet's lip quivered, bowled over with emotion, "bless your heart, Shion–" But she was already gone.
—
"Jr.? Jr.!" Shion cried, yelling into her Communicator as she raced down the busy, Second Miltia street to her car, "We have an emergency! Is chaos with you on the Elsa?"
"Huh? No, why?" Jr.'s voice sounded concerned.
"Shit!" She took a deep breath, and as calmly and cooly as possible, she explained the situation, "chaos is an Aeon. He's been kidnaped by Ormus. His real name is Yeshua and he's the key figure in Nephilim's prophecy. It's all a twisted, evil plot to rid the universe of the Gnosis, open the path to Lost Jerusalem, and gain complete control of the Unus Mundus. Ormus and Testament plan to murder chaos and sacrifice him to the Zohar in order to start the whole reaction."
"What? Kill chaos!"
"Yes, it's a perverted Christian metaphor. chaos, Yeshua, is the Christ, and only on his death will we all be saved."
Jr. was thunderstruck into speechlessness. All the pieces of the puzzle suddenly came together in his mind to reveal one horrifying picture. Now he knew...
"We have to stop them!" Shion screamed, stating the blatantly obvious. "Pick me up at the Miltian Spaceport and tell Hammer to plot a course for Proto Omega, (it's a stronghold too, as well as the name of Ormus's superweapon) right away! Is the Erde Kaiser ready?"
"Yeah."
"Excellent." She turned a corner and spotted her car, "This is it Jr. The final battle is now. Ormus may be a congregation of heartless filthy bastards, but they're only human. Something much more evil and disturbing is at work here."
"U-DO?"
"Most definitely. Your journey will culminate at Proto Omega as well. What takes place there will be hard and painful for all of us, and it'll be the only chance we have of coming out victorious once and for all. Are you sure you're ready? You don't have to come–"
"Just get to the Spaceport!" Jr. cried, "And don't be stupid! That's just like you, worrying about others during your own, personal crisis. Don't even think for a second about facing off against Ormus alone."
"But, I have no right to drag you–"
"Drag us? Shion! What kind of friends would we be if we abandoned you in your greatest moment of need? Get your ass on the Elsa, and we'll save chaos together!"
—
Shion was an unseeable blur as she rocketed down the Miltian freeway to the spaceport. She became an even faster blur once she boarded the Elsa, where Tony slammed the ship's throttle and they tore across space at FTL speeds, heading straight for Proto Omega.
Shion sat quietly on the bridge, short of words and deep in thought. Just when she had found someone whom she loved in a way she didn't think possible and who filled the void that Kevin had left in a way that exceeded her wildest romantic dreams, she had lost him. Powerful emotions would soon tear their way through her, but she forced herself to remain calm now. She would unleash all of her anger, rage, contempt, and hatred on those who whole-heartedly deserved it in due time.
"You scared?"
Shion looked up, Allen took a seat next to her.
She didn't lie, "Yes, but this is something I have to do." Her heart trembled with fear but she was powerfully resolute. Her body surged with advanced Ether, capable of summoning the group's last hope.
Allen avoided her gaze, "Why endanger yourself like that?"
"Because, once Ormus is defeated, this nightmare will end. The fate of the universe rests on either our or Ormus's actions. I cannot allow them to win." She knew she sounded somewhat idealistic. Allen probably thought she was crazy. Not that she could blame him.
There was a short pause, "Shion, remember when I said that I would follow you to the deepest reaches of hell?"
She smiled, "Yes."
"Well...it's getting really, really hot."
"I know Allen. I know the hell I've put you through. This trip, this mission, this crazy mission, you shouldn't have been subjected to any of it. Hell is too hot. Stop following."
He shifted uneasily.
She sighed, "I've only recently realized my mistakes, how my actions end up hurting people in the end. I should have listened to you more often in the past, Allen. I should have heeded your warnings, should have realized how concerned you really were for me. I'm afraid we're all suffering from my mistakes now."
"Shion..."
"Don't waste your time with me, Allen, I'd only drag you down further into this inferno. I'm–I'm not right for you. I don't think I'm right for anybody! You need someone calm, caring, self-assured, who stays in one place. Basically everything I'm not. I'm just a reckless mess."
He started talking, but she interrupted him, "I know," she whispered, "you tried to take my tears away, and I thank you for it...but, I fear that won't happen. I really am terribly sorry for everything I've put you through...believe me, if there's anything I could do over in my life, I'd..." But she stopped, because both of them knew the futility of her words: They were too little, too late.
—
"This is it guys. I don't want to endanger any of you." She had said once the Elsa shot into Proto Omega, but her brother interrupted her by holding up his hand and stepped up next to her. Jin would not, for the life of him, ever leave his sister's side again.
She looked at MOMO, "Listen MOMO, you've been through enough. There's no reason you should feel obligated to–"
"Forget it, Shion!" The Realien flanked Shion's other side, "those Ormus guys are the people who made daddy out to be a lunatic. They used him, and in the end, killed..." Her voice trailed off, "I'm coming with you!"
Shion looked at Ziggy, but he stared her down in a way that prevented words from leaving her lips, and he also took his place beside her and MOMO.
Shion looked at KOS-MOS, "KOS-MOS, Ormus wants you for one of their sick plans too. You should return to safety at the Dammerung with all due speed."
"Negative."
Huh? "KOS-MOS, it's extremely dangerous here. You must leave!"
"Negative."
"But–but, you can't come fight with us!"
"Negative."
"KOS-MOS!–"
"Shion, I understand that your emotional state and the trauma you have undoubtedly gone through must have affected your judgement. However, I will not allow your faulty thought processes to interfere with your safety. If I fight with you, our success rate will have the highest degree of efficacy. Seeing as that is the case, I wish to waive my responsibilities to obey your commands for the time being, for it is in your best interest for me to do so."
You couldn't win with her. You just couldn't win...Shion's vision watered slightly, "KOS-MOS, thank you."
"You are welcome. I am happy to be of service."
Shion turned a touched and grateful face to Jr., "Jr., U-DO may be here. You don't have to come–"
"Stop talking right now, before I hit you." He grinned and grabbed her arm, "Come on! Everybody knows we're all friends and we're strongest when we're together and there's nothing we can't do, blah, blah, and blah. Save the teary happiness. The E.S. Asher is ready, Miss Vector, so let's go blow some stuff up!"
"And we'll be here waiting!" Tony called from the pilot's seat.
"We won't be going anywhere." Hammer cried.
"But if anything happens to the Elsa, it's coming out of your wallet." The Captain grunted.
Despite Jr.'s command, Shion felt overcome with emotion. She would be nothing if it weren't for the people who stood by her side right now, willing to risk their lives for her sake, come what may.
—
Proto Omega. The creepiest, largest, most confusing labyrinth of a bad-guy hideout that Shion ever had the displeasure of exploring. The newly-restored E.S. Asher's engines rumbled around her as she sat in the co-pilot seat above Jr., blasting away at anything that moved. She had forced herself to stay calm up until this point, but the urgency of her mission was tearing her apart.
Stop Testament, stop all the madness, and, screaming inside her head above all her other thoughts, SAVE CHAOS! Her nerves were on edge. Was she too late? Had the murder already taken place? What exactly did Ormus plan to do to him? She couldn't think about. Save chaos, save chaos... those were the only words she allowed her brain to process. Everything else made her skin crawl, her heart freeze.
"Ok, we can progress on foot now." She heard Jr. say, and she was out of the E.S. Asher like a lightning bolt, racing down the vaulted steel pathway that led to a florescent floating block, which led to the space colony's main atrium. It frightened her that she felt no fear. She had changed drastically in such a short time, from the scared, klutzy girl on the Ormus Stronghold to the fierce warrior in Heaven's Ruins. All her experiences had shaped her, molded her, forged her into the woman who stood today on the verge of the biggest confrontation in the cosmos. She meant to break an ancient prophesy, out of concern for humanity, out of hatred for Ormus, out of love...
"I am detecting an energy source of astronomical power beyond this gap." KOS-MOS stated, as the group assembled in front of the glowing block which seemed to be floating above nothingness.
"The Zohar?" Shion asked.
"Affirmative. Energy waves from the Zohar are powering the superweapon Proto Omega, which is also beyond the gap."
"It's status?" Jin asked, having some slight knowledge of Patriarch's new toy.
"Proto Omega is equipped with an Unus Mundus Network Phase Transfer Cannon. One blast from that attack contains enough power to vaporize a star. However, Patriarch himself is not beyond our abilities of defeating him."
Shion nodded, "Alright. Let's go."
Filled with resolve, she stepped onto the block, followed by her friends, and the glowing platform rocketed them towards the deadliest weapon in the cosmos.
—
Even the atrium itself was humbling. Harsh lights poured over the entire room and cast everything into an eerie, unnatural glow. Proto Omega's massive frame stood menacingly in the center of the room. The Zohar pulsated dully in its chest, like a glowing heart. Patriarch cackled evilly once his enemies arrived at his doorstep.
"I underestimated you inferior life forms. I must say, I am impressed. I honestly doubted you would ever make it this far, but then again, insignificant bugs do tend to be quite resolute."
"Where is he?" Shion screamed, marching up to the base of Proto Omega, a few feet from the Patriarch. KOS-MOS was never more than a half-yard away from Shion, everyone else encircled the two protectively.
Patriarch seemed mortally offended, "What insolence. You dare raise your voice to me?–"
"Where's Yeshua!" She spat, her voice thick with venom, "I know about your disgusting game, and it's over now!"
"How amusing." Patriarch scowled at her, "Once we fulfill our God-given right and propel humanity into a higher plane of existence, scum like you will be negligible. Your interference, while as annoying as a swarm of flies, is too late."
"Bastard!" She screamed, brandishing her M.W.S.
The Patriarch took offense and apparently lost his patience. A powerful shockwave rippled from his body and seared the air it traveled through as it propagated towards Shion. She deflected it, but with much difficulty, and the impact knocked her into her brother's arms.
"Shion, you must leave. I've detected chaos's life signals 500 yards north of our location. I will keep Patriarch engaged while you proceed north." KOS-MOS stated as her R-Dragon materialized out of her right arm.
Shion started, "You can't take on the Patriarch and Proto Omega alone, KOS-MOS! Be reasonable!"
"That's while we'll be fighting with her!" Jr. shouted, quickly boosting his Ether with Ziggy and casting an Aura Veil around the entire party, which absorbed most of the damage from another of Patriarch's earth-splitting attacks.
"If you do not vacate the premises immediately," KOS-MOS warned Shion as she shielded her, "I will have to resort to drastic measures."
"I–but!" Shion whipped around, stared at her friends, and realized with newly found hope that her inner strength had come from them. She would not let them down.
"Thank you." She whispered, and charged past Patriarch. He attempted to attack her, but KOS-MOS and Ziggy unleashed their Cross Fist which immobilized him, allowing Shion ample time to sprint through Proto Omega's legs and disappear down the atrium. She knew that if something happened to her friends now she would never be able to live with herself. Once she rescued chaos (if he wasn't already dead...NO! She refused to believe that) she'd waltz back into the atrium and would find no greater pleasure than to thrust her Lunar Blade through the Patriarch's cold, unloving heart.
—
She was a shining blur of energy, a living wonder of what enhanced Ether and a determination of steel could do to. She unleashed her newly acquired Erde Storm and Erde Quake, and tore through legions of Ormus soldiers and A.M.W.S. units. She was everywhere at the same time, her special attacks ripping holes through her opposition. She was untouchable, incredible, invincible. She barely flinched when she deflected an A.M.W.S. Ether bomb, hardly noticed when her Gravity Well ripped apart an E.S. Only one thought rang through her mind, save chaos. And she prayed against hope that she wasn't too late. Nothing would delay her any further. KOS-MOS would never have allowed Shion to venture off on her own unless she too detected a profound increase in Shion's fighting abilities. The space colony actually rocked from the sheer power of her attacks.
She ripped apart one last door with a charge from her M.W.S., and emerged into...deep space. Or so she thought. She stood on a wide, enormous steel disk that must have stretched half a mile in diameter. The sleek metal circle Shion stood on had no walls or ceiling. It was apparently kept oxygenated by a force field and air-lock technologies, or else Shion would be having difficulty breathing right about now. She ran towards the center of the disk. A dark red carpet stretched from the door she had just destroyed to the disk's center, forming the circles radius. Black candles flanked the carpet, lighting an eerie path, and the pungent scent of incense slammed into Shion's nose like a brick.
She ran down the carpet at an inhuman speed. Black lights flashed around her in a blur, casting long, ghost-like shadows around her. She arrived at the circle's center at break-neck speed. The heart of the circle was slightly elevated, forming a small hill, like a temple. Her vision adjusted to what stood atop the hill, and she unleashed a blood-chilling scream, recoiling in horror. There was chaos...crucified.
She bounded up the hill's stairs, candles flashing mockingly at her, and for a moment couldn't proceed any further, too terrified to look at chaos. He had been stripped of all clothing, save a scraggily white cloth that had been wrapped unceremoniously around his waist, sparing him some dignity. His head was bowed. White locks fell untidily over his face, masking his expression. In accordance with the gruesome Christian metaphor, a thorny crown had been forced onto his head, digging into his skull and dying his usually snowy white hair red with blood. Shion took a few steps forward and covered her mouth, horror-stricken as she gazed upon the cruelest of all cruelties. His arms and legs had been tied to the cross with barbed wire. Sharp metal thorns bit into the soft flesh of his wrists and his ankles. Blood trickled down his outstretched arms, forming crimson rivulets across his chest. His upper body lay slumped slightly forward, away from the cross, causing the thorns at his wrists to rip and tear at his skin.
"chaos!" She wailed and collapsed at his bloody feet. Who would do this to him? This, this macabre, bloody, disturbing horror. No one deserved this! Least of all chaos! She got up on her knees and ran her hands through his blood-soaked hair, gingerly removing his crown. She didn't want to uncover his face, but she knew she had to. She brushed away his hair and revealed a face twisted and contorted in agony. She listened and found to her relief that he was still breathing, although his breaths were long, shaky, and pained, as if a boulder were crushing his chest.
"No! No, no, no, no..." She mumbled, hot tears streamed down her face, and she returned her attention to his feet. She had no idea how to free him from his bondage. The barbed wire was practically welded to his skin! There was no way to break the steel wire unless she physically ripped it apart.
"I won't let them do this to you!" She sobbed, and, suddenly overtaken with an unstoppable passion, she gripped the thorny wire around his feet and pulled with all her might. She howled in pain. Even though the gloves she wore protected her fingers from major cuts, the pain was unbearable. It was more than metal spikes ripping through her flesh, it felt as a deadly venom were surging through her fingers. This was no ordinary barbed wire. The screaming pain she felt in her fingers was a mere fraction of the excruciating torture chaos was going through.
"You won't die, chaos!" She shouted against the pain, almost as a command.
- - - -
What the heck was wrong with KOS-MOS? Leaving Shion and Allen stranded in a life pod among the ruins of the destroyed Woglinde like that. Allen was positively freaking out, not without reason, since she had threatened to open the life pod's hatch and expose them to deep space. Damn it! Why was KOS-MOS acting on her own, refusing to rescue them? Wasn't that her Goddamned prime directive?
"Wahhhhhhhh! She's really gonna do it!" Allen screamed as Shion released the safety hatch, and the life pod's alarm started blaring. God, why wouldn't he just shut up and be useful for a change? KOS-MOS was about to high-tail it out of there without them! He could at least say, "hey, KOS-MOS, WTF?'
"Why not help her? Sounds like she means it."
Huh? Shion heard a voice she didn't recognize on her pod's radio. Oh, thank goodness! Someone on that freighter ship—Elsa was it?—was finally making some sense!
A few minutes later, she emerged from her life pod onto the Elsa's bridge. She would rewire KOS-MOS chip by chip if she had too. Man was she furious! But she couldn't be rude now. Some gratitude towards the people who had just saved her life seemed necessary.
She proceeded to thank the Captain of the Elsa...this man was the Captain? Oh dear, maybe she was better off on the life pod.
"You ought to save your thanks for chaos over there." The Captain told her "We were just gonna leave you and fly on out of here."
"Oh…I see…" How reassuring. The Captain must be a real life-saver during an emergency.
She turned to face said chaos. Hello! Now there's a sight for sore eyes. What an interesting boy! (By interesting she meant mysterious/adorable/sexy and the like, but the situation prevented her from acting out on her thoughts.)
She reached out and held his hand, "Thank you…chaos."
"No, don't mention it. After all, we all need a little help sometimes."
She had never heard a statement so pure and true like that in her life. He seemed so kind...
- - - -
Heh, heh, it wasn't very lady-like to gloat, but Shion had to admit, she cooked a mean curry. The Elsa's crew were stuffing their faces in just about the most disgusting way she thought possible. Especially the Captain. Oh well, as long as she felt useful.
"You do quite a lot." chaos told her.
She smiled, he didn't know the half of it! "Really? This is pretty typical for me back home. I have my no-good brother to thank for that. He doesn't do a thing all day except sit around and
read books." Ok, maybe now he knew half of it.
"Heh. Well…there's no one on this ship that has any of your skills."
Was that a compliment? That sounded suspiciously like veiled flirting too. Nah, he didn't seem to be at all like Tony. chaos's statements were genuine. How sweet!
- - - -
No, this wasn't possible! Commander Cherenkov! Was he...She couldn't stop the tears.
"Shion..." She heard chaos's voice. It was calming and reassuring, but still...
"chaos!" She grabbed his hand, "What just happened? Where is he? What
have we done! Tell me…" Her head fell to his knee. She cried softly. chaos comforted her, but the sad expression on his face betrayed him. Was it true?
"Was that really the Commander! Tell me, chaos! Surely we didn't…" No, she refused to believe it...murder! She did not murder anybody!
chaos placed his hands gently on her shoulders, quieting her sobs, "Shion… The truth isn't always a pleasant thing to know."
- - - -
"No kidding!" Shion groaned in pain as memories of the first time she and chaos met flooded her. She had met someone so special...She would not lose him!
"Ah!" The barbed wire gave way and she wrenched it apart. chaos's bare feet dangled freely, no longer bound to the cross. She dropped the wire instantly, and sighed in relief as the throbbing pain in her fingers subsided. She had no idea how she had been able to tear the steel apart with her bare hands. At the moment, she didn't really care.
"Gah..." chaos sighed. She shot up to her feet. He seemed relieved that the torturous, venomous shackles had been removed from his ankles, but his face was still clenched in agony. She doubted he could even think straight at the moment. She doubted he even knew she was there with him.
"chaos, sweatheart! Don't give in! Fight the poison!" She braced herself again for torture, and wrapped her fingers around the barbed wire that fastened chaos's left hand to the cross. Pain ripped through her hands, but she refused to submit to it. She pulled at the thorns that bit into chaos's wrist.
- - - -
Oh my God! chaos wanted to spend the night! Jin seemed happy enough, but Shion was over the moon. She didn't really know why though. If she hadn't been so pissed at her brother, she might have enjoyed chaos's company a bit more. Either way, the morning after, she would make sure she made herself look presentable...Even if it meant intentionally waking herself up at 5:30 in the morning to start on her hair and pick out her outfit. Was that normal?
"Sorry to keep you." She almost sang the next morning, as she emerged from her house looking like last year's Miss Miltia. The expression on chaos's face was worth the early morning wake up.
"You look like a different person when you're not in uniform." He said, staring quite intently at her.
"Oh? Does it look bad on me?" And watch how Shion shamelessly fishes for compliments!
"Oh, not at all. You look great." His cheeks blushed ever so slightly.
"Thanks." She gushed. Why was his opinion so important to her? She gasped inwardly, was she falling for him? Bull! She had only made herself look stunning because she wanted to...Right? The fact that he was blushing wasn't the reason her heart was racing...Right?
- - - -
Let's see, if Shion had made her wildest prediction of everything that could have possibly gone wrong on the Ormus Stronghold, that prediction was coming true. And yet, as chaos's angel wings (since when did boys have angel wings?) protected her from Cathedral's ruthless attack, she felt un upsurge of emotion and was almost magically drawn to his eyes.
"I'm your Savior." He whispered, and her heart flipped. His hold on her was kind and gentle, and as they rocketed out of the stronghold. Even as scared and nervous as she was, she felt warm waves of peace wash over her. His touch was so soothing...
- - - -
"The way you talk about me, you make me sound like a hero."
"You are."
His words made her pulse quicken. She was speechless! His gaze was so powerful, so intense, and the gorgeous sunlight that poured into the cabin only accentuated his features, which made her knees go weak. He kissed her, and her soul soared. She knew she wasn't dreaming, because none of her wildest dreams ever came close to what she felt right now. Her heart erupted with hot, passionate love...But why? How could she fall so hard for someone?
- - - -
Now she knew. As she pulled in agony at the poisonous wire, she knew. The experiences they had shared, the trauma she and chaos had gone through had brought them closer than fifty years together would have done. Her brother had told her that painful, powerful experiences fostered love between two individuals more than anything else. Now she understood, because the love she felt for chaos was unlike anything she had ever felt before. This wasn't the 'oh my god I love you so much that all I want to do is hug you and kiss you and revel in your beauty and screw you all night' kind of love that she had felt for Kevin: the 'love' she was so jaded by and cynical of. What she felt for chaos was deeper, more profound, the, 'I care for you so much that my needs are secondary to yours, that I will be selfless for your sake, that I would sacrifice everything to make you happy, and that I'd lay down my life for you' kind of love.
Snap! She split the barbed wire in two, and chaos's left hand was freed from bondage. No longer tied to the cross, his body fell forward, fastened to the cross only by his right wrist. She caught him and prevented him from falling to the ground (which would have ripped his bonded hand from his arm) and allowed his head to rest on her shoulder.
The pain in her fingers was excruciating, and it took longer for it to subside the second time. But she was almost done. Only one more wire to go... chaos lay panting against her body. His breathing, though still labored, had improved a great deal. The venom that had been surging in his own veins must have also subsided once she began freeing him.
She looked at his face, which was no longer twisted in agony. His eyes were clenched shut, that was the only sign that he was still in a great deal of pain. She caressed his cheek. She knew! She knew why she loved him! It wasn't lovesick infatuation, it wasn't a tidal wave of lust, it was care in its purest form. The trauma had brought them together, but now it threatened to rip them apart. She inhaled and grabbed the last wire, crying out in agony as her fingers begged for her to retract them from the sharp thorns, but she pulled at the venomous wire anyway, infused with a new zeal.
"chaos," she whispered in his ear, "I love you."
That wasn't the first time she said those words, but it was the first time she truly meant them. And she knew she wasn't lying, because the words resonated within her soul.
"Aahh!" With one last scream she wrenched the steel wire apart and flung the venomous thing away. chaos collapsed off the cross, and she caught him as the two fell in a heap at the floor. She waited in agony for what seemed to be an eternity, but the poison in her fingers finally did subside entirely.
"Shion..." chaos mumbled. He had heard her. She scrambled up to her knees, overjoyed that he had come out of his pain-induced trance, and immediately blasted his body with advanced healing Ether. He could feel her energy as she channeled Ether into him, healing his wounds, warding off the poison.
"Same here." He groaned, and his eyes fluttered open. A small smile spread over his exhausted face.
She looked at him tenderly, trying her best not to break down completely. She was too overwhelmed with emotion to speak. Blinking back tears of joy, she cradled his head and began to shower his face with soft kisses. She hadn't been too late. He was alright!"
"That's quite enough." An icy voice chilled the air around him. chaos was up on his feet in the blink of an eye, pulling Shion up with him in a protective embrace.
Shion stared terrified. All three Testament were there and...Wilhelm? She gazed at her CEO in shock. He didn't look at all happy. To his left stood the black testament. His cloak was badly singed by fire. He must have had a confrontation with Ziggy... Her gaze moved to the blue Testament, who removed his hood.
"Lieutenant Virgil?" Shion gasped, dumbstruck. That wasn't possible! She had seen KOS-MOS shoot Virgil on the Woglinde! He had died!...
Wilhelm took a step towards the hill chaos and Shion were standing on, "Oh, Shion. I tried to keep you uninvolved. If only Yeshua wouldn't have been so stubborn...But then again, it looks like you're also as stubborn as he was. I fear I have underestimated you one too many times." He gazed at the broken, thorny wires that Shion had ripped apart with her bare hands, "That's unbelievably impressive." He smirked, "those wires were infused with the essence of U-DO—darkness from the deepest reaches of hell. It must have been torture for you to rip those things apart." He sighed, "You would have been such a fantastic asset as Director of First R&D, but now your involvement has become a bit of a problem.
She gazed in shock at her CEO as realized that he played a part in Ormus's evil plan. How could that be? Wilhelm? He had saved her life! Was he really?...She saw chaos glare at Wilhelm with contempt. She'd never seen chaos so mad before.
She wanted to question Wilhelm and demand some answers, but at that moment, the red Testament pulled back his hood and revealed the most horrifying truth of all:
"KEVIN?"
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Oh my God, I've been waiting for months to pull that cliffhanger on you! Muahahahahah! What now? Shocked and amazed yet? Be afraid, be very afraid, because the plot is going to get so twisted that I'm going to have to rename the title Borne Up on Giant Pretzel. Wow, that was horrible. I tend to be funnier when I get some sleep and when I don't stay up until the wee hours of the morning writing.
IMPORTANT Copyright stuff: The quotes during the flashback scenes (cleverly designatedby theseparateddashes) were taken directly from the script of Xenosaga Episode I and Xenosaga Episode II. The quotes aren't mine. I am disclaiming them, so please don't sue me. With the exception of the last two flashbacks, which came from chapter one and three of this story, so now I get to sue myself.
Ok, you've waited long enough, the next chapter will be the final battle. I promise. I've been waiting to drop the Kevin bomb for a really long time, so your reviews would make me very, very, very happy. R/R!