Chapter Eighteen: Encephalon Drive, part one

(A/N: Wow, Chapter 18. I'm really sorry if the storyline sounds or seems fcked up and I change how the perspective is done, but I like how it's coming along regardless. Happy Reading.)

In the maintenance room onboard the Elsa, the group stood in the room as Shion grabbed a pair of red goggles. She straightened them and looked to Allen who sat at a console. ''Here we go,'' she said. ''Allen, handle backup for me, alright?'' The brown haired man nodded slowly. ''...Roger. Opening Interconnection.'' He typed quickly as he groaned to himself. ''Ahh...get a grip,'' he said to himself. He looked up at Shion. ''Don't worry. I'll back you up no matter what happens.''

The woman placed the goggles over her glasses and eyes. ''Thanks. Ready, KOS-MOS?'' She looked at the blue-haired android who laid on the maintenance bed. Everyone felt a sudden change in the room, like riding on a roller coaster and going down a large hill as they watched the entire area being sucked in.

''What the...?'' Jr. said. Everyone yelled out as they were sucked into the Encephalon.

(A/N: Everyone reading this. You KNOW this part in the game so you know what to expect. WARNING: Encephalon Dives cause madness, bad memory recollection, and seizures. Shion's perspective #1)

In one area, Shion looked up to see a large skyscraper. ''N-no...'' she whispered. A loud thunderclap shook the woman who in turn screamed, covering her ears. The sounds dissapated as she looked up from the ground to see she was in another area in a playground.

''This is...?'' She looked at a swingset to see a little girl with long brown hair and wore a white dress. It was Shion when she was a child. The little girl looked to see a man with dark brown hair walk over to her and jumped off the swing.

''Daddy!'' she yelled. Shion's eyes widened as she looked at herself as a kid approaching her father. ''Daddy?!'' A warm smile came onto his face, kneeling down to the little girl's level. ''Alright, Shion...let's go home,'' he told her.

''We're not...going to see Mom?'' She asked. Her father shook his head slowly. ''No...not today...we'll visit her tomorrow, okay?'' She looked down at the ground. ''...Okay.'' He stood up and took her small hand in his, walking away. ''Wait...'' The older Shion reached for them. ''Don't go...''

''You cannot go...'' She heard the soft voice of a girl, turning around to see the little girl from before and her dreams. The girl sat on the swing, looking at Shion. ''That's right,'' she said. ''This was the last day you spent together with your father. I've waiting a long time for you...'' She stood up from the swing. ''We have much to talk about.''

(Shane's perspective #1)

Oooh...my head's killin' me...

Shane opened her eyes slowly to find herself sitting in the waiting room of a hospital. She looked around to see people walking down the hall of the white corridors, doctors speaking with nurses or other people in the waiting room. She stood up slowly as her hand moved to her temple. A low ringing noise echoed in her ears.

''W-what the hell?'' The silver-haired girl saw two familiar faces sitting next to each other and by a lamp at the north end of the waiting room. She gasped, her hands falling to her sides. ''...Momma? Dad?'' Her mother sat in the chair, a couple of tissues in her hands as her father rubbed her back gently. ''Everything'll be okay, dear,'' he said in a concerned voice. ''She'll be okay.'' Shane walked over to them then stopped to see her older sisters, brothers, aunts, cousins, and grandmothers sitting around the couple. ''Why's everyone here? Did...?'' She stepped back then ran into the corridor, the ringing in her ears getting louder. Shane turned a corner to see a white haired little boy who wore a hospital gown stood in the middle of the corridor, his big blue-green eyes watching her.

''Who...?'' He looked at her, holding a black teddy bear close to his chest as he turned around. The boy lifted his hand, pointing down the seemingly long corridor to the last door. ''In there,'' he said in a quiet voice. ''She's in there.'' She stepped forward and gasped when the boy vanished in front of her. ''..Okay...I'm still in the Encephalon...it corresponds with our memories or places we've been...but...'' She looked at the door.

''I've never been here before...''

(Jr.'s perspective #1)

Jr., Ziggy, and MOMO stood in the area of a ruined city. Cars were overturned, fires burning all around them. Above, helicopters circled the city, lights shining down on the roadway. The red head looked to his side to see a group of boys his age walk past them with rifles in hand. ''No way...it can't be...'' MOMO looked at him. ''Jr.?''

''No doubt about it. They're U.R.T.V.,'' he said aloud. Ziggy looked at the boy. ''...I see. It would appear that is more than just a hallucination. What is this place? Do you recognize it?'' The red head didn't answer. He only looked down at the ground, gripping his fists tightly.

''Jr. ...''

''What?!!'' He shouted, making MOMO jump from hearing him yell. The blonde cyborg looked at him. ''I'm asking you if you recognize this place,'' he said. Jr. nodded, calming down some. ''Yeah, I do. If this isn't an illusion, and my memory's correct, this is...Miltia from fourteen years ago.'' After saying that, he ran off. ''Where are you going?'' Ziggy called out to him. ''I wonder what's troubling him? It looks as though he's trying to chase after those people…"

"I'm sure he has his reasons. Nonetheless, we don't know what's going on and we can't let him go off alone."

(Shion's -short- perspective #2)

''You've been waiting...? For us?''

Shion stood in the playground with the little girl, looking at her. Behind her, chaos and Allen appeared but she didn't even noticed. ''Chief?'' The brown haired man asked. ''Where are we?'' The little girl placed her hand on Shion's hand.

''Who are you?'' She asked.

''I am...Nephilim. That's what I have been called. Ever since I existed in this form...''

(Jr.'s perspective #2)

Back in the Miltia area, Jr.'s group saw gunfire everywhere by the U.R.T.V. The young children shot and killed citizens who were running away then turned on one another. Jr. watched the horrible scene, gripping his shaking fists tightly. ''Every single one of them's infected...'' His eyes watched when he saw a dark haired boy with familiar green eyes, shooting and killing the last remaining U.R.T.V. ''Rubedo!'' the boy yelled in a worried voice. ''Where are you?! Rubedo!''

''Gaignun...?!'' The red-head cried out. The area shimmered as the area of a factory where Jr. saw the younger version of Gaignun walked badly, holding his arm. Then, out of nowhere, a white haired U.R.T.V. appeared and attacked him ruthlessly. But just as the white haired boy was about to finish Gaignun off...

''Gaignun!!''

Jr. ran over to him, everything around him turned into slow motion. He stopped running as he realized where he was. The Encephalon. He looked down at the ground, his shoulders shaking. MOMO ran over to him, Ziggy following behind her.

''Are you alright?'' she asked.

''I-I'm fine...''

''Jr.?'' He turned to her, blue eyes filled with anger. ''I said I'm fine!!'' He yelled. MOMO gasped and stepped away from him. He held his head, looking to his side. ''S…Sorry… I didn't mean to…" A small growl came softly from the back of his throat. "Damn it…what the hell is this? What's going on here?"

(Shane's perspective #2)

Shane gripped her fists tightly as she walked down the long, white corridor. Her black boots echoed from stepping on the shined floors; her black overcoat flowing behind her as she picked up speed. A cold yet warm chill went down her back. With a shaking hand, she wiped a bead of sweat from her chin.

There's something here...

Her boots hit the floor, echoing loudly.

I know...something's here that I'm not supposed to know about...!

Shane stopped and slammed her hands against the door. She gritted her teeth, the ringing in her ears getting louder. She breathed heavily as she caught her breath from running. She looked down at the floor. A trickle of sweat went down the side of her face. ''Whatever's in here,'' she said to herself, ''I won't like it...'' The silver haired girl straightened up and opened the door slowly.

(Shion's perspective #2)

Back in the playground area, Shion sat on the swingset with Nephilim looking down at her feet. ''So, you're saying this really is Milita?'' The girl nodded. ''Yes. A world of unbroken memories slumber at the depths of your consciousness...KOS-MOS has sensed this and recreated it. This world...it is also KOS-MOS' memory as well.''

''KOS-MOS' memory...?'' Shion echoed. ''No, that's not...''

''Memories do not belong solely to one person. And they are not fixed to just one location,'' Nephilim said. "No, I mean… It's…the original KOS-MOS was…" The brown haired woman looked down as she remembered back to two years ago when she held a weapon at KOS-MOS' prototype form. She shot the android's head, destroying it along with the rest of the body. Shion's grip tightened on the chain as she remembered her fiance was killed by KOS-MOS by impaling his torso with her right hand.

''…Destroyed, during that incident, two years ago…and you lost someone dear to you as well…'' The brown haired woman looked at Nephilim. "Joyful memories form only one half of a whole,'' she said. ''Only when they are combined together with the other half, can your consciousness truly take form. You must…no… All of you must accept the entirety of your memories."

''Accept…our memories…" Shion closed her eyes, remembering when her father had died when she was sleeping. She opened her eyes and stood up from the swing. "You must…return to Miltia once again,'' Nephilim said. The brown haired woman looked back at the little girl. "Please…tell me. Why must I go to Miltia?''

"Only KOS-MOS knows the answer to that question… She is waiting for you there." Shion looked out to the distance where the sun was setting behind some buildings. "KOS-MOS is…out there…?'' She said softly as she began to walk away. Allen walked after her. ''Hey…wait up! Chief!"

Nephilim turned to look up at chaos. "Are you sure this is what you want? There is no turning back,'' she told him. The white haired boy nodded slowly. "I know…but… Shion…is vital to her."

"And to you as well? What will you do?"

(Jr.'s perspective #3)

Back in the Miltia area, Jr.'s group walked down a darkened road as the red-head looked up at a building, narrowing his eyes. ''Man...you've gotta be kidding,'' he said. MOMO looked at him. ''What's wrong?''She looked up at the building to see it was a large skyscraper. ''The U-TIC Organization's central tower...Labyrinthos,'' the red head told her.

"Labyrinthos…?'' The group looked up to hear a man's voice. "Hallelujah! "And the sea gave up the dead which were in it…" "…and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them…" "…and they were judged every man according to their works!" ''

MOMO's eyes widened. ''That voice…that's… That's Daddy…! Daddy!!" She exclaimed. ''What?!" Ziggy saw the little girl starting to get a head-start as he grabbed her arm before she could get away.

"MOMO! Stop! Where are you going?!" He asked in a concerned voice.

"Let me go! Daddy… Daddy's calling for me!" The blonde cyborg's blue eyes widened as his grip loosened on the little girl's arm. " "Daddy"?! Is that really him…?!'' Jr. nodded as he watched the skyscraper. "That's Joachim Mizrahi…without a doubt."

"So that's…Joachim Mizrahi..."

The man now known as Joachim Mizrahi continued his crazed speech. '' "And whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life…" "…was cast into the lake of fire!" "Rejoice, all ya! The time for feasting has come!" '' A blast of flames erupted behind him as he was burned and fell from the skyscraper. MOMO's golden eyes widened as she screamed.

"Noooooooooooo!!"

She ran over to where he was falling and tried to catch him. Her father fell through her small hands, disappearing. Her hands shook as she felt a warm stream of tears trickling down her cheeks. "Da…ddy… Daddyyyy!!"

"MOMO…" Jr. said softly. Ziggy looked at MOMO then at the skyscraper. ''All this before me… Is this really Miltia form fourteen years ago…?" Suddenly, the area around them disappeared as the group fell into another area. Their world turned white.

(Shane's perspective #3)

In the hospital area, Shane had opened the door to the room and walked inside. She gasped at the sight, gold eyes widening.

''There's no...fucking way...''

She saw herself--her normal self with black hair--laying in a hospital bed with an oxygen mask on her face. Her chest moved up and down slowly, her forhead wrapped in bandages. She glanced around the room to see flowers and balloons near a table by the window. ''This isn't right...what the hell's going on?!'' She held her head, looking down at the floor.

''You're lookin' for answers, aren't you?''

The silver haired girl looked up at the bed. She gasped to see a double of herself sitting beside the bed with shoulder length red hair, white bangs, and blackened tips. She wore a red overcoat with a gray vest connected to a long-sleeved black shirt. A pair of black capris and black knee-high boots completed the outfit. The same outfit as Shane's. The double looked to her and smiled, her blue-green eyes shining brightly at her.

''Hello, Shane. I'm sure you're wondering who I am.'' The red-haired girl stood up, stretching. ''...Just who the hell are you?!'' She chuckled softly. ''I'm you, and yet I'm not you,'' she said. ''You can call me...'Rukia'.''

''Rukia...that means either ''light'' or ''scarlet'','' Shane said softly. Rukia folded her arms, looking at her silver-haired counterpart.

''It means ''light'', silly. I'm here to tell you some things you should know about yourself...and the destiny you now hold with the others here in the Encephalon.''

The two of them looked at the dark haired girl sleeping. ''...The destiny I hold?'' She narrowed her gold eyes then looked at Rukia. ''Why am I...why am I in the hospital? I don't recall this!'' The red-haired girl looked at Shane. ''You're here...because in your world, you're in a coma. Remember the storm after you beat Xenosaga Episode I?''

She gasped. ''The storm...?''

Rukia nodded. ''Yes, the storm. You, being the stubborn one, decided to go out into the rain to see if your dogs were okay. They were--thank god--so you decided to walk in the rain. You climbed the hill only to find it slippery from the rain...''

''...I slipped and fell..and...''

''Fell unconcious after hitting your head on a rock,'' The red-haired girl finished. Shane grabbed hold of the bed railing at the foot of the bed, a look of confusion on her face. ''I'm...I'm in a coma?'' she asked slowly and calmly. Rukia nodded as she popped her neck, groaning. ''Yup. And what's worse, you woke me up before I should've. But your life's my priority right now.''

''...Tell me about my destiny with Shion and the others. What is it...that I have to do?''

Chapter Eighteen: End (o.o So that's what happened to Shane and her fear of thunder and rain...but the question remains. Who's Rukia and why does she look like Shane? Also, I might be wrong about the translation... R & R to read on and find out!)