Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Xenosaga.
A/N: So here is Chapter 4, it is rather long in comparison to the previous ones, but how could you cut such an important reunion short haha! Anyways please if you happen to get this far before being board, send me a review! ;)
Chapter Four: Confrontation
As the group finally engages the final third of the Song after what has been an arduous trek, Jr's body is tense, on edge; knowing the impending confrontation is now at hand. He walks just back from the rest of the group, trying hard to constrain the fire building in the right side of his chest. "Albedo...why?" he whispers softly, fighting the tears while he can still allow himself to feel anything but anger and hate for his brother, before he is forced to partake in what he must do.
"He must be just down the main elevator! Come on!" chaos' voice is as tense as Jr has ever heard it, normally the silver haired boy has no problem maintaining the airy, carefree tone.
"Yes. It is logical that whoever is in control of the Song of Nephilim will be holding out in the main control room, located at the center of the station." KOS-MOS' words are distant as Jr lifts his eyes to meet those of chaos.
"Jr, are you going to be okay?" the man's voice is soft, inaudible to those ahead of them for which Jr is thankful.
"I looked for him chaos, I tried to find him, but Nigredo...he...needed me..." the taller man places his gloved hand on the red heads shoulder, "I know that he blames me, hell, I take that blame, I know it was my fault but..." Jr clenches his jaw as he drops his eyes to the ground, "He shouldn't be doing this...not if it's just to get revenge on me..."
"People don't always do what they should Jr, you know that. You have to stop worrying about the past, what we have to deal with is the here and now." When Jr raises his eyes, there is a soft, sorrowful smile on the silver haired man's lips, "You are normally so good at that you know."
"I know chaos...it's just hard when the past comes right up and jumps down your throat..." the man's forehead creases with worry, but Jr pushes past him before he can say any more, "Come on, let's do this."
Jr steps on to the elevator as far from the worried looks in both chaos' and Shion's eyes and averts his gaze. "Try to remember my advice Jr. Even if you don't like it, it is the best way you will find to save MOMO." Cold, sapphire eyes cut up at the blond cyborg who is staring straight ahead, face sombre.
"I've got enough on my mind without you're self righteous advice old man..." still the man's face remains unchanged.
"I do not speak just to hear my own voice, these words I say in the hopes of stopping you from doing anything reckless and risking MOMO's or any of our lives. You know this Jr." A cold, metal hand comes to rest on Jr's shoulder, and Ziggy's eyes soften slightly.
"I don't need you're god damn sympathy!" yells the red head, glaring at the entire company fury burning in his eyes. "I don't need your comfort, and I sure as hell don't need your pity! So stop looking at me that way." The last part comes out near a growl as Jr steps off the elevator, making his way directly for the door ahead of them at the center of the station.
As the heart beat in the right side of his chest crescendo's he can't help but stop before entering the large door, staring straight ahead. "We aren't here because you need our help...but because we want to help you Jr, as well as MOMO." The voice is chaos', soft and reassuring, despite the raucousness of his anger, Jr feels immense gratitude towards the people around him.
"I'm just scared...I don't want anyone else to end up hurt," eyes landing on MOMO's blank expression he flinches away, "because of me..."
"We're in this together now Jr, MOMO is a friend to all of us, and we all want to stop the Song from calling more Gnosis. So let's go, all of us." Jr's frightened eyes meet chaos' serene ones and a sense of calm washes over him. Cracking the smallest of smiles he nods, eyes travelling to those of each of his companions, ending on Shion's whose steely resolve shines forth unhindered as she smiles softly back at him.
Taking in a deep breath Jr bursts through the large mechanical door, stopping in his tracks as his eyes land on the white clad form of his brother. The myriad of emotions washing through Jr's mind leaves him shell shocked, battling the tears that surface in his eyes at knowing that his twin is alive. For a moment he ignores the anger and rage bubbling inside of him, but only for a moment. "Albedo...You!"
Everything aside from Albedo's crazed, amethyst eyes is distant and unrecognizable as the crimson fury begins its seduction of Jr's reason. "Please spare me any trite lines like, 'You're still alive?' Life and death are merely empty words lacking any power over me." Jr grimaces knowing the truth behind his brother's words, "By the way...did you ever bother telling the girl?" for the first time Jr's eyes register the unconscious form of MOMO cradled in Albedo's arms, "Does she know that we're monsters, both you and I?"
"MOMO?" calls the red head in disbelief, hoping that perhaps there was still a chance to save the real her from him, but...who is it that has been accompanying them then. As he's about to spin around he feels surprisingly strong, yet small hands close around his throat, cutting off his wind pipe. Jr's feet leave the ground and he is left choking for air against the powerful grip.
"I want the me that's inside you..." it is MOMO's voice, but it is hollow and emotionless, and as he listens to the voice he knows that whatever it is, it isn't the pink haired Realian that he's befriended.
"M...MOMO..." the real MOMO is the one in Albedo's clutches, suffering pain by his brother's hand.
"MOMO?" Shion's voice is distant beyond the pounding blood in Jr's ears as he continues to struggle for breath.
"That's not her. That's..." Jr's eyes close and he begins to allow his body to relax, keeping the rage within checked despite his situation.
But as his brother's twisted voice echoes through the room Jr feels the need to get free, to stop Albedo from hurting anyone else, "Free from the bonds of flesh..." slowly the red head reaches his arm towards the hand of his assailant, "A pure consciousness has no true form." A choking sound resonates unbidden from Jr's throat as he begins to lose himself, "All that exists is the longing for reality."
Albedo's words go almost unheard as the seductive voice hisses through Jr's mind, Strike Red Child...use me...! Resolve burning, Jr grasps the small hands around his throat, and opens the way for the fury within, "Get off me!" he feels it explode out of him from every part of his body, and the crimson glow of his anger leaves his body tingling with heat. Yes...free me, the alluring inner voice whispers to him softly after he hears a body hit the floor behind him. But as he falls to his knees and his eyes regain their focus, he sees MOMO wince in pain, Always a price for pleasure Red Child, the voice reassures.
"Did you see that, ma pêche...? You're witness to his true nature right now...a consciousness desperately struggling to stay alive." Absently Jr thinks that that is the state of all humans, every one of them struggles against the death that Albedo has never known, "Such a pitiful sight. This is unseemly, Rubedo." The sound of his true name on his brother's lips grates against the thin rein of control that he has mustered.
"Jr..." MOMO's desperate plea is pained, barely audible as she struggles to hold on to her consciousness.
Then Albedo places his hand above MOMO's limp head and the malicious blue glow pulses between her head and the man's palm. The pained cry passing between MOMO's lips demands Jr's response, "Albedo! Get your stinkin' hands off of her!" he speaks harshly, rising from his knees. He draws one of his Makarov's from its holster, levelling the barrel on his brother, "Or else I'll..."
"Hmm?" Albedo's disinterest vexes Jr's self control, "You'll do something...if I...do this?" smiling maliciously down at MOMO he draws even more from her consciousness, her cry rips away the remainder of Jr's control.
"You mother...!" in his sapphire eyes determination mingles with burning rage as his finger tugs back the trigger of the handgun. A wispy purple light is all that remains of Albedo's right arm, yet the man doesn't flinch, his smile is merely amused.
Unsurprising to Jr the arm begins to regenerate almost instantly, "What pain...so sweet...so alive! Pain is such a vital part of realizing one's existence..." The words tug unbidden at Jr's heart, he can't begin to imagine what Albedo's mind has been through, even without the influence of U-DO. "Try to remember Rubedo. What it takes...what you must do...Or...have you lived in peace for so long that you've completely forgotten?"
The sympathy for his brother is suppressed by flaming anger in an instant, "I don't give a damn about what you have to say! Just give her back!" Please Albedo...he thinks to himself, Please stop this...
"I don't think so..." teases the white haired man, possessively pulling the Realian closer against him, "I'll just take what I want and proceed with my plans..." the word plans causes Jr' mind to reel, implying his intentions are more than just to take revenge on Jr for abandoning him. What is he going to do with the Y Data? Staring down into MOMO's face the man continues, "And along the way, I'll make you remember...Who you really are..." a malevolent smirk on his lips the man resumes his invasion of MOMO's consciousness.
Use me, the inner voice demands, painting Jr's vision red, To keep your promise. "Shut up!" he shouts, half to the voice inside, half to the man in front of him, "I don't need some freak contaminated by U-DO to tell me..." the intentionally inflammatory words miss their mark, and faintly he hears Shion call his name.
"Contaminated? Not quite. More like..." Albedo seems to contemplate a moment, "evolved. I experience but a fragment of my true power that day. The waves that inundated my body are now a part of me! I've reached a higher stage of existence compared to you incomplete mortals." And it's all my fault... "I am the alpha and the omega of perfect consciousness!" Because of me...all because of me, I did this...to my own brother...
"S...Stop it..." stammers the red headed man, fear and guilt engulfing him, he can't stand the reminder of his inability to act, and the casualty of his brother that it cost him. MOMO's cries become weaker and weaker, and Jr feels his hesitance stalling him, prolonging her suffering, I'm a coward.
"Mmm...Ah, this is nice...Don't you want to give it a try?" the taunting words ignite Jr's anger, shattering his indecision, along with MOMO"s inaudible cries.
"MOMO!" yells the red head as he tugs back the trigger twice, blowing away his brother's arm followed by his head, but Jr knows that it is far from over. His heart clenches in sorrow at the distant reminder of a scared little boy who had just learned that while he was immortal, all those for whom he cared were not.
As his brother's head slowly regenerates, leaving him just the same as before, he knows that he should have told his companions more of what they were going to find here. "Impossible...Is that nanotechnology..." asks Ziggy, obviously taken by surprise at Albedo's cold smirk.
"No." Replies Shion, "Nanomachines can't work anywhere near that fast, and besides...Not even the research laboratories have models with head-regenerating capabilities yet." Even Vector's genius doesn't have a clue what Albedo is, Yuriev sure did a good job keeping us under wraps.
"He's a U.R.T.V." calm as always, chaos intercedes, "Just like Jr..."
"What?" Jr knows that Shion's surprise is more that she doesn't know what a U.R.T.V. is than that Jr isn't a normal human being; she'd seen the picture of him and Gaignun after all.
chaos, it seems, has decided to illuminate all of them, "U.R.T.V.'s...they were created for the express purpose of eradicating U-DO." Which means my infected brother as well, broods Jr darkly.
"U-DO...?" the confusion in Shion's voice is unnatural, but Jr realizes that she must have been little more than a child during what she suffered in the Miltian Conflict.
"Rubedo..." the white haired man has regained his composure as he oversees the group before him, "You still don't remember? Or could it be...fear...You're frightened, is that it?" Jr winces, knowing the truth in his brother's words, "Am I right? I can't blame you. The only thing that matters to you is yourself." That's the way it should be Red Child...use me...kill him...As if hearing the venomous voice in Jr's head, Albedo continues, "Rubedo...so cruel...And yet this girl clings to you so dearly. Isn't it pitiful?" It's not her fault, it's in her nature to trust and rely on others, his own voice echoes through his skull. Dismayed he watches the charm that he had given her fall to the ground below her, in these moments his heart burns only for revenge, maybe Albedo is right...maybe I am leading her on to trust me..."One more layer. Just one more layer, and then I'll have everything inside of her. I'm sure you know what that means, Rubedo. Now then, I wonder how much more she can take?"
As if on cue MOMO's cries of pain escalate, shattering once again the remainder of Jr's control, allowing the dark voice to erupt in victory. "Noooooo!" Feeling the crimson rage inside of his, Jr grasps as his chest nearly doubling over before the furious power bursts forth from every pour of his skin, as a scream rips out of his throat.
Vision crimson red, the next thing he knows Albedo is laying limply behind the throne on which he was seated, and MOMO lies unmoving before them. Without a further thought he runs to her side, "MOMO!" he whispers desperately, gathering her in his arms, "Are you okay?" It's all my fault, he screams inwardly at himself.
Then Albedo's malicious, and almost exhilarated cackle echoes off the metal walls, "I see..." he crazed voice is full of excitement and when Jr looks up he sees his brother surveying those of his company. "It all makes sense now..." Jr looks up at his brother with wide scared eyes, knowing from his words that he was able to fully access the Y Data, You've failed...You should have used me sooner, Red Child...taunts the other, seductive voice in his mind.
Preoccupied with MOMO Jr can only watch as his brother ascends to his E.S. smirking down at all of them, "But now...Rubedo, how about we enjoy a moment or two together. Come on...our time has arrived!" As the red headed man gets to his feet to face his brother, glancing down at MOMO's wilted body, memories and thoughts of failure and blame course through him; enraging the fury within.
"Stand back Jr." Ziggy's emotionless voice commands and the cyborg steps in front of both MOMO and Jr, further igniting the rage building up.
Kill him...kill them all and take your revenge, the voice is sultry and smooth, trying to tempt him into action. "I'll take care of him myself, cyborg!" snaps the red head, barely controlling himself as he levels the barrel of his handgun at the man's back.
"Jr!" a gentle hand on his shoulder draws the red head's attention, successfully calming his anger as he looks up into chaos' green eyes, "Bullets and a physical assault won't harm that thing, you know that. We will have to utilize our beam attacks and ethers if we want to win okay, it would be best if you just stand back."
"I can't chaos!" pleads Jr, distraught, "I have to do something...I've already failed so much, put everyone in a lot of danger, I can't just stand here!"
"Listen to me Jr." Shion spins him roughly around, forcing him to look directly into her resolute emerald eyes, "You stay back and look after MOMO okay? She needs you right now, and being there with her is the best thing you can do in this situation." When the anger in his eyes doesn't diminish the women places her palm gently against his cheek, and to Jr's dismay her warm touch leaves him feeling instantly composed, "Push away your hatred and revenge Jr, look after MOMO while we take care of this." Holding back tears, Jr nods grimly and to his surprise Shion pulls him into a tight hug, before running to the forefront of the battle, M.W.S. raised to fire.
For a moment he can only stare helplessly as the rest of them lead an assault against Simeon, but Shion's words remain engraved in his mind and he returns his attention to the pink haired Realian. Kneeling down he pulls her up into his lap, brushing back stray pink strands from her cheeks, "Come on MOMO, you need to wake up." He knows that there is no physical damage from which she suffers but just to make sure he checks her over; finding nothing he fears the full extent of Albedo's probing. He has the Y Data Red Child...you can too if you only — "Shut up!" he whispers fiercely to the demonic voice inside, putting a shaky hand against MOMO's cheek. "MOMO, please...we need you back here, you've got to wake up. If not for me then for Ziggy! That old man wouldn't know what to do without you." Fighting back tears, he looks to the ceiling taking a deep breath, trying to rein in his emotions.
A feminine scream snaps his attention back to the battle as Shion falls to her knees, helpless Jr watches as chaos gets knocked back as he tries to get over to the brown haired woman. "Shit!" he murmurs as he lays MOMO gently on the metal floor and gets to his feet. As Simeon makes another move to hit Shion, Jr jumps in front of her and pushes her out of harm's way, firing a barrage of bullets that damages the machine's arm. "Get back to MOMO Shion, use some ethers if you can." He casts her a fleeting, reassuring smile before he turns back to the fight at hand.
Turning his icy, cerulean eyes on the E.S. he can almost imagine his brother's glee at his presence in the forefront. "That's it Albedo...I won't...let you hurt...Anyone else!" he shouts grabbing hold on the burning frenzy within himself, Jr funnels it through his hand and into his gun. Pointing it at the arm of Simeon which descends upon him, he pulls a dark, crooked smirk across his lips, "Sayonara baby." A powerful scarlet beam erupts from the barrel, piercing through the left arm of the machine and causing electricity to spark. Jr can hear his brother maniacal laugh from within Simeon before the exhaustion, from keeping a restraint so tight around the crimson power, drops him to his knees, breathing heavily.
"Ah, Rubedo." Grasping the arm through which the force had travelled Rubedo squints through the aching pain in his body, looking up as his brother descends to the floor. "You're getting closer to your old self. But you're still not quite there yet." A sinister glow begins to form around Albedo's hand as he speaks, "You were much stronger than this back then," raising his hand, the white haired man prepares to launch a powerful force at the other, "weren't you?"
Pushing the pain to the back of his consciousness, Jr struggles to his feet, "Damn you, Albedo!" he prepares to let loose the red demon within once more, "Don't get cocky!" it pours forth from his body in a wave that he feels collide with the force collected around his brother, however this time his control over his power is waning; almost completely dissipated.
Ever so faintly he hears Gaignun's desperate plea, but he's too far gone to recognize it, let alone act on it. I won't let you hurt them Albedo, I swear it!
A bestial scream leaps from his throat in response to the dark nature within himself, begging him to release his last hold. "What's wrong, Rubedo? You can do better than this. Come on," a dark, tempting smirk crosses Albedo's features, "show me what you've got!"
Release me Red Child, let me kill him for you, the voice is exhilarated by bloodlust. "Jr, no! Don't do it! Don't play into his hand...or you'll..." chaos' voice is a distant conscience, demanding Jr's attention.
I'll what, chaos? He tries to ask but his own voice betrays him, he can feel himself drowning in the burning rage, he knows that he can't hold out much longer against what is inside of him. I'll hurt them...I'll make myself the threat, Albedo won't have to hurt them because I will do it myself if I release my hold. The realization jars him to the bone but it is too late to go back now, at its current magnitude he can't manage to subdue his power at all let alone retract it completely. This is what he has wanted all along, to extract my rage and turn it against myself and against my friends. And chaos is right...I played perfectly into his plan to make me into a monster just like he is...Damnit!
"Come on, Rubedo! Just a little more! Just a little more and your dreams will be fulfilled!" he notices what he should have before, that Albedo is using just enough force to goad him into biting and letting go completely, but there is no stopping it now, "Come on, come on, come on!" the white haired man's voice is terrifying, he wants to release the power inside of Jr and he hopes that it will take his life the way that nothing else can.
Give him what he wants Red Child, let me taste him. The floodgate opens upon the voice's request as more power flows from Jr's body, and another scream tears from his chest. Then suddenly without warning he feels the anger flowing back inside himself, calming him. His eyes are drawn to the small form of a girl beyond the realm of his anger, who seems to be the source of whatever is driving back his power. Through his red clouded vision he staggers, "Sakura...?" he whispers inaudibly, yet his eyes betray him and as the red vision lifts he sees that MOMO has come to consciousness again. But for a moment he swears he can see his first love looking out through the Realian's eyes. "MOMO...?" he questions in disbelief.
The girl's eyes are faced determinedly forward as she suppresses the dark powers vying for destruction in between the two brothers. "You've...taken so much from me. But...I...I was given a part of you too. A part of you is now within me." Jr sees that her eyes are on Albedo now, and confusion takes him. "So, now..."
"So, now...?" Albedo snarls in a taunting voice before bursting out laughing at MOMO's display of courage. "So, that's why you're doing that?"
The Realian's eyes flick forward again as she shakes her head, "Why do you hurt everyone?" her kind, gentle heart shines forth in her words, "My sisters, they all loved something they saw in you. Even after all that you put them through, they still believed in you." The pain in her golden eyes wrenches Jr's emotions, "How...how can you desecrate their feelings – their hearts?"
Again Albedo's maniacal cackle fills the room as he lets go of the power surrounding him, finally allowing Jr's demon to retreat back inside, "Descrate? Your sisters? Look around you." For the first time Jr sees the bodies of dozens of Kirschwasser's laid mangled across the floor, he'd been blinded by fury until now, "Who's the flower that blooms from all those corpses?" Out of the corner of his eye he sees MOMO flinch at the words, "That's right...It's you...pêche." and her sad golden eyes drop to the floor, "Everything is just as Mizrahi – your dear Daddy – wanted it to be." The Y Data! Screams Jr's inner thoughts.
"Daddy...?" MOMO's voice is soft as her eyes stare forward, troubled.
"That' right. Isn't it, Rubedo?" again Albedo's taunts tempt Jr's anger.
Shaking his head to dispel the temptation towards hatred Jr replies, "You bastard...say any more and you're..." words escape him as he battles with the rage rebuilding itself inside, "you're gonna..."
"...pay for this!" shouts Shion, finishing Jr's thoughts, "Those girls weren't toys for your enjoyment! They were all individuals with wills of their own! Yet you..."
Shion's brave words are interrupted by a gravelly voice from an unknown source, "Still spouting that self-righteous crap?"
From the ceiling behind him Jr can see a light is being emited, surprised he spins around as he barely hears Albedo's voice, "The new guy?"
Materializing seemingly out of nowhere a figure in blue robes floats above them to stand by Jr's brother. He is masked, and the voice is unfamiliar to Jr, though he admits his perception is skewed by the rage coursing through his senses. "Stop screwing around." Orders the man, glancing at Albedo, "Hurry up and get the job done. Don't waste your time on these fools." The words grate once more against the red head's self control.
Slowly, almost grudgingly Albedo turns to ascend his craft once more but not before turning back to the man in blue, "Give him this message: It belongs to me!"
However those words are almost unheard as Jr bursts after the retreating figure of his brother. "Hold it!" I can't let him get away, I have to stop him! But as soon as he reaches the blue figure, he is sent flying backwards as hot pain sears through his entire body, leaving him breathing heavily on his knees.
"Where do you think you're going?" taunts the unfamiliar man, "Hey, why don't you do me a favour and let him go for now. I'll do my best to keep you entertained in the meantime." Jr's eyes stare past the man, watching distraught as Albedo's craft takes to the air, ejecting from the Song of Nephilim.
Once Albedo is out of sight, Jr turns his enraged sapphire eyes on the blue robed man ready to do whatever he has to in order to take him out.
A/N: That concludes Chapter 4. Hope I did okay describing this very intense part of the plot as well as staying true to Jr's personality. Sorry if the whole inner voices thing got confusing at all, let me know if it did so I can make some adjustments.