And, now for chapter 4! As I said earlier, this may be shorter than the rest of the chapters…
Neeeo…disclaimer please!
Neo: -Sigh- KOS-MOS rox doesn't own Xenosaga. But who cares about her. I know kung-fu. And I'm sexy. Very sexy.
Indeed you are. Well, on with the chapter!
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Xenosaga Episode II: Die Kraft der Liebe
Chapter 4: Unexpected Savior
When the caravan of comrades opened their eyes, they were standing near the same gas station as before…
Only it was snowing.
Snowing! A blanket of the white stuff covered the ground beneath our heroes' feet, crunching whenever they took a step.
Nigredo, Rubedo, and Albedo were nearby. Sakura was also with them, holding Rubedo's hand. "Okay guys our target is the beach once again," Rubedo said. "Let's go, Sakura!" he said cheerfully, tugging on Sakura's hand. She smiled and happily complied, trotting off after Rubedo and his two younger brothers.
"So we're following them again?" Ziggy asked.
"Y-Yeah," Jr. said, his teeth chattering from the cold. He wrapped his arms around his chest, shivering from the cold. "Let's just hurry…I'm freezing my nips off out here!" he cried. Shion and chaos looked at each other…and busted into hysterical laughter.
"I-I can't believe you just said that!" Shion cried, tears running from her green eyes, still hysterical. chaos collapsed to the ground, clutching his stomach, laughing so hard that he couldn't breathe.
"I'm serious!" Jr. said. "They're as hard as Shion and Allen's were last night!" Jr. threw his head back and roared with laughter. Shion quickly sobered and glared at Jr. To her, the snowy ground looked very inviting to his face right about now.
"Aahahah…haha…haaa…" Jr. wiped a tear from his eye. "Man, now that I got that out of my system, let's follow my brothers and me!" Jr. proclaimed loudly. He began walking, then stopped in his tracks and looked around. "Wow. There's something you don't say every day."
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Once the group had caught up with the U.R.T.V. Trio, they were on the path to the beach, the same place where they had encountered the Level 4. This time around, however, the enemies were a lot tougher.
The party had sustained more damage also. Shion and chaos had quite a few bruises and cuts, KOS-MOS had gotten a little scuffed up, and Ziggy's metal hand had begun to malfunction. Jr. had a large gash under his right eye because he remarked that the beefy Necessities needed to pay a visit to Second Miltian Weight Watchers, not knowing that there was one behind him wielding an axe.
Last, but not least, the environment had grown harsher. It was freezing, and the river that previously ran through the forest had frozen. Jr. almost fell through the thin ice when Shion knocked him off of the log because of a comment he made about her and Allen. Seriously, the writer can't even repeat it in a rated T story. Maybe she'll tell you when you're older. Or when she stops talking about herself in the third person. Whatever comes first.
The surrounding area was clear. There was no trace of U-DO about them. Rubedo and Nigredo checked around, seeing nothing.
"Sakura! There's nothing here today!" Rubedo cried excitedly. "If we run, we'll be at the beach in no time!" Sakura shook her head "no", frightened.
"Why not?" Rubedo implored. "Let's go! First, we'll cure your illness, and then we'll go to a real beach!"
Sakura began panicking as she pointed behind Rubedo. "Rubedo, look!"
Rubedo, wide-eyed, turned slowly to see a demonic shadow behind him, replacing his own. He gasped and stumbled away from it, horrified. Suddenly, they heard Albedo laughing sinfully.
"What do you know, Rubedo? You're just like me, aren't you?" Albedo asked before continuing to laugh. A violet aura was lifting from his body like steam, and his purple eyes were glinting with insanity. "Rubedo's a monster too!" He paused to laugh some more. "It all makes perfect sense! Once, the two of us were one. So if I'm a monster that means you're a monster too! Oh, this is wonderful! I'm so happy!" He threw his head back and laughed even harder. Shion and the rest of the group stared as the aura around Albedo grew stronger.
"No! Wait! This isn't my shadow!" Rubedo yelled defensively.
"Rubedo, calm down. Please, don't get angry." Sakura tried to soothe Rubedo.
"I-I'm not a monster!" Rubedo was close to tears.
"Can you still feel the beating in your chest, Rubedo? Can you still feel my heart, buried in the right side?" The voice that came out of Albedo's mouth was not his young, high-pitched one. It was the voice of his present-day self. Shion and Ziggy looked around frantically, trying to find his location.
Rubedo's body tensed as he saw Sakura change into Momo. "Rubedo, it's a trap!" she cried.
Rubedo's body exploded with red ether flames. "Rubedo! No!" Sakura screamed, now back in her own body. The brightness from the aura around Rubedo caused Nigredo's eyes to burn. He squinted and put his arm up above his head to block the light. Rubedo screamed loudly as the aura gained strength.
Meanwhile, back in the U.M.N Control Center, Jr.'s body let out the same shrill, uncontrollable scream as Rubedo.
In the Subconscious Domain, a red aura of fury engulfed Jr.'s body. "Albedo!" he screamed furiously.
"Shion! The Encephalon field structure has started to rapidly collapse! It's not a problem with the system. It was probably another trap inside MOMO!" Allen said over the headset.
Jr. was still out of control. "We should have known. Albedo anticipated the likelihood of an Encephalon dive." Shion cursed to herself. Jr. began walking towards Albedo, Nigredo, Rubedo, and Sakura's location.
"Did you say Albedo? If he was an acquaintance of Sakura Mizrahi as well, then it may have been part of his plan to bring Jr. here," said Ziggy. The three U.R.T.V.s and Sakura disappeared while Jr. still uncontrollably advanced.
"A bypass-intrusion into the Encephalon?" Allen's voice rang in Shion's ear. Suddenly, the present-day Albedo appeared from out of thin air and trapped Jr. in a headlock. The shorter boy was lifted off the ground as Albedo picked him up. Jr. choked as Albedo tightened his grip.
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Back in the Control Center analysis room, Allen ripped the headset off. "This really isn't good…Ume! Take over for me!" he said to the only surviving 100-series realians. She nodded and sat in Allen's chair.
"Now, plug me in!" Allen said, putting on one of the spare pairs of red glasses.
"But Allen, you're a wimp!" Mary said.
"True, but this wimp is in love!" Allen's voice was unusually strong. He closed his eyes as Ume pressed the load button on the keyboard.
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Shion gasped as she watched Albedo choking his older brother. "Such a sweet smell, Rubedo…" he said, sniffing Jr.'s head. "The smell of rage evaporating off your body. Sure you don't suffer from excessive norepinephrine?"
"Jr.!" Ziggy said.
"Jr., calm down. Don't you want to make peace with your brother?" Shion asked.
"Peace? I'll have you know, Rubedo and I are the best of pals," Albedo mocked. He pushed his hand through Jr.'s lower abdomen, and the boy screamed in pain.
"Albedo!" Jr. cried. The aura around him grew stronger.
"Yes, yes, yes, yes! That's it! Come on! Unleash what you've been holding in all these years!" Albedo yelled, laughing manically.
"I'm gonna take you down! You're gonna regret this!" Jr. yelled angrily, in tremendous pain.
"Sounds like fun. Give it a try!" Albedo said cockily.
Jr. released a burst red light from his body, striking Albedo and throwing him to the ground. Jr. coughed as he recovered from Albedo's headlock. He whirled around and shot at him. Albedo quickly dodged every bullet before sending a wave of purple energy at him. Jr. was hit, and he tumbled backwards, getting a mouthful of snow. Ziggy whacked Albedo upside the head with his metal hand, knocking it off. It quickly grew back. "You haven't forgotten my powers, have you?" Albedo cried insanely, sending an ice attack at Ziggy. It hit him, and Ziggy fell back to the ground.
KOS-MOS easily outmaneuvered the blasts that Albedo was aiming at her. She landed lightly on the ground and pointed her minigun at his abdomen. "Stay back!" she warned before shooting him.
"Ooh, that tingles!" Albedo said, healing the wounds in his stomach. He laughed manically again, his hands illuminating with ether power. Jr. slowly got to his feet, rubbing his now numb face. "You're gonna pay for that! Nobody gets away with making me cold!" Jr. screamed angrily as he shot at Albedo once again, with no result. "Damn, I'm out of ammo!" he yelled, rummaging in his trenchcoat for some more bullets.
chaos powered up his gloves and sent a blast of chi power at Albedo, hitting him square in the back. This took the wayward variant by surprise and he fell to the ground, coughing violently. "Death means nothing!" Albedo sneered, slowly straightening. He turned to chaos and smiled insanely at him.
Suddenly, three arrows came flying at Albedo's head from his left. Albedo quickly ducked as Momo's arrows flew just above him, skimming the top of his head. Blood seeped out of the cut, staining his pure white hair. "And now, with the shedding of blood, white turns to red! Oh, it's priceless, isn't it, Rubedo?" Albedo cried, laughing.
"Shut your mouth!" Jr. yelled angrily, still fumbling in his trenchcoat for more ammo. Shion, seeing a chance to attack, ran up to Albedo and shot him in the arm with her MWS. He cried out loudly as his arm was ripped off by the blast of electric energy.
Thank you Miyuki...Shion thought to herself.
"Ah, Rubedo, it seems that I have caught you utterly defenseless..." Albedo muttered. He raised his hands in the air, the purple aura looking powerful and evil. But instead of Jr., he whirled around and sent it towards Shion, catching her off-guard. She was knocked back into one of the rock walls. She fell to the snowy ground, the wind knocked out of her. The woman coughed up a mouthful of blood as more dripped from her nose. Everyone gasped as Albedo strode to Shion, about to finish her off. He raised his hand to pierce through her chest...
Suddenly, a shot rang out.
Everyone looked at Jr., but he was also looking around, wide-eyed. "I'm out of bullets! It wasn't me!" he said. Jr.'s eyes traveled upwards to the peak above Shion, seeing a tall figure, holding a pistol up in the air.
"Don't touch her!" cried a voice from the mystery person. The tall figure jumped from the peak and landed in a kneeling position in front of Shion. The only thing that Shion could make out with her blurry vision was light brown hair and bright blue eyes...
"All...en?" Shion said weakly. She groaned in pain and held her throbbing head.
"If you touch her, you will die." Allen looked at Albedo straight in the eye, nostrils flaring. Shion struggled to get herself to a standing position, using the wall for support.
Albedo laughed as Allen held him at gunpoint. "Honestly, you think mere weapons will destroy me?" he sneered. Albedo held his hand to Allen's head, ether aura igniting from it.
"If you shoot, I shoot. I may die, but this gun will knock your head off, leaving you vulnerable until it grows back," Allen said calmly. "That's when all of these people here will attack at once, finishing you off once and for all. So either you back off, or we both die, right here, right now. What's it gonna be?"
"Allen, don't do this!" Shion whispered urgently, afraid for his life. Tears began to form in her green eyes.
"Are you really ready to die for this woman?" Albedo asked.
Allen pushed the tip of the gun against Albedo's forehead and cocked it. "Believe it, you bastard."
Albedo sneered at Allen. "So, you are in love with her..." he cooed mockingly.
"Uh-huh." Allen glared at Albedo, pushing the pistol into his forehead even harder.
"With such a useless woman as her?" Albedo laughed. "She means nothing!"
Suddenly, a fire was ignited within Allen. He began breathing heavily as the rage inside of him grew.
"Yes, yes, yes! Pierce me with your hatred!" Albedo yelled madly. Laughing hysterically, the purple glare on his hand lost power.
Suddenly, his laughter changed into a bloodcurdling cry of agony. The snow on the ground below him was stained with blood. The white-haired man was on the ground, clutching his nose, blood gushing out from under his hand. Allen stood over him, his fist in front of his own face. The blood of the wayward variant on his knuckles glinted in the sunlight.
There was utter silence in the area, except the muffled curses of pain from Albedo. It remained that way for a few seconds, until...
"Why didn't you just shoot him?" Jr. asked loudly.
"It didn't seem like a good idea at the time," Allen responded frankly.
He...he punched me! Albedo screamed mentally. I haven't been punched since... Albedo closed his eyes as he recalled the pain of a certain day 14 years ago...
"You idiot!" The fist collided with his jaw. "Don't you ever pull anything like that again! If you die, you can't come back to life!"
Albedo snarled and got to his feet, glaring at his brown-haired attacker. He wiped his nose on the sleeve of his jumpsuit. "So this is how it's going to be?" he cried angrily. Albedo grabbed Allen by his collar and ripped his shirt off.
In that instant, everyone but Shion, KOS-MOS, and Momo gasped in surprise. Even Albedo stopped for a second, unbelievingly shaking his head.
"Dude, he's ripped!" Jr. said. "Man! If I was cut like him, I would never wear a shirt!"
It was then that Albedo wrapped his arm around Allen's neck, being his second headlock victim for the day. Gasping for air, Allen jabbed his elbow forcefully into the soft area just below Albedo's ribcage. The air came from Albedo's lungs in a painful blast as he dropped Allen and clutched his side. Quickly recovering, Albedo punched Allen right in the eye, ripping a yelp of pain from the younger man's mouth. At that exact moment, Shion felt a small twinge in her lower abdomen, and for an instant, her eyes glowed a piercing green...
"Son of a bitch!" Allen grunted, covering his already swelling eye with his hand. Blinded with rage, he reared back and swung at Albedo's jaw. A mixture of blood and saliva spurted from Albedo's mouth as Allen's fist made contact with his face. Rubbing his jaw, Albedo straightened himself.
"Why am I wasting my time trying to destroy you?" Albedo asked Allen angrily. "My true reason for being here is terminating Rubedo!" The man turned to face his "big brother".
Albedo and Jr. both screamed with fury as domes of energy around their bodies clashed, Albedo's purple, Jr.'s a ruby red.
"No! Jr., if you fight Albedo, you'll just be hurting yourself!" Shion said. "Oh..." she said weakly as more dizziness overcame her body.
"Are you okay?" Allen asked, concerned. He gently wrapped his arms arond her, supporting her petite frame.
"I'll be fine..."
"Wait, Shion. Jr. is losing control," Ziggy said, looking at the redhead.
"You've got to hand it to him. He's trying to control his emotions. But his body hungers for combat. We are weapons, after all!" Albedo exclaimed evilly.
Jr. screamed out of control as he continued to emit the dome of burst energy. Suddenly, unnoticed by everyone, Momo's great amber eyes snapped back to attention. Taking a moment to look at her surroundings, she saw Jr., close to killing himself with rage.
"Jr.!" Momo said quietly. She closed her eyes before saying, "Stop..."
"Stop!" she screamed. Her high-pitched voice echoed throughout the entire frozen tundra.
"You fell for it, ma peche!" Albedo said, satisfied with himself.
Suddenly from the sky, a judgment-like beam fired downwards and struck Momo. "You're so easy to manipulate, my mechanical angel. Mizrahi and his crazy whims... Anyone can see that it would've been smarter not to give you human emotions!" Albedo said. Momo cringed in pain as the Y-DATA was stolen from her subconscious.
"It seems that I have what I came for now..." Albedo said, smirking evilly. "I will take my leave now..." And with a swish of his cloak, Albeo disappeared. Momo fell to the ground.
"Momo!" Jr. and Ziggy ran over to Momo. Slowly, Momo got to her feet. Jr. quickly embraced her, expelling a sigh of relief. Momo lifted her head from Jr.'s chest, and...
Jr. kissed her. On the lips. He didn't know why, he just did it. Letting go of her, he stared at her, wide-eyed. Momo looked at Jr. too.
"Aww, Jr. kissed Momo!" Shion cooed.
"Maybe, but at least I'm not going to seduce her now, unlike somebody we know..." Jr. said, smirking at Shion. Noticing her wet backside, he said, "Woah, Shion, did you just sit in a puddle or are you really happy to see Allen?"
"It's snow!" Shion said, blushing furiously.
"Hahaha, she has a nosebleed too," he chuckled.
"It's called a blow to the head, you little f-"
"Shion, Momo is awake now!" Jr. shook his head, smirking.
"We should dive out," Ziggy said. "We may still be able to stop Albedo."
"Good idea..." Shion said. "Wait a second...Allen, if you're here, then who's operating the dive?"
"Ume is. She was the only 100-series who survived the attack," Allen replied.
"Oh. Okay." Shion put her hand to her ear. "Ume, we're ready. Take us out."
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The instant he felt the floor return beneath his feet, Jr. took the red glasses and ran towards Momo. Juli Mizrahi and Allen rushed down the stairs to the area where the others were. Allen's right eye was swollen and bruised.
"Momo, you're awake!" Jr. said happily.
"Jr., why did you kiss me?" Momo asked quietly. Jr.'s face turned the color of his hair as he began to stammer.
"Oh my god..." Shion said, looking at Allen's eye. "That's horrible..." Allen winced as Shion touched it gently.
"It's alright, I've had worse," he said.
"What about the Y-Data?" Ziggy asked Juli.
"It's gone. The thing we feared the most these last fourteen years... The key..." Juli said regretfully. As she saw everyone's puzzled looks, she said, "The wheels have been set in motion. They can't be stopped."
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Somewhere in the surrounding space, Albedo sat in the E.S. Simeon. The mech began glowing eerily.
"This is it. The Key to the Abyss," Albedo whispered in awe. "The gospel that will awaken Miltia. Rubedo. Are you looking at it? Come...let us share our new world!" he said to his estranged brother. Ancient symbols began to rise up in the eerie glow of the A.M.W.S. The A.M.W.S. suddenly disappeared, along with its pilot.
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In the U.M.N Control Center, Jr. was walking towards the door. Suddenly, he fell to his knees, clutching his right chest. He cried out in agony as Shion and the rest of the group ran up behind him.
"Jr. what's wrong?" Shion asked urgently.
"My chest... My right side... This pain... It's Albedo's," Jr. said weakly. "His heartbeat is fading. It can't be... Albedo..." And then, the U.R.T.V. leader began to cry.
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A bit later, on the Dammerung, Wilhelm sat in his office with his head in his hands. "She is blessed among women..." he muttered to himself. "And blessed is the fruit of her womb..." Suddenly, Wilhelm stood up, clutching his chest and coughing violently. Looking at the Compass of Order, he said two simple words...
"They're here."
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Whoo! That was a fun chapter to write. As I said before, I HATE fight scenes...
Question time! What's up with Shion? I mean, her eyes were glowing! Who was Wilhelm talking about, blessed among woman? And who is the fruit of her womb?
Until next time, this is KOS-MOS rox, signing off!