Xenosaga: Gottlicher Eingriff

I had the hardest time writing this chapter. I wanted to help explain a little more of the story here, but I didn't want to give everything away yet. And it was really hard to make sure that I left only the bare minimum, when I had so much information I wanted to get across eventually.

Chapter Ten: Revelations

"We have no idea what happened! It must have been something big, though," Shion insisted to Wilhelm, sitting down and tapping keys rapidly as she scrolled through the data, pausing only here and there as she came across relevant data, although she never paused long, much like a hummingbird in flight. She could practically feel Wilhelm's eyes on the back of her head; she didn't know what she had interrupted, but she had no doubt it was something concerning KOS-MOS. She'd have to ask Mary and Shelley, or perhaps Gaignun himself, when she could get the time. "There is no what that any Federation creation could do this. Absolutely none."

"I am aware of that, Miss Uzuki. But the question still remains, what did?" he said quietly, his eyes never leaving the screen. "And there was no warning of any kind. Just the sudden signal, and then she started to malfunction."

"I saw it myself," Allen added from behind them. "I tried to trace the signal, but it came from an unknown sector of space." Wilhelm swung suddenly to face Allen, and Shion turned, startled by the sudden motion.

"An unknown sector of space? You're absolutely sure?" he demanded, his eyes blazing intently. "And very soon after KOS-MOS disappeared?"

Allen seemed to wilt under the intensity of the deep red gaze that seemed to be delving into the depths of his brain. "Y-yes," he said, trying to control his nervous stutter. He straightened, trying to muster all the courage he could. "As s-soon as the message was received, KOS-MOS' systems began to fail. When we started to loose complete control, we attempted to bring her offline, with the intention of manually rebooting her as soon as we felt that the bug was eradicated from her operating system. But something, most likely the signal, overrode our command. Then, without any warning, she disappeared." Well, at least he had sounded confident then.

"I see…" murmured Wilhelm, and Shion got the distinct feeling that he did indeed see far more than they were seeing right now. She caught Allen's eye, and noticed that he too seemed to think that there was something they weren't being told. After a moment Wilhelm returned from his thoughts, and turned back to them, continuing on as though his lapse had never happened. "For the moment there is nothing we can do. Order KOS-MOS to return as soon as she reappears in a known area. If she does at all," he added as an after thought.

"Of course, sir," Shion said. He nodded to them, and left.

As soon as he was gone Allen gave a sigh of relief. "Whew, I thought he was going to go psycho there for a moment."

"I wonder what he knows that we don't?" Shion wondered, staring thoughtfully at the door where Wilhelm had exited.

"I bet if we went over to the Durandal we could find out more," Allen said. "Gaignun always seems to know what's going on."

"That's a really good idea," Shion said. "Come on, let's get Miyuki to give us passes to leave right away! Togashi or someone can cover for us while we're away."

"Where are you going, Shion?" questioned a voice behind them. They turned around to see KOS-MOS standing there, looking no worse for wear than she had upon leaving the Dammerung.

"KOS-MOS! We were worried about you! What happened?"

"It is of no concern," KOS-MOS said, striding closer to the two. She seemed physically to be the same, but something seemed to be different underneath. "I was merely…engaged elsewhere."

Shion narrowed her eyes at that vague comment, but knew that KOS-MOS was just being stubborn. "Well, CEO Wilhelm would like to see you," she said instead.

"You did not answer my question."

"Um, KOS-MOS…that was an order," said Allen quietly.

"I am aware of that," she said. "Where are you going?"

"Umm…the Durandal," Shion said, starting to feel nervous.

"Very well," KOS-MOS said after a moment. "I will accompany you there."

"KOS-MOS, the CEO of Vector Industries, your ultimate superior, gave you an order. You can't just ignore that. It's not in your programming."

"My old programming was obsolete. I have a new OS which is less…inhibiting. Now, Shion, are you prepared to leave?"

"Sure…" Shion said, following KOS-MOS as she walked out the door, Allen in tow. I'm certainly going to keep a close eye on you.

---

"I was starting to think that no one was going to reply," Jr. said, sounding annoyed as he jumped off of the E.S. Asher and threw his helmet to the ground. MOMO opted to slide gracefully to the metal deck below instead, her helmet already removed and tucked carefully under her arm. Gaignun watched the annoyance on his brother's face with some apprehension. Hopefully, he wouldn't take it too badly that they had been too busy to help him. "What were you guys doing over here, having a party?" At least he was joking; that was always a good sign.

"Yes, because as soon as we noticed that you were missing, the Gnosis were up to something, and the Dammerung just happened to appear in the same area, our immediate reaction was, 'hey, this would be a really great time for a party!'" said Gaignun, rolling his eyes in exasperation.

"They say great minds think alike," Jr. defended.

"Then your option was certainly not apart of the process," Gaignun quipped. "Now, if you're done standing there like an idiot, perhaps you would care to come with me? I was told that chaos has something to say to all of us in the sickbay, and you and MOMO are the last to arrive."

"We're coming, Gaignun," MOMO said, speaking loudly to override Jr.'s cries of protest. She started toward the door, and Gaignun followed her. When he glanced back, Jr. was quickly following them, trying to catch up. Gaignun laughed at him a moment, then concentrated on getting to the sickbay to hear what chaos had to say. It had sounded important, and he didn't want to miss this.

---

MOMO found the sickbay already crowded with the others, including Shion, KOS-MOS and Allen.

"Hi Shion!" MOMO said happily, walking over to where they were. "How are you doing, Allen? And it's good to see you again, KOS-MOS."

"Hey, MOMO! "Allen said. "Wow, you look a lot taller than you were."

"Greetings, MOMO," KOS-MOS responded calmly. MOMO looked at her carefully; it was the same reading she had gotten in the Gnosis. KOS-MOS had been there, for a while. Why she had been there was the only question left.

"MOMO, its good to see you again," Shion said, giving MOMO a hug. "You really are tall; you look your age right now."

"Thanks. It was an old program that resurfaced after the Encephalon dive two years ago, and it helped me to grow up."

"Hey old man, you doing all right?" called Jr. from across the room. MOMO looked up to see Ziggy sitting up on a bed, looking tired but well.

"Ziggy!" she cried out, running across the room to envelope him in a huge hug. "Are you really all right?"

"I am fine, MOMO," he said. "But how about you? You had a concussion when last I saw you; it would be wise for you to get that checked out."

"I will," she agreed. "But I thought Gaignun said that chaos had something to tell us?"

"I do," chaos said. "And now I can begin, with all of you here." As they turned to look at him he stood up, facing them gravely. "Because of the nature of what you have gotten yourselves into, through facing the Gnosis, U-TIC, and your own pasts, I feel it necessary that I tell you more about what has been happening. Perhaps, with a better understanding of what has been happening, you will better be able to fight. And I have no doubt that you're going to keep fighting; it will take a lot more to deter you, as I have seen before."

"So we're finally going to get some answers?" said Jr., leaning causally against the wall.

"Yes, although not all of the answers you are looking for, just enough to have a basic knowledge," chaos said. "Explaining the full history of this is too complex for me to get into right now. To explain all about the Gnosis we would need to take at least a few days to tell the entire tale, and that is simply too long. I will instead fast forward to the main part, which starts after humanity was forced to flee Lost Jerusalem.

"Back then, a group of beings from another plane of existence guarded the planet, and more specifically, the rights of its inhabitants. As did another faction, although it was their belief that freewill had tainted humanity, and without it humans could better their own lives. When Lost Jerusalem was given up for dead because of the actions of humans, it only solidified their belief. And so, they began to work their way in among humans, trying to make them destroy themselves. Hearing of this, the other group also began to work, but against the plans of the others.

"And a third group came into being, one that simply wanted to mediate a peace between all of us, who were essentially the same race, different creeds. I, myself, was a part of this latter group." He paused there, and MOMO knew why. It was a lot to take in, chaos being an ethereal being, although that made everything begin to make more sense than it had. Things such as why chaos, and no one else, was able to melt Gnosis by touching them.

"So you're from another plane of existence? Like Nephilim?" Shion asked, sitting down rather hard on her rear as she took that information in. Allen likewise looked stunned; in fact, the only person who didn't react was KOS-MOS.

"Precisely. In fact, Nephilim and I have worked together before," chaos said. "But my point was, these beings were intent on destroying freewill, and using unknowing human agents to bring it about. Over the two thousand years it has been, one by one they began to give up and go home. One, however, did not. And because he chose to stay, so did I. Using many agents, such as Joachim Mizrahi, he helped the Gnosis enter the world.

"He planted enough information around for Joachim to realize the true extent of his dreams – finding Lost Jerusalem. He learned the only way to reach it was through a portal guarded by a Gnosis. Joachim thought, with the power of the 100-series and the Song of Nephilim, he could keep the Gnosis at bay long enough to send through a probe. But he had miscalculated the power of the Gnosis…or rather, he was lead to believe that the Gnosis weren't very strong from years of confinement.

"They did indeed come through weak, but they didn't stay that way for very long. As their power grew, Joachim knew there was no way to stop them. So he took MOMO, whose production was almost done, added his knowledge and the Y-Data to her memory, and sent her and Juli away from Miltia as soon as MOMO woke up. A day later, the Gnosis broke through his gateway's defenses and entered the galaxy."

"So what does this have to do with that other guy?" demanded Jr. "I mean, we all know about the Gnosis being here. What's this big secret?"

"The path to Lost Jerusalem was opened, and the first seal broken," chaos said, ignoring Jr. for the moment. "Two more remain. At Lost Jerusalem one can rid the galaxy of the Gnosis; whether or not humanity still has its freewill afterward is in the hands of the person who initiates it. It all comes down to who is present and in control – me or him."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Who exactly is this 'he'? Don't you know him?"

"No. We don't know who the leader was, or what he has been doing these many years. If we did, our job would be a lot easier."

I was the one who opened the path, wasn't I? Perhaps the words in her mind were a little harsher than she had intended, but she didn't care at this point. She knew it was true, without the slightest hint of doubt. Because she hadn't protected the Y-Data, the gateway had been opened. Perhaps Albedo had been right all along; she was weak, far too weak.

She sat down against the wall, avoiding the talk of the others, staring at her knees in thought. I wasn't strong enough to protect the Y-Data. I bet she could have, if she hadn't died. A new, unsettling thought entered her head. I started it all over again. Maybe that phrase is right, 'sins of the father'… No! I will be different! I'm going to finish what I started. I have to.

"What are we going to do about the other seals?" questioned Ziggy, and she started to listen again, returning her gaze to chaos and Ziggy. "Do we open them ourselves, to get through first, or wait until he makes a move?"

"I don't know," chaos said. "I think that Margulis – whose reappearance I'm sure you've all heard about – is working on breaking another seal. If that is true, we should get to the third seal as quickly as possible. Perhaps we could manage to hold him off for a bit. If it does get opened, then we go to Lost Jerusalem as quickly as possible."

"That sounds like the best course of action," agreed KOS-MOS. "Shion, we should prepare for this defensive maneuver while the Durandal or Elsa heads toward the seal. I detect that many of you require sleep and/or nourishment."

"You're right, KOS-MOS," Shion said. Gaignun looked up, started, as though he had just realized she was there.

"Wait a moment," he said. "I thought that KOS-MOS was lost or something."

"She was. Then, without warning, I opened a door and there she was," Shion said.

"And she even went against a direct order from CEO Wilhelm!" exclaimed Allen. "I have no idea what's wrong with her."

"As previously stated, I have received a new OS. Therefore, I have more capabilities and fewer limitations. An allegiance to Vector Industries is no longer required." KOS-MOS did not react at all to what she was saying. It was a simple, unimportant fact to her. But everyone else was stunned, even MOMO.

How could that have happened?

KOS-MOS had always seemed to be just like a colder human who could pull guns out of nowhere to MOMO, much as Jr. and chaos were just humans with unusual powers to her, Ziggy was a surrogate father who happened to have electronic implants and a blade on his arm, and she was a young woman who lived with her mother. But always in the back of her mind had been the knowledge that KOS-MOS was something different, a sophisticated weapon under the control of Vector Industries, just as she always subconsciously knew that she was a Realian, Jr. was a U.R.T.V, Ziggy a cyborg, and now chaos was an ethereal being. And to realize that KOS-MOS had indeed become something more as well, with free will, MOMO was stunned. But she couldn't have been happier for KOS-MOS, although KOS-MOS might not see freedom as a reason to celebrate.

"So you could do anything that you wanted?" asked Shion.

"Not anything that I want. I have the ability to decide the course of action that I deem best, without the necessary protection of Vector employees. But I cannot deviate from my original mission, although it is no longer classified."

"And what's that?" asked Jr.

"To go to Lost Jerusalem," chaos said, even before KOS-MOS had opened her mouth.

"Affirmative," she said instead.

"What's she going to do there?" Jr. persisted, completely dissatisfied with the answers he had received so far.

"That is up to her," said chaos. Then, with the faintest of smiles, he left the room, effectively ending their meeting. MOMO, searching for some solitude, exited second.

Fifteen minutes of wandering found her in a lonely hallway, staring out the window. The stars passed them by at a slow rate, as they had no destination yet. Soon, though, she knew they would be preparing for departure on the Elsa, to parts unknown. She almost smiled at that. Coming back here was only supposed to be a short visit, one during which she helped her sisters and saw Jr. and Gaignun again. Instead, this was turning into another one of their adventures. Although the last one had ended rather oddly, with them confronting the remnants of U-TIC, still intent on reaching Lost Jerusalem.

Now that she thought about it, a lot of things had been left unsaid. The gateway had never been used, the Gnosis had hovered on the edge of the galaxy, and the true reason for returning to the home planet of humanity had never fully been explained. Still, she had thought it an adventure for someone else, someone who didn't want the calm of living with their parents and finding a job. This rediscovery of her father's wrongs, something she had been trying to forget, was something she simply didn't want nor need.

And she had to consider just what she was going to do about Jr. Sitting there, alone in the Gnosis, an unknown monster rushing at her, she had felt him coming. She didn't know quite how she knew, it just happened. But it was that simple presence that had convinced her not to give up, even though it seemed hopeless for a wounded Observational Realian to be able to put up much of a fight.

The real question was whether she would tell him or not. How would he take knowing that someone could feel his emotions? It was, in a way, a form of intrusion, and that was something she hated to keep from him, especially when it had hurt her so much in the past. But at the same time, she couldn't control it. Would he start to avoid her, knowing that she could sense what he felt?

Even now she could feel his confusion as he realized that she was no longer in the room with the rest of them. Perhaps she was getting better at sneaking around. It was certainly something useful to do. MOMO had no idea what to do if he found her, though. She didn't exactly want to tell him what she had been thinking about. He would only worry, and tell the others, who would in turn begin to worry about her as well. And hovering friends, while thoughtful, were not something she wanted to deal with.

MOMO shivered, and turned away from the window. It was too dark and lonesome for her to look at long; she always tried to avoid dark places as much as she could. It just served to remind her of the Song of Nephilim, of Albedo, of her sisters and their pain, of the torment of her mind. Before she had reflected upon her younger self, and thought she had thought herself naïve.

Now, she wasn't so sure. Perhaps a mask of happiness and caring was something she needed to hold onto. It served its purpose. None of her friends ever worried about her as long as she was right there with them, smiling. Silently, she resolved that she would not let herself falter in front of them. She was stronger than someone who quivers as the first shots are fired across the battlefield. She had to be. And she wouldn't tell Jr., not yet. Someday she would tell him, but not now.

She made her way back into the brightly lit corridors of the crew, and while a smile was bright upon her face, it didn't quite reach her eyes.

---

KOS-MOS had also left the room, precisely 5.43 seconds after MOMO had. But finding the Realian was not on KOS-MOS' agenda; instead, she was searching for chaos. He had exhibited a knowledge of what was going on, and she had no doubt that she would be able to help her better understand what had happened during her unusual…experience, for lack of a better word. Her scanners indicated that chaos was currently pacing in his room, which was not an unusual activity for him. She was sure he wouldn't mind if she came to see him.

In front of his door, she tapped three times, and then waited. A pause while chaos stopped his pacing, and then he came to the door. He smiled his secretive smile, as though he had known it would be her all along.

"Come in," was all he said to her, though. Remembering the last time she had come to him for advice, she chose to shorten their meeting by sitting before the inevitable invitation to sit came. When chaos turned back from the door, he was still smiling.

"I see you remember," he said, taking a seat across from her. "But somehow, I doubt this isn't a simple question about mechanical evolution."

"You are correct," she said. "I have come to ask you about Lost Jerusalem, and what I am to do."

"KOS-MOS, the whole point of getting an operating system that allows you to decide for yourself is so that no one tells you what you are to do. I'll answer your questions as best as I can, but in the end you have to be the one that decides what will happen when you finally reach your destination."

"Then perhaps part of my question begins with mechanical evolution after all," she said. "You knew what would happen, didn't you?"

His smile slipped as he took a moment to consider what she had to say. "I didn't know when it would happen, but I knew that eventually it would have to."

"Why?"

"I thought I told you. So that you could decide for yourself what you will do. Essentially, you're human now KOS-MOS. Only you can decide what happens. Sure, many people will try to influence that decision, offering you things to sway in their favor. But the final say is yours. And your new OS allows that."

"Couldn't one of your brethren decide what happens instead?"

"No," he said. "We needed someone who wasn't, in the biological sense, alive. That way, powers much like our own could be instilled in that person. As I said, I came from an indecisive group who preferred mediation for solutions rather than acting ourselves. Our leader decided that a mechanical being, one who could receive our powers, should be created. Then, when the time for redemption was at hand, we could allow her freedom to choose what is right to her mind. You have observed what it is like to help both sides," he added. As though she could forget.

During their last few encounters with the U-TIC, she had been possessed by their main computer, and forced to work for them. It had taken a lot to bring her back from that, and almost cost Shion and Allen their lives.

"So now, it is all up to me." She was not asking a question, merely repeating to herself what had to be done. chaos nodded his assent.

"I have one more thing for you," he said, turning to a small box on the table beside him. After a moment, he lifted out a small necklace, with an unknown rune on it. He passed it to her, and her sensors determined that it was nothing more than the metal silver.

"What am I to do with this?" she questioned.

"That is the final key," chaos said. "When we reach Lost Jerusalem, you will know what to do with it."

She nodded slowly, and accepted the necklace, placing it in a safe compartment. She rose, and he did as well.

"Thank you, chaos," KOS-MOS said. "You have been most helpful to me."

"Don't worry about it. After all, that is what I'm here for." He walked to the door, and opened it for her. She stepped through, and then paused. There had been something Shion had said about thanking people… "Did you forget something?"

"Ah, yes," she said, and turned around and awkwardly put her arms around him, her best imitation of a hug. chaos faltered for only a moment, before he returned it. She stepped away, and look at him.

"What the…?" he asked, looking at her.

"You told me that I was essentially human now," she said. "And Shion told me that hugging was an appropriate way to thank a close friend, or to greet them. Aren't you my friend?"

"Of course, KOS-MOS," he said, smiling. She nodded, and then returned to her regular routine.

---

chaos watched her retreating back, her blue hair swishing from side to side as she walked. He had been surprised by her hug, but it hadn't been that unusual. Of course she wanted to try to fit her role. That was still a part of her programming, one that no one could completely take away. Still, it had been a long time since he could talk with someone as freely as he did with her, mostly because she herself wasn't in any way human, and had accepted that fact since the moment of her 'birth', much as he had. MOMO, Jr., Ziggy…they had been humans to begin with. In fact, the only difference between Realians and humans was the way they were born, as Shion had often said. But KOS-MOS, she was just starting to deal with a complete change in the way her world worked.

He waved at her, although she couldn't see, and returned to his room. He had given her the key, just as Gabriel had said. Now, all that was left was to return back to his home. Although what awaited him, after the desolation of his dream and the terror of his nightmares, he certainly didn't want to know.