Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Xenosaga.
A/N: Chapter 3 for any of those reading. : ) I can't say that this is going to be an overly romantic story, at least not yet, mostly it is just for the intent of highlighting and developing Jr's relationships not just with MOMO and Shion, but the rest of the Xenosaga cast as well.
Chapter Three: A Connection Unsought and a Promise Threatened
A knock on the door pulls Jr away from thoughts of his white haired twin, the diminishing of his anger tells him that it is Gaignun. "What is it?" he calls angrily, disarming the lock to let the other man in, "Come on in." Jr turns his back on the other man.
"You don't want me here. I just came to ask you not to give into it." There is that calm voice, grating against the back of Jr's neck, but before he can say anything in retort the door slides shut.
He flips open the box on the desk and stares down at the antique gun, whenever he feels the rage boiling over it always helps to find something material to focus on. Albedo is alive and he is tearing MOMO's consciousness apart. Gaignun has some nerve, I can barely keep my anger in check as it is...
Another knock, "Leave me alone Gaignun!" he shouts, aggravated.
"I just wanted to let you know that we'll be meeting at the Elsa whenever you're ready Jr." the female voice surprises the red head, drawing him to the door.
The door slides open and he steps into the hallway to see Shion's back as she walks away. "Shion!" he calls, "Wait up, I'm sorry for yelling, I thought that you were Gaignun."
The woman turns around, "It's fine Jr, we're all a little on edge right now." There isn't a hint of anger, or hurt in her features anywhere and Jr is relieved, she is so different from any other woman that he has met. She walks towards him placing her hand on his shoulder, mimicking the comforting gesture he'd given her earlier, "I know how you're feeling right now Jr, we are all worried about MOMO, and we'll do whatever we can to get her back." He is in the middle of thinking that she only knows half of what he is feeling when she continues; "And this...Albedo...he's obviously someone that was important to you...that you've tried to forget...and that his being here, involved is bringing you both pain and sorrow, I can see it in your eyes." She bites her lip as she contemplates how to continue, not knowing that he words have already touched the man deeply, "But when we confront him, I will...we will all stand with you."
"Sh...Shion..." he is at a loss for words, she knows almost exactly what the conflict in his heart is, and suddenly he confronts the urge to confide everything in her.
"Sometimes...the people we're tied to, the ones we can't help but care about...they hurt our other loved ones..." she turns away from him, closing her eyes, "But I promise I won't be late in pulling the trigger...not this time..." her words are soft, full of pain, but when she looks at him again she is wearing a mask of confidence, "We'll save her together Jr, all of us."
In the midst of all his anger, hatred and fear, he finds himself pulling solace out of her words, out of her very presence it seems, she has been the only person other than Gaignun in fourteen years that has ever shown so much understanding of who he is and how he feels. Shion is definitely not just an ordinary human being.
"Thanks...Shion, it means a lot." He stares into her eyes, hoping to implore just how much her words did mean to him. Then he snaps his attitude back into place with a wink and a half-hearted grin, "Now wait right there, just let me grab my guns and we can head down to the Elsa." He's back in his room, a flurry of red, pulling the twin Makarov's from their wooden case he slips them in the holsters at under his arms.
Behind him he hears the door slide open, admitting Shion, he casts her a fleeting smile before reaching into the closet to pull out his trench coat. When he turns back he grins slightly, "Ready to go Chief." But he notices her eyes are elsewhere, when he follows her glance he sees what she is staring at; the picture of himself with a young Gaignun, taken a year after their escape from Miltia. He grimaces knowing that it was unmistakable who the picture is of; he never should have let her in here.
"Please," her voice forces him to open his eyes and face her, "Don't you start calling me that too Jr, I can't stand it." Her smile is gentle, her emerald eyes full of an understanding that relaxes the muscles in his back.
Thank you, Shion, he thinks silently to himself before walking towards her. "Sorry, I was just playing." Jr stops to stand beside her and looks up into her eyes, a soft, almost sad smile on his lips, "Just Shion then, I promise."
As he looks into her face, Shion's eyes dart away from his and her cheeks color slightly, causing the red head to raise an eyebrow, intrigued, "If you're ready, let's get going. We have to save MOMO and deactivate the Song of Nephilim." Jr nods grimly in response, and together they leave the room to face the harsh reality of their situation.
The pair walks through the metallic hallways in a comfortable silence, their minds preoccupied with the task ahead of them. As Jr's mind travels to what lay in his near future the anger from before returns at once, he is going to have to deal with Albedo, once and for all. Yet he wonders now if he will be able to, Shion's earlier words implied that she had failed to act in time to save a person that she loved. Out of the corner of his eye he glances at her, green eyes clouded with concern, eyebrows drawn together troubled. "Hey Shion." Jr grabs her hand pulling her to face him, "We're going to save her, we're going to save everyone okay?" he smiles genuinely up at her, "I thought you were the one trying to cheer me up anyways!" grinning cheekily he finally elicited a small laugh from her.
"You're right Jr, we are all going to be just fine." She nods at him, still with a soft smile on her lips, "Let's get going."
They continue on in silence, both feeling troubled by their individual demons, but both feeling better in the other's presence. Jr is surprised at how much this woman can affect his mood; the frown on her lips a moment ago had possessed a powerful pull on his emotions, and her words before had legitimately made him feel lighter. Thinking of it now, he battles the desire to ask her about her past, to know what events she has endured to breed such sorrow beneath her outer mask.
Walking together with Shion his thoughts travel to the other girl that had possessed such a power over him; Sakura. For a moment he thinks that they are alike, the girl from his past and the woman beside him now, which is why Shion affects him so. Yet the more he thinks of it, he knows that isn't true...Sakura had never hidden her feelings from him, not from anyone. Trapped in silence for so long she'd told Jr everything, had always been open with him, never concerned about what he might think. Shion on the other hand seems to conceal everything about herself and her true feelings, from everyone. She is nice, positive in her exterior interactions with people, but...it seems that even Allen, her co-worker, isn't privy to her inner most thoughts. Then again, he seems to be oblivious to even her outermost thought, which says that she really just isn't interested. It is sad, the man seems competent enough, but if he didn't act on his feelings and tell her, he was likely going to lose his chance forever. Jr had learned that lesson very early in life; you had to act in the moment, for sooner or later fate had a way of catching up and making you pay for your hesitance. His chest aches as he thinks of the two important people that he's lost, Sakura, his first love who he hadn't been able to save and Albedo...who he'd abandoned to infection, madness and what had until today been assumed death. Dark thoughts overtaking him, he doesn't even notice that they've arrived at the Elsa and are ready to depart.
As Jr looks around at the rag tag team that has assembled, he can't help but smile. Even before the new additions, the Elsa's crew had been an oddity, but he trusts all of them to do what is needed. Despite all his complaining Captain Matthew's is a powerful authority and sense of inspiration to his men, perhaps the man is focused a bit too much of payment but...it is no easy task that they have undertaken.
"Captain!" the voice belongs to Hammer, one of the most competent human navigators that Jr has ever met, "There's an opening to the side where we can dock!"
"All right! Bring us in Tony. Be careful." Calls Matthews, even knowing Tony's exceptional piloting skills, showing just how concerned the Captain is about this mission.
"Roger. Closing in and approaching the—"
"Wait!" hand against her chest Shion calls and interrupts their progress, "Tony, can you show me the top...?" Jr turns, looking up into the brunette's face which was plastered with suspicion and fear.
"What? You want me to go around the top?" asks the pilot, obviously as confused as Jr by her strange request.
"Please. Just circle around the top!" Jr thinks momentarily that the imploring tone of her voice and the determination in her clear green eyes can get almost anyone to do anything for her, no wonder Allen is so helpless around her.
"All right..." Tony acquiesces unwillingly, scratching the back of his head "But once around is all you're getting. Who knows what's up there?" Jr is surprised that not even Matthews shoots down Shion's request, perhaps Allen isn't the only one she has sway over.
"Thank you..." she says softly, worry clear in her voice. What is it that she is looking for...? As the flat, triangular top of the structure comes into view from the bridge, Jr's eyes remain fixed on Shion. Other than a brief widening of her eyes she does not do or say anything, but the distance between her eyes and reality is obvious as she travels deep into her own thoughts. In the next moment the top is out of sight as the Elsa gently flies down to the docking area, and as the team prepares to depart Shion seems to be moving as if in a trance.
"Shion." Jr says quietly, falling into step with her as they step off of the Elsa, drawing her from her reverie, "Are you okay?"
She nods silently, not even looking at her red haired companion. Not wanting to prod her further, and distracted by the feel of Albedo's heart beat growing close in his chest, he lets it drop. As they enter the outer wall of the station, she comes into view, brushing past Ziggy, Jr runs for her, "MOMO!" he kneels down next to her, grasping her shoulders, shaking her as if she is asleep, "MOMO! MOMO!" his voice grows desperate until she finally opens her eyes and looks into his, the emptiness within her golden orbs makes his chest constrict, "Are you all right?" he asks, as her eyes stare past him unseeing, "Don't tell me...we're too late?" but he already knows the answer, and his head drops as he tries to rein in the rage within, "Damn that bastard! He's taken her consciousness!" rising to his feet, the tension across his back aches, "I'm gonna make him pay for this! Hold on MOMO...I'll make you whole again!" breathing comes raggedly, he is failing in his promise...Albedo has to be stopped.
"Jr!" Shion's voice demands his attention as she kneels beside the Realian, "What...happened to MOMO?" the woman gently takes MOMO's hands into her own, staring up at the red head desperate, and confused.
Focusing on her green eyes he regains some of his control, enough to even his breathing, enough to explain, "That monster Albedo's gone and reversed the spiritual link..."
Beside him the cryborg questions, "Reversed the spiritual link?"
"It's the opposite of what Gaignun and I do when we communicate telepathically." He knows Gaignun won't appreciate him divulging the information but he has no choice, "But by seizing someone's consciousness, you can delve deep inside the other person's mind and drag out whatever memories you feel like taking." Such as the Y Data, his mind adds silently.
"You can't be serious!" Shion looks down at MOMO's empty features in disbelief, and holds on to her shoulders as the Realian gets to her feet, "That means MOMO's mind is..."
"Yeah..." murmurs the red head, letting the word linger before regaining his composure, "It's best for you all to go back. I'll handle this on my own." Careful not to make eye contact with chaos, Jr brushes past the rest of the company.
"Wait!" the gentle voice that the man's been fearing interrupts him, "It's too dangerous to go alone!" Jr's eyes are locked on chaos' green ones for a long moment as he contemplates what to do. He admits that all of them are capable and devoted enough to help him, but he doesn't want to risk putting them in further danger if he can't deal with Albedo in the end. I will...We will all stand with you.Shion's words echo in his mind, and out of the corner of his eye he sees the determined look on her face.
"Sorry. This is between me and him...All right?" he tries to glare harshly at his friends, to make them understand the apprehension and fear that he is feeling, to understand that what he says is for their own safety.
"But still..." says the silver haired man, not needing to continue as MOMO approaches Jr.
Features bereft of any emotion, her appearance is haunting, "MOMO...You wanna come with me?" but the gesture is touching, as the Realian nods ever so slightly.
"I'm going too." Shion's voice demands his attention, that determination really did seem unstoppable, as she balled her hand into a fist on her chest.
"Shion..." he lets his eyes drop to the floor, lest they see the emotion coursing through them.
"Don't you remember what you told me?" she pauses, looking into his eyes meaningfully, "This Song...it's responsible for destroying Miltia and bringing the Gnosis into this world...If this has anything to do with that place that I know of," her vague words peaked his curiosity, "then...this involves me as well." All Jr can do in response is nod, as they make their way off the bridge on into the next area of the Song. While approaching the door, Jr hears Shion's feminine voice, "I told you that we will stand with you Jr, we won't let you go alone."
A/N: Thanks to anyone who read and hopefully you enjoyed it, as always feedback would be lovely!