Chapter VIII

Hello everybody, hope you all enjoyed last chapter, it had quite a bit going on I'd say. It was also pretty hard to write surprisingly. Though having the Covenant finally rear their reptilian, and mammalian, and insectoid, you know what, this is breaking down so let's just move on. Anyway, I've got the eighth chapter now, hopefully you guys enjoy it as well. As always I'd like to thank my coauthor Bakuto Masaki. And there seem to be more reviews trickling in again. Hopefully this chapter gets some heads turning with what happens. Guess I should go ahead and do reviewer responses.

Bakuto Masaki: Yeah, I felt Haruka should be flirty, she pretty much was in the games. Well, she was more, sadistic in the games but I'd say this is a good compromise. Guess you'll just need to continue waiting like everyone else, huh? ? What happened to Elizabeth's already been told.

LegionsEnd56: Thank you, any reviews posted on this story at this point are appreciated.

YumishinaChan: It's fine as long as I do eventually get the review. Oh definitely, refusing just about anything Erza tells you to do is unwise. I think facing an army of Gnosis with a pea shooter would be easier. I like Mirajane too, obviously since I added her to the story, I felt they worked well too.

Well, that should do it. On to the chapter now.

In a random area of the galaxy, a small group of UNSC ships floated through space, the largest of the ships having the words, "Dawn Under Heaven" printed on its side.

On the ship's expansive bridge, a man in blue and grey armor, his helmet held in his left arm, with buzzed black hair and blue eyes, walked up to the captain of the ship, an older man with grey hair and dark blue eyes. "Captain Del Rio, may I ask why Noble Team was selected to guard a giant gold block?"

Del Rio turned to the man with annoyance. "No, Commander, you may not. All I will say is that it is a priority one asset with the UNSC and it is your job to guard it. And that is all you need to know." Suddenly he heard a series of beeps and turned to the console in front of him. He looked down at it puzzled. "Well it seems you've got yourself a mission your one-track mind can more easily understand. We've been changed course to go and assist those spies from the Pillar of Autumn."

Carter raised an eyebrow in response. "Spies, sir? If I may be frank, John-117 doesn't make a very good spy. He's more of a…tank type, sir."

"It doesn't matter if he's a jello type, he was selected as one of our spies. Even if they themselves aren't aware of it. After all, we can't risk this 'Galaxy Federation' being part of the Insurrectionists."

Carter looked at Del Rio curiously before saluting. "Understood…sir."

A synthetic voice suddenly spoke to Del Rio. "Excuse me captain, but we have a slight problem."

Outside, in the vacuum of space, multiple slip-space portals suddenly opened.

On one side of the fleet a small number, three or four, opened. On the other side, more than a dozen opened.

"Captain!" one of the bridge crew shouted.

Del Rio grit his teeth. "Shit! Is it an ambush?!"

The same synthetic voice then remarked, "Negative. I do believe this is a trailing group."

Del Rio snarled and pressed a button on the console in front of him, a small, blue, holographic visage of a young man in a suit appeared. "Ryder, what the hell is this?!"

"It appears to be an attack force of fifteen Covenant vessels and three unknown vessels. I believe they are after our precious cargo."

"Tch, dammit. How long until we'd be able to reach this 'Kukai Foundation'?"

"Unknown at this time, sir. However, if we proceed out immediately we should arrive within twenty-seven hours, forty-six minutes."

"Fine, get us the hell out of here."

"Yes, sir."

The UNSC ships suddenly opened a series of slip-space portals, which Thel could see from the bridge.

"No! Launch our fighters! Do not allow the humans to escape!"

"Yes Fleet Master!" one of the crew responded as multiple purple, insect-shaped vehicles launched from the largest ship, along with several white and red mobile suits with green, visor-like eyes as well as multiple white, black, and pink suits with shark-like heads.

Inside their ship, Albedo and Zellex looked out into space as the Covenant forces launched.

"Kukuku, isn't this amusing?" Albedo chortled. "These pathetic little aliens think they can overpower us, how insipid."

Zellex nodded seriously. "Perhaps. But do not underestimate the Covenant, they are a force to be reckoned with. Hm?" Zellex looked to his side uninterestedly. "He's gone."

Just outside the ship, the Simeon suddenly soared off, away from the ship and towards the Covenant battle group.

"Fleet Master!" one of the Covenant bridge crew shouted. "The humans have escaped, however there is an unknown battle force in the area."

Thel narrowed his eyes as he looked around.

"Fleet Master! We've just lost five suits, two GMs and three Guarlions!"

"What?! What's going on out there?!"

"Ahahahah!" Albedo cackled as he soared and zagged through the Covenant ranks, blasting and slashing at their suits, tearing them to pieces.

Two Guarlions came in from the side in an attempt to shoot him.

"Uh-uh-uh, that's cheating," he snickered. The octagonal shapes covering Simeon's waist-mounted wings and legs suddenly burst off from the E.S. and flew out in all directions, firing a hailstorm of beams as they flew. "Yes, yes, yes! Isn't this fun!?"

Several of the small fighter jets, Banshees, turned and fired powerful green missiles at Albedo.

He just grinned as they approached the Simeon. "Try this!" The Simeon's single visor-eye lit up bright red before a beam of light shot from one side and swept to the other side, hitting everything in between, destroying all of the missiles and multiple Banshees.

A GM tried to slash at him from behind but he pulled out the Simeon's beam saber from its knee, spun around, and sliced the GM in two. He then grinned madly and called back all of his flying guns before his E.S. lit up bright white and then started streaking through the area like a missile, everything in its path being blown to pieces.

Thel stood on the bridge of his ship with his mandibles agape. "Y-you have…got to be kidding me." They all suddenly felt a violent rumbling. "What in blazes is going on?!"

"Fleet Master, that unknown enemy mobile suit has infiltrated our ship, its blown through all three layers of our shields and the two outer layers of armor and careening through the ship's hull!"

A wide open area in the Covenant ship suddenly lit up in fire and smoke as a bright light soared through it, leaving debris and a vacuum behind.

Outside, Zellex watched disinterestedly as the Covenant carrier had multiple explosions occur all over its surface as pieces and debris went flying in every direction.

Thel clenched his clawed fists. "That's enough of this. Evacuate the ship, I will handle this bastard with Seiguarlion."

Rtas looked at Thel unsurely and then nodded, crossing an arm over his torso. "Yes, Fleet Master."

Albedo came to a stop on the top of the Covenant carrier as he observed the chunks and flames around him. "My, my, I am surprised Zellex warned me about them so badly. These weaklings are nothing."

"That's because you've yet encountered a true Sangheili."

"Hmm?" Albedo turned as a suit resembling a dark blue Guarlion with large protrusions on its shoulders descended in front of him. "Ohh, now what's this?"

Back at the Foundation, aboard one of the Federation ships, a man sat in the captain's chair observing the situation when a soldier walked up to him with a report. "What's this?"

The soldier gulped and handed the report to him. "Uhh, sir…it's from the battle group that we left back at the void."

"The void? Oh, you mean the barrier where Old Miltia is. I understand I commanded them to send regular reports but you needn't present every single one to me."

"Uhh, sir, I know that. They've sent four so far and I've done just that with them. But…I think you should take a look at this one."

The captain raised an eyebrow and looked over the report and then widened his eyes. "This…can't be real…an A.M.W.S. came flying out of the barrier between the two black holes…that doesn't seem…possible."

"Well, sir…it is. We even have footage."

The captain sighed heavily and then nodded as the man put the footage on to play.

The Simeon slid back some from an attack from the Seiguarlion. Albedo snickered inside the cockpit. "I have to say, I'm impressed. You're not half bad."

Thel, whose Seiguarlion was now holding two long, rifle-like weapons with long blades on the bottom as bayonets, aimed one of the rifles at Albedo. "I will agree with your assessment. You yourself are not unskilled. However…you could never hope to defeat a Fleet Master. Nor my Seiguarlion's railguns!" A shot fired from the railgun and careened towards Albedo.

Albedo ducked to the side, planted a foot on the ground, and then charged for Thel with a beam saber.

Thel back flipped over the swing and came back down with a slash from his railgun.

Albedo blocked it with his other beam saber.

The two were then locked in a duel of swords.

Thel swung with his right railgun and Albedo blocked with left. Thel tried thrusting with his left railgun and Albedo flipped over it before kicking Thel away.

Thel skid to a halt and then the Seiguarlion crossed its arms and launched a barrage of missiles from its shoulders.

Albedo smirked as the flying drones launched from his E.S. and intercepted the missiles. Some getting destroyed in the process. "Aww, you hurt my babies."

Thel snarled before firing a barrage of shots from his railguns.

"Uh-oh," Albedo grunted as the Simeon raised its.

Thel watched thoughtfully as the smoke cleared. He released a gurgling growl as the Simeon was shown to be mostly undamaged, the last remnants of an energy barrier sparking away.

Inside the Simeon, Albedo's face was contorted by a massive, sadistic grin. "Allrriigghhtt! Now we're having fun! How about I show you a little more power, ehh?!"

Thel narrowed his eyes as the Simeon splayed out its arms then clenched its fists.

Suddenly, the Simeon slammed its fists together as it was covered in white energy and a strange, ethereal, complex circle appeared in the air. The Simeon then raised its fists in front of its head, one fist in front of the other as Albedo shouted, "White Spirit Dragon Roar!" The same circle appeared in front of the Simeon's fists and a massive blast of pure white energy shot out from the circle and slammed straight into the Seiguarlion.

After a few seconds the stream of energy stopped and left only a long scorch mark on the back of the exploding ship covered in smoke.

Albedo snickered for a couple seconds before he saw the Seiguarlion standing in front of him, heavily damage.

The missile pods on its right arm were gone, its entire left arm was gone and its right arm from the elbow down was gone, the rest of its body being covered in scorch marks and having burned away portions of armor. The Seiguarlion fell to one knee as sparks erupted from its chassis. Thel breathed heavily as his cockpit sparked and purple drops of blood fell from his mouth.

"Kukuku…" Albedo chortled. "I'm impressed. Your Seiguarlion is made of some pretty stern stuff to survive my White Spirit Dragon Roar. Let's try this, shall we?" The Simeon charged forward and kicked back its left leg, the foot glowing with energy.

Thel struggled to stumble the Seiguarlion to a standing position when Albedo closed in and performed a spinning kick at the Seiguarlion, leaving a trail of energy behind.

"White Spirit Dragon Claw!"

A wide gash was formed on the Seiguarlion as it tumbled to the ground and slid across the ship.

The Simeon touched down as the Seiguarlion stood up one more time, pieces of armor falling off as it did. Albedo cackled maniacally at Thel. "Hahahah! How do you like my White Spirit Dragon Slayer Magic!? Feel the power of those who were born to kill myths!" The Simeon reared back before charging, its body covered in white energy as it performed its dashing charge again. "White Spirit Dragon Sword Horn!"

Back within Helmer's office, an attendant walked up to him. "Sir. There's an EPR com from the CEO of Vector."

"Vector?" he asked surprised. "Alright. I'll take it." He then refocused on Gaignun. "If you'll excuse me. I'll let you know if there are any developments."

"Busy as always," Gaignun responded sarcastically.

"Not half as much as you," Helmer retorted with a light chuckle. He then hung up and leaned back in his chair in thought as an image came up of Wilhelm.

The white-haired man greeted, "It's good to see you again, Representative Helmer."

"Likewise, Mr. Wilhelm. We haven't spoken since you resigned as Executive Committee Director."

Wilhelm sat in his oddly shaped office, starting at the screen with Helmer projected on it. "I'm well aware of the situation. Allow me to make a recommendation to the Parliament as well."

"Mr. Wilhelm, you're too kind."

"Actually, my concerns have even prompted me to dispatch the Dammerung, which is currently underway to the Miltian system."

"Your concerns?"

"This incident…surely you've realized by now that…?"

"There's no question of the U-TIC Organization's involvement in it."

"Exactly. Given that, it can only mean they're after one thing. The original Zohar in stasis on Miltia, and…"

Helmer narrowed his eyes as he finished, "U-DO…"

After answering images of a planet being smothered in a pulsating red energy filled his mind.

Back in Wilhelm's office, Wilhelm listened as Helmer continued. "We can't allow that to be awakened again."

Wilhelm nodded in agreement. "I believe our firm's KOS-MOS and its related staff are currently in your care…"

"I apologize Mr. Wilhelm. I'm afraid the link between the Kukai Foundation and the Second Miltian government is…"

"Ah, of course. Then please pass a message on to Gaignun for me. Surely that would be acceptable?"

Helmer nodded. "That much, I can do."

"Tell him that we'll lend him KOS-MOS for a while, and he can use her as he sees fit. We still have time before the Zohar Project commences, and in the worst case scenario, she'll definitely be of use. We'll have the Second R&D Division and the Tactical Sim Lab provide support."

Helmer looked at Wilhelm somewhat surprised. "Are you sure? Isn't that top secret?"

"It's a calculated risk. From our point of view, the more real-world data we get, the better."

"All right. I'll convey your message to Master Gaignun."

"Thank you. Good day, then."

Helmer nodded as the com shut down. He then sighed and turned his chair to face out of the window in his office. He stood up and looked out the window contemplatively. "U-DO…"

Roman walked through the doorway to the room Alister and the others were being held in, a soldier walking in beside her. "The preliminary inquiry shall now begin." She turned to the soldier and nodded as she walked over to the table, he nodded back.

After she sat at the table, Alister, MOMO, and Shion moved over, MOMO and Shion sitting down while Alister stood behind them.

Roman nodded to herself and then looked the three straight on. "I am an agent working for Representative Helmer of the Second Miltian Parliament."

Shion widened her eyes and then turned to the "Federation" soldier at the door.

"He's also with us."

The man nodded.

Alister narrowed his eyes.

"We can go into detail later," Roman added, "but for now I'll just debrief you on the current situation. You are presently under the custody of the Federation government and the military."

Alister flattened his brow in annoyance. "Yeah…we know that already."

Roman grumbled in frustration as she continued. "I'll be honest with you. The way things are now, within a few hours, she'll be turned over to anti-Miltian forces, specifically, the U-TIC Organization." She made her point as she looked at MOMO as she spoke. "Soon after, the Second Miltian government will be stripped of all its authority. At this moment, Representative Helmer is working with the leaders of the Miltian Parliament to buy us additional time. However, our opponents' skillful manipulation requires us to find concrete proof of your innocence."

Shion looked down solemnly in response. "But…how?"

"That's the question. We need something that would give conclusive evidence of your innocence."

"Conclusive…evidence…" She then leant forward and asked quietly, "What about the Woglinde's black box?"

"We've already recovered that."

Alister grumbled. "Lemme guess, it's no help."

Roman nodded. "Unfortunately, sometime after the final gate-out, it was modified to be exactly the same as the video recording, down to the time axis."

Jr. then frowned guiltily. "Not to mention, I shot up the database on that U-TIC battleship…"

"What about the Durandal's database?" chaos asked. "A record of the battle against the U-TIC should still be there. Can't we use that to prove our innocence?"

Alister interrupted before Roman could speak, "C'mon. Even I can tell you that modifying it is something that the parliament would throw our way faster than a bullet."

Roman nodded in agreement. "If we had something that even the owner couldn't change, say, a system with a AAA class encryption, then maybe…"

"Wha…?!" Jr. grunted. "Triple A?! You don't find systems with that kind of protection just lying around! For something like that, you'd need the Federation government's motherframe, or the U.M.N. operating system!"

"We…" Shion mumbled before realizing something important.

"What?" Alister asked.

"We have one!"

"…Oh!" Allen shouted in recognition.

"KOS-MOS!" they shouted in unison.

"KOS-MOS?!" Jr. asked confused and surprised.

Shion nodded. "Yes. KOS-MOS' database has a recording of the battle against the Gnosis onboard the Woglinde. If we enter that as evidence…"

Allen frowned as he added, "Yeah, but in order to copy the record, we need the keys from both the Federation government and headquarters."

Shion nodded and then rebutted, "By diving into the Encephalon and experiencing the record ourselves, we can make a copy through the Connection Gear."

"B…But…that's impossible without the dive equipment."

"How about the Service Module's Simple Dive Unit?"

"You've gotta be kidding! Besides, that's a violation of protocol!"

Alister grabbed his shirt frustration. "This whole damned situation is a violation of protocol you idiot! I don't think following the protocol set up by the people trying to kill us will get us very far!"

"B-b-but…"

Shion looked at Allen sternly. "We don't have any other choice, do we? Oh, I'm so sick and tired of protocol…though the real question is, how do we get to KOS-MOS?"

Roman stood up with a Connection Gear in her hand and pressed a button on it.

Ziggy's restraints suddenly came loose.

Roman then tossed the Connection Gear to Shion. "That'll open any locked doors you come across. I'll just say that we were careless." She then walked around the table and looked at Ziggy. "But to make it look legitimate you'll need to knock me out."

Alister then cracked a smile.

Mirajane stepped in front of him. "I think it's better we leave this one to Ziggy."

"Phooey, you're no fun."

Ziggy looked at Alister and then back to Roman. "You sure?"

Roman nodded. "Otherwise no one would believe it, right?"

Ziggy then looked around the room. "You have a point."

Homura and Alister shouted, "What's that supposed to mean!?"

Ziggy walked up to Roman and she stated unsteadily, "Go easy on me, okay?"

MOMO turned and Shion held her as Ziggy knocked out Roman and the guard.

The others then walked past them to the door, Jr. nodding appreciatively as he said, "Thanks. You're pretty cool."

"Hold on," Alister ordered before they left.

"What's up?" Jr. asked.

"John, Salcito."

The two nodded and followed him over to the wall.

"John, the bed, Salcito, help me with this wall."

All the others in the room suddenly froze when the bed was flipped and the wall panel was pulled off.

Alister smirked proudly. "Told you it was stupid for them to put us in my room."

The bed and hollowed out wall were filled with all types of guns.

Alister walked over to his bed and pulled out the Cerberus and the HF Blade. He put the Cerberus at his side and the HF Blade on his back.

John picked a vast array of weapons, a sniper rifle on his left side, an assault rifle on his right side, a grenade launcher on his back, a Magnum on his hip on the left side, a shotgun at the back of his waist, and an SMG on his right thigh.

Salcito had a slightly simpler set up. A shotgun and assault rifle crossed on his back, and an SMG on his right thigh.

Alister held the Cerberus in his hand and grinned, "Alright…we're ready."

Mirajane giggled. "Wow, you'd get along well with Bisca and Alzack."

"With who?"

Mira shook her head, "Not important now, we need to get to this KOS-MOS."

Alister nodded in agreement. "Yeah."

The door slid open and the guards turned as John and Ziggy rushed out of the room.

Ziggy punched one in the stomach, knocking him out cold.

John slammed his fist into the other one's head, pinning the soldier between his fist and the wall.

Shion looked at the down soldier worried. "Uhm…is he dead?"

Alister put a hand on her shoulder. "Shion, I think you and the others should hang back until we make a path."

Shion frowned. "Why?"

Alister sneered. "Because, I don't think we're going to be able to get through this without killing a few soldiers."

Shion clenched her fists and then shouted, "No! We can get through this without killing! I'm tired of people fighting and killing each other! I'm-!"

"Shion!"

Shion froze and then looked at Alister.

"Listen, I know you don't want to, you're a civilian after all, and I don't want to kill either. And believe me, I'll do my best to avoid it when I can. However, it's not always avoidable. I don't know if you realize this, but these people are trying to kill us, they're elongating the process and using fancy words but the endgame of what they're doing now is to get us out of the way. So for now, just try to accept it. And if you can't…then just wait here. I'll let you know when it's safe."

Shion looked at Alister sternly before she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Erza behind her.

"Don't worry, I'll keep them from going too wild," Erza reassured her.

Shion nodded weakly.

Erza nodded as blue pulses of energy flowed in front of her hand before a silver sword with a winged hilt appeared in her hand. "Now, let's get going."

Alister and the others nodded in response.

Alister peered around a corner as he saw several soldiers standing around the civilian sector's main door. He sighed and then turned to the others. "Any ideas?"

Ziggy turned to the UNSC soldiers. "Anyone of you have smoke bombs?"

Alister looked down at his thigh-holsters. "I've got four flashbangs and four stun grenades."

Erza nodded and then looked at Homura.

She nodded in response.

"You blind them and we'll knock them out."

Alister frowned uncertainly but nodded all the same, pulling out a stun grenade and then tossing it.

One of the soldiers looked down confused. "What is tha-?!" They all grunted and moaned as a powerful blast of smoke and pressure burst, stunning them all.

Erza and Homura then burst out from behind the corner and used the butts of their swords to knock them all out.

Erza looked at Alister and smirked. "See, told you I could keep the death toll low."

Alister just sighed in amusement. "I'll admit it, that was impressive."

John then stepped ahead of them. "Save the reverie for after we get to KOS-MOS."

Alister and the others nodded.

After heading through the double doors leading out into the rest of the ship, they all had to stop and duck back behind the corner.

"Oh this is so not fair!" Alister grumbled.

The reason was the large blue A.G.W.S. standing amongst the group of soldiers, blocking their way to the tram.

Jr. looked down at his guns and then snarled as he loaded a new set of clips.

Alister looked at him puzzled. "What're plannin' on doing kid?"

"Just watch me," Jr. answered plainly before running out into the group.

Homura watched him run out into the crowd of soldiers in disbelief. "That kid has a serious death wish."

The soldiers all turned as Jr shouted, "Hey!" He then jumped far higher in the air than most expected a child could, aimed his pistols down at the A.G.W.S. and then shouted as he fired, "Tornado Shot!" Two spinning vortexes of wind suddenly shot from his pistols and slammed into the A.G.W.S., sending it crashing against the back wall before the pilot jumped out as it exploded. Jr. landed on the ground and took the opening of all the stunned soldiers and shot them all in the legs and arms.

The man fell over moaning as they couldn't move, however a few soldiers still stood, along with smaller, spider-shaped machines.

Alister smirked at the display. "He might have a death wish, but he's got guts, give'em that." He then ran out into the group as well, Cerberus in his hands. "Hey assholes!" He fired a series of shots from the three-barreled revolver, incapacitating several soldiers.

One of the sentry machines tried to jump on him as he ran.

Alister just smirked, grabbed the RF Blade, and unsheathed it as he activated it in one swift motion, the sentry landing behind him and skidding before splitting in half and exploding. Alister stood up and then looked at the remaining soldiers and sentries.

Three more of the spider-like robots charged him.

Alister ran right at them and then front-flipped over them, firing down in mid-leap, all three bullets hitting the robots in the center, destroying them. He then spun his blade to deflect the shots of a soldier behind cover before stabbing his sword into the ground and aiming his hand at the man and zapping him with a blast of electricity, knocking him out.

The remaining soldiers looked at Alister and Jr. timidly before the two looked them dead on. The man suddenly dropped their guns and raised their arms.

Alister looked at Jr. and smirked before rushing the group and knocking them all out with chops to the back of the neck.

Shion came out from behind the wall with the others with a frown on her face. "Was it really necessary to get so violent?"

Alister grumbled in frustration. "Look, we gotta either kill'em or knock'em out. And since you're not interested in walking by dead bodies this is the best we got."

Shion looked around worriedly and nodded. "Well…okay, but let's just try and get to the Elsa without any more conflict."

Alister nodded in agreement. "Believe me, I don't exactly enjoy fighting."

After making their way through a few more groups of guards and robots, the group finally made it onto the Elsa, which had surprisingly little security actually onboard the ship, and made their way to the room where KOS-MOS' pod was located.

As the others entered the room, Salcito and John waited to make sure they weren't followed and then went in as well, the door closing behind them.

Shion opened KOS-MOS' pod with a slight frown and then held a small red visor in her hands as she activated her Connection Gear and altered a few settings on the visor. She then moved over to the long couch at the edge of the room and sat down, putting on the visor as she did. "Here we go. Allen, handle backup for me, all right?"

Allen pulled out his own Connection Gear with a sigh as a console opened up. "…Roger. Opening Interconnection." He then sighed heavily before shaking his head. "Ahh…get a grip." He then turned to Shion. "Don't worry, I'll back you up no matter what happens."

Alister snickered lightly. "Until the big armored bastards come in."

"Ohh, hey, come on, let me have at least this one!"

Alister just shrugged. "Yeah, sure, whatever Alpine."

Allen just sighed again before moaning.

Shion giggled lightly at their antics before nodding to Allen. "Thanks." She then turned to KOS-MOS. "Ready, KOS-MOS?"

However, everyone looked around as suddenly, the room began to warp.

The room began to move and melt, all of it seeming to be absorbed into a single point in the room itself.

"What the…?" Jr. remarked as he observed this.

"O…kay…I know that drinkin's bad, but I'm sure I haven't taken any LSD in at least a month," Salcito commented.

However, everyone in the room then started to get absorbed into the warp.

Alister growled as he felt strange sensations all over his body. "Okay! This is not good!"

Everyone was then blinded by a bright light.

After a few minutes, Shion suddenly came to in a strange place. A ruined city area with debris and rubble everywhere, rain pouring above her. However, when she looked up, her blood ran cold. "N…no…"

In front of her was a tall, towering structure in the distance.

Her investigation of it was cut short when the rain was accented by thunder, forcing her to duck and cover her ears.

The next moment she opened her eyes, she was in the middle of group of buildings at sundown, a small park in front of her with a slide and a swing set. On the swing set was a young girl with blue-green eyes, long brown hair, and a small pair of glasses along with a simple white dress.

The girl turned to Shion and seemed to look right at her, scaring the Vector scientist, when the girl suddenly jumped up and ran right towards then past her.

"Daddy!" the girl chirped excitedly as she ran past Shion.

"Daddy…?" Shion mumbled puzzled before turning around to see the young girl run up to an older man with short black hair and blue eyes in generic civilian clothing.

As the girl ran over, he knelt down to her. "All right, Shion…let's go home…"

The girl grabbed his hand but looked at him puzzled. "We're not…going to see Mom?"

The man shook his head. "No…not today…we'll visit her tomorrow, okay?"

"…Okay," the girl answered disappointedly.

Both the man and the girl then walked through a tunnel leading out of the area.

"Wait…" Shion breathed out shakily as they walked away. "Don't go…" she reached out a hand in a vain attempt to stop them.

"You cannot go…" a droning voice said to her, surprising the woman as she spun around swiftly.

Sitting on the slide in the park behind her was the same girl she had seen in the vision and the dream multiple times. "That's right," she said plainly, "This was the last day you spent together with your father. I've been waiting a long time for you." The girl stood up and brushed of her dress as she looked at Shion, the same, emotionless expression staying on her face. "We have much to talk about."

Shion looked at the girl confused for several moments.

Jr. found himself in a similarly destroyed area, a destroyed, rubble-filled area, as the same haunting song from his dream played in the air.

Jr. slowly came to as he looked around and saw the area.

Ziggy, MOMO, Homura, and John were with him.

Jr. stood up as a U-TIC transport flew overhead with a searchlight shining down on the area.

Everyone turned when they heard a rhythmic, low, pounding sound nearby. They walked around a corner and Jr. couldn't believe what he was seeing.

A group of people marching down the streets in step, except these people all wore blue and yellow uniforms, and looked like blonde copies of himself. They were all also equipped with automatic rifles.

Jr. looked at the group in disbelief. "No way…it can't be…"

MOMO turned to Jr. concerned. "Jr.?"

"No doubt about it. They're U.R.T.V."

Ziggy responded plainly, "…I see. It would appear that this is more than just a hallucination."

Homura nodded in agreement. "Yes. And whatever it is, I don't like it."

Ziggy turned to Jr. "What is this place?"

"Do you recognize it?" John asked.

Jr. merely sat silently on the ground, huddled up.

"Jr…" Ziggy began forcefully.

"What?!" Jr. snapped, scaring MOMO with his shout.

"I'm asking you if you recognize this place."

"Yeah, I do. If this isn't an illusion, and my memory's correct, this is…" Jr. paused as he stood up, "Miltia. From fourteen years ago." He then ran and jumped over the car they hid behind, Homura doing the same.

"Where are you going?" Ziggy demanded.

"Hey, don't go off by yourself!" John cautioned.

"I wonder what's troubling him," MOMO pondered. "It looks as though he's trying to chase after those people."

Ziggy looked at the young girl cautiously. "I'm sure he has his reasons."

John nodded in agreement. "Yes. Now I think we should try and catch up to him before he gets too far away."

The others nodded and took off after Jr. and Homura.

Alister groaned as he felt his body finally begin to move. "Ohhh…why does it feel like I went on an all-night bender?"

He turned when he felt a tap on his shoulder and saw Erza behind him. "I'm not certain, but something tells me we aren't on the Elsa anymore."

Alister raised an eyebrow and then looked around. "What…the…hell…?"

The place they were in was a desert-like city, with crumbled, old buildings all around.

Alister turned to look at Erza and saw Murasaki and Mirajane as well.

Mirajane looked around worried and confused. "Where are we? Does anyone recognize this place?"

Alister clenched his fists furiously. "…Yeah…I do…"

Erza turned to him. "Good. Then…what's wrong?"

Alister looked ahead of them and snarled. "This place…it's Muraba. It's the city…where my sister was killed."

"What?!" Mira asked in shock.

Alister pointed ahead.

The others looked in surprise and saw a massive white ship in the distance. A Covenant Supercarrier.

"That thing is…huge…" Erza remarked.

Alister nodded in recognition. "Yeah. It's the second largest ship in the Covenant fleet."

"Covenant…you mentioned them before…"

"Yes. They're a conglomeration of alien races that are dead set on wiping out the human race."

A growl was then heard nearby.

The group went to investigate and saw several Sangheili along with other aliens, multiple, small, frog-like creatures with shells on their backs, short, thin, raptor-like animals with pale skin and spines on their heads along with similar creatures with black skin and feathers on their necks, and lastly several monstrous creatures almost ten feet tall covered in armor with cannons on one arm and shields on the other, multiple in blue and some in gold.

Alister grit his teeth at the sight of the creatures. "Dammit, Elites, Grunts, Jackals, Skirmishers, and Hunters. You gotta be kidding me with this shit."

"These are the aliens you fight?" Mira asked in horror.

Alister nodded. "Yeah, but there others, Brutes, Sorceresses, Dragoons, Berserkers, and Drones. These a-holes have a whole menagerie of creepy crawlies."

Murasaki just moaned in fright.

Alister sighed and then looked ahead. "It looks like they've still got this area locked down. That must mean…this is before our group attacked."

"Before?" Erza asked.

Alister nodded as he went back to the other side of the wall. "Yeah. This place was taken by the Covenant for about a month, then we came in and took it back for about a week before they launched another counterattack and ended up glassing the entire planet."

"What does…glassing mean?"

Alister looked at her puzzled. "Oh, right, you're not familiar with the Covenant weaponry. To put it simple, the Covenant have high-powered beam cannons that do enough damage to turn almost everything they hit into glass from melting it. It takes over twenty years for an area to recover from that."

Mira widened her eyes. "Twenty…how long have you been fighting these creatures?"

Alister bit his lip in anger. "The war started 2525. The current year in the UNSC calendar is 2551."

"But…that's, that's almost thirty years."

"I know…it's been going this whole time. Alright, I think we've spent enough time talking. Let's get going, we've spent enough time talking as it is. I don't want those things to catch us."

The others nodded as they began moving through the area quietly.

Shion stood in the park, in front of the little girl on the slide. "You've been waiting…? For us…?" She turned and saw chaos and Allen behind her. "chaos…Allen…?"

"Chief…where are we?" Allen asked timidly.

Shion just looked at them unsurely when she felt the girl reach up and grab her hand. She turned to the girl, as did chaos and Allen, and asked, "Who are you?"

The girl answered, "I am…Nephilim. That's what I have been called. Ever since I existed in this form."

Back in the city, Jr. and the others walked under an overpass as an A.G.W.S. fought with a group of U.R.T.V.s ahead of it.

They looked up as a U-TIC transport plummeted to the ground, exploding on the other side of a building, a large fireball bursting into the air.

However, their attention was turned to the massive tower behind it, the same tower Shion had seen.

They then watched in horror as the U.R.T.V.s continued shooting at the civilians in the area, killing them mercilessly.

As Jr. looked out into the chaos, he muttered in shock, "Every single one of them's infected…"

Nearby, another U.R.T.V. fired into a group of people until it suddenly fell from being shot in the back.

Atop a car in the group of U.R.T.V.s was a young boy who looked just like Jr. and the U.R.T.V.s except he had black hair. He turned and began firing into the group of U.R.T.V.s, taking them down. After a moment he stopped and looked around frantically. "Rubedo! Where are you?! Rubedo!" The boy then jumped down from the car and took off running.

"Gaignun…?!" Jr. exclaimed in confusion.

Jr. then found himself standing in a strange, hexagonal room with three entranceways, a tall, almost endless ceiling, red and black metal on the walls, and a floor composed of a simple metal grate with a railing, allowing view into a deep hole where pipes and cords flowed down into. Jr. looked around to one side and saw Gaignun on a higher level, limping across to a transport nearby, using his rifle as a walking stick. He then looked up and saw another U.R.T.V., this one with purple eyes and white hair, standing on the transport above Gaignun.

Gaignun limped to the transport and then turned in fright as blast of energy hit him, propelling him down to the lower level, just barely landing on the walkway.

The white-haired boy snickered to himself and then began levitating up above Gaignun.

Gaignun turned as he attempted to stand, the white-haired boy landing in front of him on the walkway. He looked in terror as white energy pulsated around the white-haired boy.

"Gaignun!" Jr. shouted as he ran around the walkway to where the other two boys were.

Jr. came to, realizing he was still in the ruined city area.

MOMO put a hand on his shoulder gently and asked, "Are you alright?"

"I-I'm fine…" he answered shakily.

"Jr.?" MOMO asked worried.

"I said I'm fine!" he snapped back.

His sudden outburst frightened MOMO.

Homura flicked him in the back of the head. "Watch it shortstop, I can still slice you into pieces."

Jr. sighed heavily in frustration. "S…sorry…I didn't mean to…damn it…what the hell is this? What's going on here?"

John looked around and then remarked, "I'm not certain. This isn't a planet I know."

A Sangheili dragged a UNSC soldier behind it as it walked towards a pile of bodies the Covenant had set up.

Alister grit his teeth as he attempted not to do anything stupid.

"These things really are monsters," Murasaki mentioned frightened.

Alister nodded in agreement. "Yeah…come on, the basecamp isn't far from here."

The girls nodded and followed as Alister led them towards it when a shout was heard around the corner.

They rounded the corner and saw a Sangheili lying on the ground with a figure in ODST armor on top of it, the person's knife in its neck. The person stood up and pulled out the knife, wiping the purple blood from their knife before putting it back in its holster. The person then turned and took off their helmet as a small group of people ran up.

"Liz!" a young man in ODST armor shouted as he ran up to the other.

The other person turned out to be a young woman with long brown hair, Alister's sister.

Alister's eyes went wide in shock as he saw his sister standing right in front of him. He couldn't believe what he was seeing and wanted to run out to her.

However, right as he was about to move he felt a hand clamp down on his wrist. He turned in surprise and anger, seeing Erza holding his arm. "Let me go!"

Erza looked at him sternly and gripped his wrist firmly. "We don't know what or where this place is. Running out there would be foolish."

Alister clenched his fists angrily. "I…I know, but…she's right there…Liz…she's alive…"

Erza looked at him confused. "Do you know her?"

Alister nodded. "Yeah…that's my sister…"

Erza looked at the woman thoughtfully as several other soldiers gathered around her.

"She died three years ago."

Erza and the others turned to him in shock. "Then…how is she here?"

Alister grit his teeth. "That's why this place freaks me out…this is Muraba from three years ago."

"That seems impossible."

Alister looked at her with a weak smirk. "One hundred years ago the people of the UNSC still believe we were the only thinking things in the galaxy."

Mirajane nodded in agreement. "Yes, but for now I think we should try and figure out how we got here before doing anything else."

Alister looked back at his sister as the group walked away and nodded with a sigh.

Back in the residential area, the sun was beginning to set as the lights in the area switched on automatically.

Shion, Allen, chaos, and Salcito sat in the park as Shion continued to speak with Nephilim.

As she and Nephilim sat on the swings in the small play area, Shion asked, "So you're saying this really is Miltia?"

"Yes," the young looking girl answered emotionlessly. "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…?"

Salcito just sighed. "Someone mind getting this to make sense?"

Shion just looked at him sternly and then turned back to Nephilim. "You say it's her memory? That's not-"

Nephilim interrupted, "Memories do not belong solely to one person. And they are not fixed to just one location."

"No, I mean…It's…the original KOS-MOS was…" she remembered destroying the original KOS-MOS after its rampage.

"…Destroyed, during that incident, two years ago…and you lost someone dear to you as well…joyful memories form only one half of the whole. 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…"

"You must…return to Miltia once again."

As the lightning struck, Shion's mind was filled with the images of several people lying dead in a hotel room. She suddenly stood up swiftly and turned to Nephilim agitated. "Please…tell me. Why must I go to Miltia?"

Nephilim pointed ahead of the group. "Only KOS-MOS knows the answer to that question…she is waiting for you there."

"KOS-MOS is…out there…?" Shion waited no longer before walking towards the tunnel ahead of the group.

Allen hopped down from the perch he was on, Salcito behind him.

"Hey," Allen urged, "wait up. Chief!"

Chaos stood silently as they walked away and turned to Nephilim.

The girl asked him, "Are you sure this is what you want? There is no turning back."

"I know…" chaos began, "but…Shion…is vital to her."

"And to you as well?"

Chaos shrugged lightly in response.

"What will you do?"

Chaos remained silent as Nephilim seemed to evaporate in a flurry of lights.

Alister and the others jumped over a small wall to a new section of the small city area.

"So, should we still be heading towards the UNSC base here?" Erza asked unsurely.

Alister snarled in thought at the question. "I'm…not sure. Probably not."

"What were you people doing here? Maybe that might help."

Alister flopped down as he sighed heavily. "I…don't really remember. Most of the time was just a blur to me. I've honestly forgotten what the real reason was for us being here. Naturally the bigwigs didn't want the Covies having the planet anymore…but I think there was something else."

"Like what?" Mira asked.

Alister rubbed the bridge of his nose and then groaned. "I don't know. Right now that's not really something that matters."

Erza shook her head. "No, I'd say it's very important. If this really is that planet from when your sister was killed, then perhaps going to the source of why you were here would help."

Alister scratched the back of his head as he tried to remember. Several images then flashed into his head. The first was the debriefing meeting before the mission. The second was an image of an indistinct, massive creature coming out of the ground. Alister narrowed his eyes as he thought about the images. He then looked at the women and asked weakly, "Don't suppose any of you can fly?"

Murasaki tilted her head and Mira frowned.

"I can," Erza responded.

Alister nodded. "Right…I can't say I see how but whatever."

Erza pulled out a connection gear and pressed a switch on it, her body getting enveloped in bright light before she was revealed in new clothing, armor that seemed to have almost every piece made of a silvery metal with only a small breastplate that was composed of feather-shaped plates that pointed upwards, which barely covered her rather large bust, with a large metal flower on the front that extended to her hips along her sides, her biceps being covered with metal straps, along with very large plated gauntlets which had feather-shaped plates at the edges, her waist was encircled by large, decorative plates reminiscent of feathers that formed a long skirt, as well as a pair of plated boots which were partially hidden by her skirt, each having small, ornamental wings, a neck guard made of feather-like plates, a tiara with prominent wings, causing some of her hair to cover her left eye, her armor lastly having large metal wings. Erza nodded to him. "I can fly using this."

Alister raised an eyebrow. "O…kay. Well, whatever. If you can, I need you to fly up and tell me if you can see a tall, silver spire sticking out of the ground."

Erza raised an eyebrow but nodded and flew high into the sky to look around.

Back in the ruined city, Jr.'s group walked through a ruined tunnel as the rain fell through a hole in the top.

Jr. looked ahead of the group and sneered. "Man. You've got to be kidding."

"What's wrong?" MOMO asked uneasy. She then turned to see what Jr. was looking at. "Oh…"

The same tower that Shion had seen before, and the Jr. had seen upon waking was in front of them. Jr. growled in frustration. "The U-TIC Organization's central tower…Labyrinthos."

"Labyrinthos…?" MOMO asked.

A loud voice was suddenly heard shouting from the top of the tower. "Hallelujah!"

The group looked up at the top of the tower as a man suddenly began speaking.

"'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 his works!"

"That voice…that's…!"

"That's one crazy man," Homura remarked snidely.

MOMO frowned at her. "That's Daddy."

The old man with combed back white hair and a green laboratory suit lowered his splayed arms as he stood at the top of the tower, continuing to speak and recite words.

MOMO smiled happily as she recognized the man. "Daddy!"

"What?!" Ziggy and John asked in shock.

MOMO prepared to sprint towards the tower to see him.

Ziggy grabbed her arm as she ran, holding her in place. "MOMO! Stop! Where are you going?!"

MOMO struggled to break the cyborg's grip. "Let me go! Daddy…Daddy's calling for me!"

"'Daddy'?!" Ziggy asked in disbelief. He then turned to Jr. "Is that really him…?"

As the man continued to rant, Jr. answered, "That's Joachim Mizrahi…without a doubt."

"So that's…Joachim Mizrahi."

Joachim continued his rant from the top of Labyrinthos. "And whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life, was cast into the lake of fire! Rejoice, all ye! The time for feasting has come!" Suddenly, the top of the tower was engulfed in flames as a large explosion erupted, sending Joachim's burning body plummeting to the ground.

MOMO's eyes widened in horror. "Nooo!" She immediately wrenched her hands from Ziggy and ran towards the tower. As she attempted to catch the plummeting man, his body vanished into particles of light. MOMO could only tremble as she looked at her empty hands. "Da…ddy…Daddyyy!"

"MOMO…" Jr. said sympathetically.

"All this before me…" Ziggy began, "is this really Miltia from fourteen years ago…?"

As the group looked around, the ground trembled violently.

The area around them then seemed to vanished as though it was being deleted.

They all then fell into the pulsating, multicolored abyss that surrounded them.

MOMO looked on confused as a complex, multilayered ring materialized in front of her. A small beeping sound was heard before light burst from the circle and engulfed them all.

Alister, Erza, Mirajane, and Murasaki walked through a desolate, desert like area towards an object in the distance, a tall, gray and blue, multilayered spire.

"So…this is really it…" Alister mumbled.

Erza then walked up to him and asked, "Alister, while I found this object…what is it?"

Alister nodded. "Among all the things that the UNSC is involved in, one of most secretive are the Forerunners."

"Forerunners?" Mira asked.

"Yes. They're an ancient race of aliens that have shown technology and creations all over the known galaxy. I had forgotten among everything, but aside from pushing out the Covenant, we had also come here to secure this place. It's an ancient Forerunner structure. I…I don't remember what we found inside. But the thing I do remember…is whatever it was it pushed the Covenant back…and it was huge."

"So…you think if we get inside this thing we can get to the bottom of this?" Erza wondered.

Alister shrugged in confusion. "I honestly don't have a clue. But I figure it's a good place to start." As they walked forward however, Alister suddenly felt strange. His eyes then widened. "Scatter!"

The ground in the spot they were standing suddenly exploded in bright green energy.

"W-what is that!?" Murasaki asked in shock.

Alister turned ahead and snarled, pulling out Cerberus as a giant golden Hunter walked up to them. "You have got to be kidding me. Of all the things to encounter, a Command Giga-Hunter?"

"Giga-Hunter?" Erza asked.

"Yeah…they're supersized Hunters the Covenant use whenever they have something they don't want anyone to see." He then smirked. "Looks like we may be on the right track then."

The oversized Hunter aimed its arm cannon at the group as the tubes lit up before a series of bright green energy blasts shot from the end.

The shots collided with the ground in explosions of plasma energy.

"Don't bother attacking from the front, it won't work!" Alister warned. "Its weak spot is its back, hit the spine."

Erza pressed a button on her Connection Gear and her winged armor appeared on her again as she flew up in the air to attack the Giga-Hunter.

"What…?" Alister muttered puzzled as the creature looked up at Erza and swung its large, shielded arm at the flying woman.

Erza back-flipped before circling around the back of the creature.

The monster turned its head and then its body to face Erza.

Alister raised an eyebrow and then smirked, realizing her intentions. He switched out the ammunition in his Cerberus, specialized explosive ammo, and aimed at the exposed back of the Giga-Hunter and fire the triple shot weapon.

Erza smirked as the creature jolted when the explosive bullets hit its back and blew apart the mechanical spinal cord. Taking the chance she circled around and hurled the swords in her hands at the damaged section of the monster, causing it to fall over motionless. She descended to the ground and changed back to her normal attire.

Alister walked up holding Cerberus on his shoulder. "Well…that worked out well."

Erza nodded in agreement. "Glad you caught my plan."

Alister just smirked. "It's the most obvious tactic. I actually did a similar act with Salcito."

"He can fly?"

"When he has his jetpack on."

Mira looked at him curiously. "You have jetpacks?"

"Don't you?" Alister asked.

"Well…no."

"Oh…that's surprising."

Soon they approached the large, metallic, silver and blue door leading into the Forerunner structure.

Alister looked at the large, coliseum-like door and whistled. "Well…this is a bigger door than I expected."

Mira just smiled and backed up, opening her Connection Gear, and transmitted Epyon to their location.

Erza and Alister looked at her in disbelief. "Why didn't you do that before?!"

Mira smiled sweetly. "I didn't think about it."

Alister just sighed as Mira entered the Epyon, its green eyes lighting up as it activated. She then looked down at Alister. "We just need the door gone, right?"

Alister shrugged. "That should do it."

The Epyon swung its right arm back, the segmented whip in its hand lighting up as it was coated in bright orange energy, and slammed it into the door, shattering it to pieces.

However, rather than the inside of a Forerunner base, what they were greeted with was an intensely bright light that suddenly lit up the entire area and blinded them all.

"Owww…" Alister moaned as he came to again, realizing he was now in a forested area. "Ooo…kay…from desert to forest. How much sense does that make?"

"It won't matter…if you don't move…"

Alister looked down and sat up swiftly. "Sorry!" he spurted out as Erza sat up and brushed off her armor.

She looked at him for a moment before standing up. "Any idea where we are?"

Alister shrugged. "Not a clue." He then looked around the area and noticed something on the other side of a group of hedges.

Erza and the others noticed him walking away and decided to follow him.

On the other side, they found Jr., MOMO, Ziggy, John, and Homura. MOMO was hunched over in a ball, crying.

Homura turned and saw Alister and the others walk up to them. "Well, 'bout time you showed up."

Alister sneered at her. "Nice to see you too." He then looked down and saw MOMO. "What happened?"

Jr. looked at him uneasily. "It's…complicated." He then turned back to MOMO and walked over to her, placing a hand on her back.

"Jr…" MOMO moaned through her sobs. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes, Jr. smiling weakly at her.

After a moment, Alister turned to the side.

Allen, Shion, chaos, and Salcito had managed to work their way through the sections of the city beyond the gateway, finding Gnosis along the way but little else, and ended up in the same forested area as the others.

However, rather than just a random trail in the middle of nowhere, the end of their trail led to a small, rundown, old church.

As they approached it, Shion looked at it surprised. "Is that…a church…?"

She then turned to the side and watched as Alister came out from behind the bushes.

"Alister! Jr.! Where have you been?!"

Alister and Jr. chuckled uneasily and answered in unison, "You don't wanna know. Huh? Hey! Don't copy me!"

Shion raised an eyebrow and then frowned in thought. "How did you all get here?"

Alister flexed his neck with a sigh. "Don't ask. I had to fight the world's biggest Hunter."

"Hunter? Why would anyone be hunting here?"

"Uhm...no, I mean...ahh nevermind."

Jr. looked at Alister with a smirk and then walked up to Shion, the others behind. "As soon as you dived, everything went all hazy, and the next thing I knew, we were here. After that, there were all sorts of visions..."

Allen rubbed the back of his head confused. "Did we all get pulled into the Chief's Encephalon Dive?"

Shion looked at him incredulously. "That's impossible. None of you were connected."

"If KOS-MOS' oscillation pulse caused a counter-current to flow through the Dive Unit, it's not inconceivable. The ones we use are non-contact types, after all."

"Even if that were the case, the Simple Dive Unit couldn't handle that great a load. There would have to be some other, external force..."

"I've been waiting a long time for all of you..."

Shion then gasped as she realized a possibility.

"Whoa, whoa!" Alister interrupted. "Okay, how about you people dumb it down so we monkey-people can actually understand what the hell you're saying?"

Jr. turned to him with a smirk. "Basically, the energy from KOS-MOS linking up with Shion's visor pulsed out and pulled us in."

"Aaahhh..."

Chaos chuckled and remarked, "Basically, it's like when a wire shorts out and sparks shoot out, the 'sparks' pulled us in."

"Ooohhh...I think I get it. But I probably don't. And if I learn anymore about this I'll probably start wearing a pocket protector."

"What?" Allen asked confused, though thinking that was an insult.

Chaos nodded. "Regardless of how we got here, this is KOS-MOS' mainframe. Our memories found a common resonance within her, and resulted in the creation of this world...that's what it feels like to me."

Alister shrugged dismissively. "I've never been to a place like this forest. Not that I remember anyway. Last place was definitely somewhere I've been to though."

Chaos put a hand on his chin and then pondered. "I wonder if perhaps memories - in other words, events that occurred in the past - become stronger, more selective, and gain a higher priority when they resonate with others that share identical axes in time and space. If you think about it in those terms, it isn't quite so odd that both my memories and those of Alister are not reflected here."

Alister was sitting on the ground hunched over. "Ooowww...my head hurts."

Ziggy turned to chaos and asked, "So, what you're saying is, this world is constantly changing based on the experiences people share in space and time?"

Alister then stood up immediately. "Oh, that makes a lot of sense. I mean, what he said, not that this world is changing like thought play-doh."

Jr. then looked down in thought. "A world made up of our past, as glimpsed through the mind of KOS-MOS..."

MOMO then added, "So...it's all an illusion...?"

Shion then added somberly, "There's no difference between illusion and reality to the person experiencing it. This is...no illusion..."

Everyone just looked on silently as they thought of her words.

Alister turned to her. "Shion..."

Nephilim's words rang through Shion's mind. 'All of you must accept the entirety of your memories.'

Shion then looked up in thought. "So that's what she meant..."

Alister sighed and then looked around. "Well...I don't think there's much purpose in standing around here anymore."

Ziggy nodded. "Right, I suppose we should investigate that church then."

John nodded in agreement as well. "I agree."

The group all agreed and began walking towards the rundown church.

Alister and Salcito pushed open the rusty old doors as they walked in.

When they did, they saw a woman standing near the back of the church, in front of the altar, kneeling.

"Someone's here," Allen observed.

Alister just looked at him flatly.

"Those clothes...is she a Realian?"

MOMO examined the woman and then answered, "Yes...she definitely seems to be a Realian, but... I also sense something different..."

The woman stood up and turned around to them. She was a young woman with short silver hair and amber eyes, wearing a black, white, and yellow dress with long sleeves and a pair of tan, knee-high boots.

Alister looked from the woman to Shion and back again a few times then asked, "Ah, is this...also based on our memories?"

Shion couldn't answer as she merely stared sadly at the woman.

Ziggy stepped forward towards the woman and asked, "Are you...a Realian?"

The woman nodded with a smile. "Yes. My name is Febronia. I came to take care of this church because I longed for a place where Realians could find peace."

Shion looked at the woman somberly. "Febronia..."

"Do you know her?" Jr. asked.

Shion's mind was flooded with images of monstrous, humanoid creatures with blades on their arms piled over a figure, devouring it. Shion shook her head briskly to rid herself of the thoughts.

Febronia merely smiled warmly at her.

Shion looked at her perplexed and saddened. "I...I know you...I...know...you...! But...no...I don't want to remember..." Shion slumped her head into her hands and shook her head of the thoughts leaking into mind.

Alister placed a hand on her back but then looked out the window and saw something outside, another image flashing into his own mind, the massive creature from before wrapping itself around a UNSC ship, crushing it. "Ggh...!"

"Alister!" Erza shouted.

Shion then looked up at Febronia. "It's...it's..." the image of the creatures entered her mind again, this time she saw it more clearly.

Febronia smiled once more and then turned as she said, "Follow me, Shion." She walked over to the back of the room and Shion looked at her as she did. Febronia walked over to a large door near the back of the church.

Nephilim's voice then filled the room as she suddenly appeared nearby. "The instant you open that door you will come face to face with yourselves. It will be an experience full of sorrow and pain...but it is, both to you and to us, a very, very important experience."

Shion looked at Nephilim unsurely, and then to Febronia, who nodded with a reassuring smile. She then turned from Febronia to the door, looking at it uncertainly for several seconds.

Alister put a hand on her shoulder. "So, guess we should go in, huh?"

Shion looked back at him uncertainly. "I don't know...I don't know what's back there, through there."

"Well, you'll never find out over here."

"Huh?"

"You know, something I've heard before, from my grandfather, is that a big scary door is usually scarier than what's inside. Unless it's a monster. Then we're kinda going half-and-half here."

Shion chuckled at his remark.

Jr. nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I don't think we should be standing around here. Let's go, it's probably the only way to get out of here."

Shion steeled herself and then nodded, walking up to the door as it slid open mechanically, leading to a long, dark hallway.

Allen looked through it and asked, "This...is inside of the Chief's soul?"

As the group walked into the hallway, they saw a series of doors on either side, the glass at the end busted open.

They eventually reached the last door on the left side of the hall, Shion stopping in front of it, Jr. and Alister beside her.

Shion looked at the door cautiously. "This is..."

Nephilim nodded. "The Acute Neurosis Treatment Facility. A place you know well."

Shion looked up at the light above the door. "The room where Mom was hospitalized..."

"Yes. A place where painful, sorrowful memories linger. I wonder...can you face them..."

As the door opened, a flash of light filled the vision of the three who entered first.

Shion walked in and saw several people in the room, lying on the ground in puddles of blood.

One of them was her father. She also saw a woman lying on a hospital bed in the room as well.

Shion covered her mouth and gasped. She watched as several of the blade-armed creatures appeared in the room.

One stood in the center of the room as the others converged on it, stabbing their arms into it and converging into a shifting, pulsating mass.

Alister and Jr. also looked around, expressions of shock and horror the same as Shion's on their faces.

However, what Jr. and Alister saw was not the same as Shion.

Jr. stood in the octagonal room where Gaignun was attacked, and saw the white-haired boy sitting next to the railing, merely laughing madly. Jr. looked at him in disbelief. "Al...bedo."

The young Albedo laughed madly before mumbling, "The Song...the Song is...I...mirror, mirror, on the wall...show me...define me!" He then turned to Jr. as he shouted, "I am the infinite telomerase! I am not an anti-existence! I am the perfect chain!" He stood up, trembling, laughing madly as his body convulsed and pulsated, before destabilizing as he turned into a giant creature.

Alister stood in the doorway to one of the small buildings near his suit as he watched his sister fight. However, what she was fighting wasn't the Covenant's Psyco Gundam. "W-what is...that...?"

She fought a massive beast, over two hundred feet tall, with a monstrous right arm resembling a dragon's head, a twisted left arm with light armor on its body and multiple, plant-like tentacles, a humanoid torso with exposed, mechanical ribs, multiple pieces of blue armor and purple, jewel-like orbs, an insect-like lower body with four tendrils as legs and three, long, spiny tails sticking out of the back and a head resembling a humanoid machine with large horns and a purple jewel where a mouth should be.

Alister stumbled back as his mind began to race. "N-no...this...what is this?"

Elizabeth's Gelgoog raced towards the monster and fired several shots, only to get grabbed by the large, clawed hand.

The creature then spoke in a deep, mechanical voice. "I am your end, flesh creature. I am Sovereign."

A massive, Gundam-like machine lie on the ground as the creature looked towards it and crushed it with its tails.

The monster then charged red energy in its hand before it looked at Alister.

"N...no...it was...it was the...the Psyco Gundam...what is that...?!"

The monster then began to oscillate and waver as its visage distorted and altered.

Shion, Jr., and Alister then back into each other, fear on their faces.

Allen looked at them worriedly and confused. "Chief, Jr., Alister! What's wrong with you three?!"

Allen then looked ahead and paled. "What is...what is that?"

A massive, red and gray creature with three long arms, three stumpy legs, and a large, upside down, pyramid shaped torso began to waver into existence in front of them.

John grabbed his assault with one hand and tensed. "I don't know. But I don't think those hands are for gambling."

Alister, Shion, and Jr. then turned to the creature. It looked at them and then swung one of its large arms.

"Duck!" Salcito shouted.

All three dropped to the ground as the large fist passed overhead.

The three then stood up and looked at the monster.

Alister backed up in horror. "Where are we now, and what is that?!"

Well, that does it for this chapter. Hope you guys enjoyed it, and I'd always like reviews of any kind, even just short, simple ones. Guess I'll see you at the next chapter.