XenoMark's Note: I'm really sorry for the delay in updating, work and school have been keeping me busy, not to mention I've been sick for quite a while. Well now that the semester's over (and the new one just beginning), I've had some time to work on this fic. Anyways, in this chapter we get a bit more history on Jr. and Citrine, along with the party finally finding the Zohar. This chapter is mostly action-packed after going through the U.R.T.V.'s' past, so please be patient. Also, a special character finally makes her appearance, but you'll have to wait until the end of the chapter to find out who that special character is. Not sure what else to say, so let's get back to the story. ---------- Purpose (Jr.'s POV) Labyrinthos, the source of all my misery, I thought I could run away from it, but somehow it dragged me back in. Yuriev, I should've known he'd have some sort trick of his sleeve to come back like that. After what happened fourteen years ago, I thought it was over, it was all done with after what Gaignun and I did. All that pain and heartache, I never thought I would have to feel what I did that day again, but now that I'm back here, I can't help but remember. It was the two days after Gaignun and I escaped Labyrinthos, the two of us were reported to be the only survivors of our last mission. Because of the failure of the mission, civilians of Old Miltia were ordered to evacuate the planet, but the process was slow, it would take them two full days in order to evacuate everyone. During this time, the other U.R.T.V.'s had been mobilized to try and eradicate U-DO along with the Miltian Special Forces, and among those forces, were chaos and Canaan. During the battles, Gaignun and I were recovering in the U.R.T.V. institute after the failed mission. I remember I was in my barracks during that time, my thoughts replaying the events that had occurred two days prior. "Rubedo?" a knock fell on my door early that morning. "Yeah," I called to the person on the other side. "Come in, Nigredo." Gaignun's wounds weren't as serious as I thought they were that day, he only needed a day's worth of nanotherapy in order to recover. The therapy couldn't cure all our wounds though, I knew when I looked in Gaignun's eyes that he still felt guilty for abandoning Albedo. It just wasn't fair; the only one who was brave enough to stand up to Yuriev in the past, the only one to stand up for what was right, had died, and the two of us, the cowards who didn't do anything, had lived. "How long have the others been mobilized?" Gaignun asked as he took a seat on the bed next to mine. "Six hours," I replied. "I see..." Silence fell between us quickly afterwards. We both knew that the remaining U.R.T.V. forces weren't enough to stop U-DO, that they were only going to be used as decoys as the civilians escaped. It was all my fault why Old Miltia was destroyed, if I hadn't broken the link back then, if I had risked all our lives in order to contain U-DO, then maybe none of this would be happening in the present. Yuriev would have probably died in time with no U.R.T.V. bodies left to take over, Albedo wouldn't have gone crazy, Citrine wouldn't have become a Testament, and the people in the Foundation wouldn't have been taken hostage. It really is all my fault. "...Rubedo, let's get out of here," Gaignun suddenly spoke. "What?" "I said let's get out of here," Gaignun repeated himself. "Wait, get out of here? What are you talking about?" I didn't understand what he was talking about at the time. "Come on, Rubedo, if we stay here, we're gonna die," Gaignun explained. "Think of it, Yuriev doesn't care about us at all, he'll just send us out there eventually where we'll definitely be killed." "That's something Albedo would say," I remarked. "It shouldn't matter, we deserve to die anyway." "And just why is that!" Gaignun exploded. "Don't the deaths of Albedo and Citrine mean anything to you!" I snapped back. "It's because of us that they're dead! The two of us ran when they needed us the most, and because we let them down, we don't deserve to live." "That's a lie, Rubedo, and you know it! Albedo knew that we were all going to die eventually, but he always dreamed about finding his own place in the world. He even stood up to Yuriev about his beliefs and staying friends with us even though we didn't! I know he wanted all of us to do the same, so I say why not? Why should we fight for a man who doesn't care about our well-being, why should we risk our lives when we haven't truly lived yet? Why Rubedo? Why should we fight?" "Because we're not worthy of living!" I answered hotly. "Because we'll only fail those we cared about time and time again, so it'd be better if we didn't care at all!" "Do you really believe that, Rubedo?" Gaignun began to soften his tone. "Do you believe it'd be better if Sakura didn't feel the way she does about you?" Those very words were a swift blow to me, a quick strike to my heart. Sakura Mizrahi, the only person that I felt truly mattered to me back then. It was at that very moment that I realized how much she had changed me, from being a very objective person into an emotional young man. I had no idea what emotions or feelings would be if it weren't for her, and not having her care about me anymore, I would feel... sad. "...you're right, Nigredo," I said after a moment of taking his words to heart. "I don't think it'd be fair to Sakura if I stayed here. Let's get out of here," I agreed with absolute resolution. "We won't be used by anyone ever again." "How touching," a familiar hoarse voice spoke soon. "Am I supposed to be touched that my little creations have decided to finally leave the nest?" "Yuriev!" the two of us quickly recognized the man now standing in the entrance to my barracks. "Any parent would be glad when their child decides to finally think for themselves and express their own independence," our "father" continued as he walked forward, his hands slipped into his pockets. "To raise one and mold them into their own existence, that is the purpose of being a family, but then again, we are no ordinary family, are we?" he stopped before us, revealing his teeth with a grin. "What are you trying to say?" Gaignun asked, puzzled by his words. "You belong to me," he simply answered, "you will always belong to me." "Belong to you?" his words made no sense in my ears either. "Yes. Who was it that supplied you with the genes required for your existence? Me. Who was it that raised you throughout your entire life thus far? Me. Who was it that trained you, who formed you into the young men you are today? Me. Everything points to me, Rubedo, Nigredo, and thus, your entire existence is centered on myself. If I am the center, then everything will crumble apart without me. I decide how you live your lives," he began to raise his voice. "I decide who you will be. I decide where you will go. I decide everything. Without me, you would cease to exist as you are now, I am your everything, I am the center of your existence, I AM YOUR GOD!" The madness inside him was as strong as ever as he spoke; the fire in his eyes, the wind behind his breath, the earth trembling at his feet, it felt as if the entire world was crumbling down on us. This is how it felt whenever we tried to stand up against him in the past, how everything seemed to fall apart with just his very presence. How was it possible to fight a world that was crumbling before you? For the longest time I did not know how Albedo was able to challenge such a thing, but during that moment, I finally understood how. "God?" I asked, his definition no longer having any meaning in my mind. "Who made you God?" "What!" "It's true that you created us with your own genes, it's true that you raised us, but it wasn't you who turned us into who we are today!" I yelled, opposing our "father" for the first time in my life. "Each of us became who we are now because of our own experiences! If it were up to you, we would have been nothing more than emotionless beings, nothing but killing machines who blindly follow orders, not even caring what the consequences were. We discovered who we truly were however, realizing the truth with every moment we spent together with one another. You say you're the center of our existence, but the truth is all you've tried to do is manipulate our own! We won't let you do that ever again, do you hear me, Yuriev! We're through with doing what you want!" "You dare speak that way to me!" My body began to fall to the floor immediately after, my right cheek throbbing after. Before I could recover from the blow however, I found another jolt of pain being exerted into me as the feeling of hardened leather met with my stomach. The edge of his shoe struck me two more times, a warm rush of fluid crawling further and further up my throat with each strike. I tried to prepare myself for a the impact of a third kick by curling my body inward, but the attack never came. Gaignun had managed to wrap his arms around Yuriev's neck, choking him as he tried to pull him to the floor at the same time. Our father slowly started to succumb to Gaignun's weight as he hung onto him, desperately trying to reach behind him to tear him away. It looked like Gaignun had the upper hand at first, but before Yuriev could fall, he quickly backed into the nearest wall, ramming Gaignun's back into it. The first push quickly loosened Gaignun's grip, the second causing him to fall. "How dare you both defy me!" Yuriev spat between his breaths. "To defy your creator is the equivalent of death, and for doing so, I'll gladly bring each of you to the other side." He began to reach into his pocket at this time, revealing a small handgun in a manner of seconds. The barrel began to point itself at Gaignun now, Yuriev's thumb beginning to pull back on the weapon's hammer. My body quickly shot up at this moment, my legs moving me toward our creator in a second. Out of instinct I dove forward, my entire body meeting with his right arm and causing the gun to fall out of his hand and sliding across the floor. The two of us met with the ground soon after, my hand already inching toward the gun. My finger began to touch the barrel, but before I could get a good grip, I found my entire body suddenly being pulled back. The top of my skull was the target this time, a pair of knuckles striking down on it in quick successions. I couldn't help but cry out in pain with every punch that met with my head, the strength to reach for the firearm waning with every one. Everything around me was beginning to blur at that moment, the scenery becoming black. I swear I could see the Death standing in front of me at that moment, but then... "Let him go!" the sound of a trigger being pulled back followed after hearing these words. "Nigredo...?" I looked up to barely see his silhouette. Though everything was still hazy, I was still able to see the trembling in Gaignun's knees and I could hear him inhaling sharply. The attacks had come to a halt now, I turned to my side to find Yuriev beginning to back away from me. Even without looking at him, I knew Yuriev was as collective as ever, I knew that he could also sense the fear that was going through Gaignun at that moment. "What do you think you're doing, Nigredo?" our 'father' asked, as sure of himself as ever. "G-get away from Rubedo," the younger U.R.T.V. ordered with a stutter. "And just what do you intend to do about it?" Yuriev continued, stepping forward now. "St-stay back!" "Come Nigredo, we both know you don't have what it takes to pull the trigger. I know you're not the kind to betray one who has done so much for you. You're not the same as this weakling." "Nigredo, don't listen to him!" I yelled. "You are the last of my great children, Nigredo, I know you are destined for greatness. Why forsake your future for your older brother who lies on the floor, ready to pass over at any moment?" "I told you to stay back!" "Give me the gun, Nigredo. That gun is more than just a weapon, it is a key. That key will lead you to the future, if you give me that key, I can ensure that your future will be great, so..." Not another word was spoken after that sentence; the sound of a bang and a ping were the only things that echoed after. The images before me began to focus once again with that pull of the trigger, the image of Yuriev bringing his hand toward his heart was as clear as day. After a few moments of standing, his hand began to fall from his chest, his palm covered with a large botch of blood. His knees were the first to meet with the ground, followed by his face and the rest of his body. With his body no longer blocking my view, I saw Gaignun standing there, his entire body locked with his arms still pointed forward and the gun in his hand still smoking. "Nigredo..." "You're right, that gun was a key to my future...," he began to speak to the newly-made corpse, "a future without you." "Jr.! MOMO!" a voice interrupts my thoughts of the past. "Allen? Canaan?" I look up to find them approaching me. "Thank god you're all right," Allen breathes a sigh of relief. "Yeah, I can say the same about you guys," I tell them. "Hey MOMO, are you okay?" Allen asks as she continues to cling on to me. "I'm sorry," she begins to pull away now, rubbing away the now dry tears, "I was just a little upset, that's all." "What about everyone else, where are they?" Allen questions. "Citrine and chaos went ahead," I answer, "but I don't know what happened to the others." "This facility...," Canaan begins, "do you think it will be sufficient enough to remove that burden I've been storing all this time?" "The systems here are a bit dated, but I think it will work," Allen answers. "Can you do it?" Canaan asks. "I'm afraid I don't know how to use these facilities, so...," "I can do it," MOMO interrupts. "Just sit yourself over there," she points to a realian maintenance chair at one end of the room. There she goes again, trying to pretend nothing happened. I hate it when I have to see her sad or distressed, but it hurts me even more to see her try and pretend that she's okay; I can't bear to see it, it reminds me too much of myself back then. Our reason for existing was to eradicate U-DO, that's what Citrine and Yuriev always said. I never wanted to believe that, but now I can't help but believe after everything that's happened lately. Hopefully all of it can end today, end when we retrieve the Zohar. ---------- (Citrine's POV) This boy that is with me now, who is he exactly? I heard from Voyager that he had taken out three mass-produced KOS-MOS units easily, without a single scratch. I also found it strange that he allowed me to contact the KOS-MOS archetype, in fact, he was the one who brought it up. I've never been informed of any reports of someone such as he, but could it be that he is the one that...? "That was rather kind of you," the boy in question suddenly speaks. "What?" his words stop me in my tracks. "The way you allowed Jr. to stay back there with MOMO," he explains, "it was nice of you to let Jr. comfort her in a time of great distress." "...Whatever," I try to brush off his words. "You have a good heart, Citrine," chaos continues, "I just wish that you showed it to others more often. No, not just you, though he has been somewhat corrupted by your father's influence, your brother, Albedo, he also..." "Don't ever mention that weakling's name to me!" I prevent the boy from saying anything further. "Do you not think so?" he continues to pester me. "Even you must acknowledge that he has done much for you in your childhood; in times of distress..." "That's not true! A U.R.T.V. is not supposed to feel anything! Our only reason for being is to eradicate U-DO, everything else is a trivial matter!" "I'm sure you didn't think it was trivial back then." "...just what do you know?" Out of all the U.R.T.V.'s that were most defiant of our father back then, it had to be that weakling. Albedo, the one who strived to be human the most, I could never understand what was going inside his head, then and now. All I know is he tried to assimilate the others into his ways, namely the other Variants. It was that attitude that won the affection of the Kirschwassers; the ideas of pity and happiness, a U.R.T.V. needs none of these things, so why did he have to try and show me these things? Nearly after every incident with Yuriev, I always found myself huddling in a corner crying. I never did dare show those tears to our father back then, I knew that if I were to show such a thing, he would only make things worse. He always enjoyed seeing others in grief, he found great joy in seeing others' anguish. I don't know why I always found myself crying after every evening I spent with him, I knew that a U.R.T.V. was not supposed to feel anything, and yet, no matter how many times I told myself that, I would still weep. It was all his fault, the way he always tried to act upon those emotions. Albedo, even though I wanted nothing to do with such feelings, he always stirred something within me. That optimistic view, his bright smile, everything about him made something burn within me. This hatred and contempt I have for him, these are the only emotions I admit to have felt back then. I can think of many instances when he tried to force his beliefs on me, but one particular incident stands out the most in my mind. It was a few hours after another one of my private evenings with Yuriev, a few hours he had fallen asleep. I had snuck out of his bedroom after he had his way with me, my entire body shaking and searing from within. Liquid was once again escaping my eyes, but there was no way I could let him or anyone else see me like that. I didn't want to seem like a disgrace to the U.R.T.V. Forces, I didn't want to seem weak. I had ventured out into the park of the institute, huddling on one of the benches as my arms hugged my sides, as if they were taking the pain away. I thought no one was there at that late hour, but I was wrong. Of all the people to see me in such a vulnerable state, it was him. "Why are you crying, Citrine?" were the first words that came out of his mouth. Albedo, one could never know when that weakling was ever around; every time I was ever in any sort of pain, he was there to see it. With every incident, he always had that same look on his face, a look of concern. I could tell what he was trying to do, he was trying to take pity on me just so that I could acknowledge those emotions I tried so hard to suppress. "...Get away from me, I have nothing to say to you!" I spat after he asked his question. I turned away from him after my words, my arms clinging onto my sides even tighter. I felt his hand fall upon my shoulder a second later, but I quickly shoved it away by pulling my body to the side. My eyes had constricted after feeling the warmth of his palm, my body quickly getting off the bench so that I may move away from him. My body wouldn't let me travel far however, for the pain inside me had intensified with the first step I took, the pain quickly shooting through my entire body, forcing me to fall toward the ground. "Citrine!" the weakling cried as he tried to rush to my aid. "I told you to get away from me!" I repeated, tossing his hand aside once more. I tried to walk once again, but I found myself falling again within two steps. My hands had barely caught myself from falling to the muddy soil, but it seemed like all the muscles in my arms were turning into fire. It hurt to simply crawl there, the inferno only intensifying with every second. I wasn't able to keep my place for long, and before I knew it, I found the rest of my body falling toward the bemired floor. I did not meet with the ground however, for my fall had been halted by the one I had tried to push away. "Are you all right?" the pathetic excuse for a U.R.T.V. asked. "I don't want your help!" I began to scream at him, my fist beginning to pound on his chest. "I don't need your help! Get off me! Let me go!" My hands began to pound at his chest relentlessly at this point, my attacks doing nothing to loosen his hold on me. Every strike had little strength in them, and every one that followed only grew weaker. The blaze inside me had only worsened with every attempted blow, but now those flames had found themselves in my eyes. The flames from behind my eyelids had now manifested into liquid, my voice hiccupping and cracking with every cry of my attacks. Finally the fires of anger had died within my body, but they were as bright as ever in my eyes. The rivers of sadness were as rapid as ever, all of my strength now pouring out of them. My hands that were pounding against his chest were now clinging onto the fabric of his shirt, barely dragging them down as my body sank to the floor. Albedo wouldn't let me go as I sank, he only continued to hold me, falling with me. "Why? Why am I crying?" I asked myself between my whimpers. "A U.R.T.V. isn't supposed to feel anything no matter what happens, and yet...!" "Though we were made to be weapons, there is one thing we are first and foremost no matter what anyone says," Albedo began to answer. "Yes, we were created to destroy U-DO, yes we are not allowed to mingle with society, but does that not make us human, Citrine? All of us, every member of the U.R.T.V. Forces is supposed to be a clone of Dimitri Yuriev, who is also a human being. If we are copies of that man, then doesn't that also make us human?" "But why me, Albedo? Why do I have to feel such things! The non-Variants, they're not as strong as us, they have no special qualities, but they feel nothing. So why do I, one of the Variants, one of the elite, have to such a weakness!" "Because you're human, Citrine, human like everyone else," he answered, "and as a human, you can't help but feel. It isn't something to be ashamed of, it's something to cherish because it separates us from other living things. So please, Citrine, don't be so hard on yourself. Just let it all out, just this one time." I could say no more words after that For the first time in my life, I had followed Albedo's advice. My arms began to wrap around his body and my face buried into his shoulder. The tears began to fall more freely now, my voice breaking and hiccupping as it did so. The boy only sat there with me, his own arms wrapped around me body and cheek nestling with my forehead. I had cried that entire evening, but not once during that time did Albedo move. During the entire time, he only sat there, holding me, taking away my tears until the rise of the morning sun. When morning came and the tears had dried, I felt as if a great burden had been lifted from my shoulders. The pain from the events from last night had night gone away, I found myself with renewed strength, as if I could take on the entire world. "Are you all right now?" he asked once I had stopped crying. "...yeah." "Well, I'm glad to hear that," he smiled. "I guess I'll be heading back to my quarters then." The boy had released his hold on me after that, a cold air suddenly swirling around my body the moment he began to turn away. I don't know what it was that caused this air, and I still don't know to this very day. The weather itself was not cold, nor was my body shivering. What I do know is that my body had grown warm again when I did what I did next. "Albedo," my words stopped him in his tracks. "...thank you for what you did last night." "It's no problem," he looked back with that smile still on his face. "Um...," I found myself speechless afterwards, my foot digging into the ground as I thought of something else to say. I don't know why I stopped him, all I know is that I wanted that warmth to remain. It was nothing like I had felt before; my stomach was in knots, my cheeks flushed, and my throat parched. Under any other circumstance none of these things would be welcome, but for some reason, at that moment, they never felt so relaxing. For the first and only time, I felt time and been frozen as I contemplated on what to say, but he was the first to speak, his words only adding more fervor to what I was already feeling. "If you ever feel like crying again, I'll be here," Albedo told me. "R...really?" I found myself stuttering. "Yeah," he nodded. "Cry?" I scoffed. "A U.R.T.V. needs no such thing such as emotions." "That's just like you," he said with a slight chuckle. "Listen, I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anybody about what happened last night," I suddenly found myself telling the boy. "Now this is weird, are you actually asking me to do something for you?" he began to chuckle again. "Just promise me, okay!" I began to yell. "All right, all right, I promise," he smiled. "...that weakling, Albedo," I begin to speak to chaos once again in the present, "he... didn't do a thing for me back then. One as pathetic as he had no place in the U.R.T.V. Forces whatsoever, and so, he has no significance to me whatsoever." "...I see," the silver-hair boy nods. "I'm sorry for bringing it up." "Whatever, like it matters." We begin to go on our way again, the boy leading the way. The moment I take a step however, I remember Albedo's words from back then once again. "If you ever need to cry again, I'll be here." "Be here?" I begin to speak to myself. "You said you'd be there, but you weren't. Where were you during those times, Albedo? Where were you when I wanted to cry?" "Citrine," the mysterious boy begins to interrupt me once again, "is something the matter?" I realize now that a tear has begun running down my cheek, the streak it created still fresh. I quickly brush the tiny stream away with my finger, removing any trace it may have left on my face. "Nothing's the matter," I tell chaos. 'Where, Albedo, where were you when I wanted to cry?' ---------- (Jin's POV) Lately there has been nothing between tension between my sister and I. Nearly every time we spoke to one another, we would end up bickering. I never enjoyed the fighting, but right now, I would rather prefer it as opposed to what is happening right now. "I'm only a copy," my sister continues to mutter the same words to herself. "I'm only a copy. I'm only a copy. I'm only a copy." For so long I have hidden the truth of her birth to her, trying so desperately to push her away from any clues or paths that would lead her to know. Tragedy was no stranger to Shion, but despite all the happiness she tried to show on the outside, I always knew how badly she was hurting on the inside. I knew she never recovered from our parents' deaths, and I especially knew she never recovered from her fiancee's death either. Despite all this sadness and despite trying to keep the truth from her, I knew that the truth would reach her eventually, but never like this and never this soon. "Shion, stop it," Miss Elly tries to silence her with a tight embrace. "Stop saying such things, please." My sister's words are bringing tears to her lover's eyes. It was wrong of me to accuse Miss Elly of still being a part of the Zohar Project, and it was most definitely wrong that I accused her of charming my sister for such a thing. I cannot bear to watch the two, I can only turn my eyes to the darkness that enshrouds us. Even when I turn away, I can still hear them, hear their tortured souls. The darkness now begins to peel away from our surroundings, the magenta atmosphere that had enveloped us from the other side of the metal doors begins to glow around us once again. In seconds, the strangely-colored surroundings begin to disappear as well, replaced by giant metal walls that enclose us in a hangar-like room with railing at the north end. I draw my katana at this point, my fingers wrapping around the hilt tightly as the scenery changes back into the purplish-pink ambience. The shifting area continues to change with the passage of time, but there is one thing that does not change in either place. At the north end of this constantly changing room there is an object, a device which every faction of the universe is after, a relic that has done nothing but brought grief to my family. "The Zohar?" I begin to walk toward the gold cross. The sound of my footsteps are the only thing that echoes within the vicinity, but they are soon followed by those of Miss Elly's as she drags Shion's feet with hers. My heart is beating slowly but deeply, almost like the ringing of a gong. My eyes are unblinking, they can't help but stare at the gem-like structure in the vertex of the cross which seems to stare right back at me. Finally, after fourteen long years, I have located the source of my family's misery. I can't allow anyone to get a hold of it, no matter what the cost. I can't allow anyone else to be hurt by this relic! "Ah!" I turn around to find Miss Elly suddenly hunching over, her hands forcing themselves against her ears. "Miss Elly, what's wrong!" I quickly rush to her side. "No, that's not who I am...," her words puzzle me. "Incomplete? What are you talking about? No, stop it, I don't want to hear any of it, stop it!" What's going on here? First there was that vision of the past and now Miss Elly is suddenly starting to have fits. She seems to be hearing something, but I can't hear anything but her voice and my sister's. The Zohar, could it be that she is reacting to the voice of the Zohar? "S...set them free," Miss Elly continues to babble what sounds like nonsense. "Shion, she wants you to set them free." "Set them free, what are you talking about?" I try to ask Miss Elly. "Who is Shion supposed to set free?" Before I can get an answer, the entire room begins to shake. The sound of metal shifting and cogs turning screeches in my ears now, the moving noise coming from the floor below, where the base of the Zohar stands. I quickly turn to the source to find the metal flooring closest to the Zohar moving. Several rows of metal oval devices begin to protrude out of the ground where the floor once laid, each of these capsules surrounding the lower part of the relic. The noise comes a halt the moment the capsules come into full view, and with that, Miss Elly stops speaking further, her hands also removing themselves from her ears. "Are you all right?" I ask Miss Elly after. "...I think so," she answers. "I thought I heard something, and then..." "...And then?" "No, it's nothing," she brushes off my question. "But those capsules over there, what are they?" "They look like some sort of holding device for biological creatures, but they're too small to hold any sort of human being," I answer. "I'll go take a look." I hurry over to the railing that keeps separates the Zohar and the platform we're on to find a ladder which leads to the depths that contain the capsules. I climb down the ladder to find myself amidst all the capsules, each of them several heads shorter than me, about as tall as my waist. Each of these strange devices are free from rust despite being unaccounted for in fourteen years. Water also drips from each of them, indicating that they have been frozen for so long. I then begin to notice that there is a piece of fogged up glass on each of them, but what is on the other side of the glass is a mystery to me. I take one of the sleeves of my kimono now and begin to rub it against the fogged glass. The layer of vapor is rather thick, I find nothing new on the inside of the device. It is clear however that the vapor is on the outside of the glass and not on the inside as I have managed to remove a bit of it. I continue to scrub at the surface, scrubbing for about a minute until I finally see something moving on the inside. Whatever is inside is heaving, almost how a person breathes. I decide to look closer so that I may get a better idea of what it is I am looking at. When I do get a glimpse, I can't help but nearly fall over, shocked by what I have found on the other side. Though the figure is disfigured in some manner, it is obviously the body of a realian. The figure looks to be no older than an eight-year old. The rest of the vapor begins to clear on its own now, as does the layers of fog on the other capsules. The deformed figures have all had their limbs lopped off, their skin rotting despite being in the frozen environment they were kept in. Each of them has some sort of breathing device and other mechanical components connected to their muscles. I find the contents within stomach beginning to crawl up my stomach now; it is not the image of these Realians that make me sick, it is the fact that I knew the one resting before me and the one to the left of her. Cecilia, Catherine, these are the names of the younger sisters of my mother's nurse, the names of the two children who often played with Shion when she was still a little child. To see them like this, I can't help but... Set them free, I think I understand now, Shion had told me that Febronia had wanted her to set Cecily and Cathe free in a vision. What Miss Elly was saying just a moment ago must have been Febronia's words, but it would be impossible to free them in their current state. If we were to disconnect them from these devices, they would...! Clang! The sound of metal crashing against one another abruptly interrupts my thoughts. Another crash follows soon after, along with the sounds of Miss Elly struggling. I try to forget about what I just saw so that I may hurry back up the ladder to see what is going on, not taking a second to look back. Before I can even place my foot on the first rung however, I notice a faint glimmer from the edge of my eye. Out of instinct I draw my katana once more in the direction of the shine, finding my weapon locking with another for a mere second. The force behind the enemy's sword pushes me away at this moment, knocking me against one of the Realian containers. Both my hands take hold of my weapon now as I prepare for the next attack. My body begins to relax however, not out of the fact that there is no danger, but due to the shock I find when I see the face of the man who tried to attack me. "You...!" I barely voice. "But that's impossible, you died fourteen years ago when...!" "Is that how you address a superior officer, Uzuki?" my nemesis gloats. "You're as sure of yourself as ever, Colonel Margulis," I say as I regain my composure. "And you haven't changed one bit, Uzuki," the Colonel simpers. "Still so easy to surprise, but no matter, I too would be surprised to find someone I thought I had killed to still be standing, after all, it was a mere coincidence that I was within the same vicinity where 'he' had business," my enemy explains. "Back then, if those with the 'will' were not there, I would have died. I lived however, lived so that I may return the favor of what you and Hyuga did to me back then. I had not expected to achieve revenge today however, for I have come here under the orders of another." "And just what are those orders?" I ask as my eyes begin to narrow. "I'm sure you already know what you need to know," the Colonel answers. "Your sister, she's a very special person, my superiors have always had great interest in her. Yes, her and that orphan you've been taking care of. Abel, wasn't it? Both of them play key roles in what my superiors have in store for this universe, supporting roles that are necessary for the main attraction." "And just what do those roles entail?" "That is for you to find out...," he begins to raise his sword once again, "on the other side!" Colonel Margulis charges forward now, his sword slicing through the air as he holds it a few inches above the ground. I swing my blade down the moment his begins to rise, but the strength in my arms is not enough to hammer it into the wall. My opponent quickly recovers from this attack before I can strike again, our next attacks locking our blades once again. The weapons only lock for a mere second as the two go for another attack, but I am forced to go on the defensive this time as he aims his sword at my side. I manage to block the attack but am forced to step back as he moves forward. Again and again our swords clash against the other's blade, clashing back and forth trying to overpower one another. It is obvious that he is trying to force me back into one of the realian containers so that I may lose my balance upon backing into one. Much to his dismay however, I manage to pass through the tiny corridors between the container units we've passed thus far. His strikes are faster than ever before, it's obvious he's improved over these past years as I am forced to remain on the defense. I don't know how much longer I can last by continuing to back up while defending, I'll eventually hit a wall or one of the units and leave myself open long enough to give a fatal blow. I have to take a risk if I am going to turn the tide of this battle. I hop back after his next slash, but my jump lands my back against one of the containers, my body nearly falling over it upon impact. The Colonel takes note of this and raises his sword upward for a second, the weapon coming downward in the next. I lie on the container and await for the weapon, but I don't wait for my demise. When the blade is a mere centimeter away from my body, I quickly force all of my weight to the side, rolling away from the attack at the last second. My enemy has forced his weapon into the container unit, giving me a small opportunity to strike. I swing my blade at this moment during this moment of vulnerability, but I find myself staggering back as a sudden jolt of pain rushes into my left arm. A dagger was hidden in the pommel of his sword, and that dagger was thrown the moment I went for a swing. Luckily the blade has not lodged into my arm, but it did graze it. Ignoring the pain, I go for another swing, swinging upward from a diagonal fashion. My opponent manages to free his sword at this moment and quickly catches the swing with his own, guiding the blade in the opposite direction until the weapons' motions create a full circle. At the end of the swing, we jump away once more, but this time I make sure not to back into a container. "Not bad, but you're still many leagues below me," Colonel Margulis brags without a hint of fatigue in his voice. "It doesn't look like you'll last much longer at this rate. This next attack should put you out of your misery." The Colonel releases his left hand from his sword at this moment, the blade now lifted above his head as his left palm faces me. His legs begin to part, his right leg bent back and his left stretched forward. I ready my stance too, but I choose a different one from the Colonel's. My hand whips the blade to the side now, the motion causing a sharp whoosh sound when I swing it. My left arm brings the sheath to the same level as my waist, the dull edge of the katana now traveling against the scabbard's side before the entire blade is placed inside its restraint. My legs mimic the actions of the Colonel's, but the positions of my hands are different. My left holds the sword and its sheath near my side, the sword held in a forty-five degree angle as my right had hover close to the hilt. I plan on using a draw technique; if I can draw my sword fast enough, I can end the battle in an instant, but the question is if I can draw my sword fast enough before the Colonel can strike. If I miss, I know I'll be left vulnerable, my body left wide open and my blade engraved into one of the containers. At least that's what I want him to think; I can strike him with my saya after the missed attack, it won't kill him, but it will stun him long enough to follow up with a sword slash. Before I can wait any further, my opponent begins to move. He charges quickly, his feet barely meeting with the floor as they traverse. A second later, the Colonel's feet leave the floor altogether, his body now leaping into the air so that he may do a front flip. He plans to go for an air attack, but why would he do such a thing, it would only leave him more vulnerable to my draw? It's obviously a trick, but I decide to take the risk and see what he really plans to do. My arch-enemy has now turned his flip into a hammer swing, the blade perfectly aimed for the center of my skull. I begin to draw my blade at this point, twisting my body in the direction of my swing as I unsheathe my sword. Both swings are fast, but... "What!" I halt the drawing of my blade. If I had been watching their fight more closely, I would definitely have noticed it. The inconsistency with the Colonel's feet hitting the floor when running just a moment ago, and now his body's abrupt disappearance, I should have known that I was only fighting one of the Colonel's shadows! Back then, the Colonel was only able to create shadows that can only swing their sword once, but now he can create one that can fight an entire battle! It's obvious he's gotten stronger over the last fourteen years, but if I was only fighting a shadow, then where...? "As slow as ever, Uzuki." Before I can turn around to see the face of my nemesis, a searing jolt erupts in my right shoulder. I turn to the source of the pain to find a sharpened slab of titanium lodged into it, the blade painted with streaks of crimson. The pain only returns a second after with the sword now extracted from my shoulder, my voice crying out in pain as ruby rivers escape the newly opened crater. I can't help but kneel as I clutch my wound, but my attention is not fully focused on the pain, but on those narrowed dark-purple pupils that pierce my very soul. "Bastard!" I seethe. "You haven't changed one bit, Uzuki," the Colonel simpers, "still unable to notice the details." "I should've known you'd do something as underhanded as this..." The sound of fighting from the upper floor grows louder than ever. I can hear tiny explosions beginning to echo from the floor above now and above those explosions, I can hear Miss Elly screams. It's obvious that she needs help, she can't keep protecting my sister on her own. I have to hurry up there, I have to...! "Thinking about trying to save your comrade and sister?" my nemesis notices how I listen to the battle above. "I don't think so. Your opponent is me, Uzuki. We have a score to settle. I won't allow you to go anywhere until then." He's right, there's no way I can continue to run from this battle. I have to settle this here and now. He may have been the senior student in my grandfather's dojo, but my grandfather knew that he would only use his teachings to benefit himself, hence why he never taught the Colonel the final technique. I cannot allow him to tarnish my grandfather's teachings any longer, and I cannot allow him or any of his comrades to get a hold of Shion. "Very well," I ready my sword once again, "let's settle this once and for all." ---------- (Ziggurat 8's POV) This woman before me is rather persistent, continuing to get up even after my relentless assaults. It is true that she is indeed the test-type unit of the KOS-MOS Project, but according to my memory banks, she should no longer have the strength nor endurance of her previous self. However, it is quite clear that she still harbors the same guardianship she was originally programmed with as she shielded Shion Uzuki from each of my attacks. "Ziggy, why are you doing this?" the mentioned KOS-MOS unit asks, using her sword as a crutch. "What's gotten into you?" This is the third time she has addressed me with such a name, this "Ziggy." She acts as if I am some sort of acquaintance by the way she speaks. It should also be noted that this entire time she has not tried to lay an attack on me either. "I do not know of this 'Ziggy' you speak of," I tell the woman. "I shall tell you once again, relinquish Shion Uzuki to me now, otherwise I will continue to resort to force until you either hand her to me or until you are no longer able to stand." "They've gotten to you too, haven't they?" she continues speaking. "I should've known, it's just like 'them' to turn everyone around me against me. Even still, I have no intention of handing Shion to you, even if you were once an ally!" she seethes. "Very well." I begin to rush toward the KOS-MOS unit now, my target quickly pushing my objective out of the way so that she may attempt to stop my attack. She swings her sword at me at full force with both hands, but the attack misses as I step to the side. Her reaction to this is slow, so I take this moment to bring my knee to her abdomen. The attack forces her to hunch over, her body traveling upward with my knee. Even after I set my leg back down she still hunches over from the attack. I bring my fist onto her back as she stands there vulnerable, knocking her straight to the floor. With the target incapacitated, I walk toward my objective once more, who continues to lie on the floor uttering the words "I'm only a copy" over and over again. Before I can come within arm's reach however, I turn around to find the KOS-MOS unit charging once again. She swings her blade in a hammer-like fashion at the end of her rush, the jack blade on my left arm rising in an attempt to catch it. I appear to have miscalculated however, as my target's sword manages to slice through the material of my weapon with ease. Immediately she tries to follow with another attack, but her blade suddenly stops before it can come in contact with me. Her entire form seems to be shaking now, the weapon in her hands barely held in place. It is unknown why she has suddenly stopped, but I must take advantage of this situation. My right fist meets with her chin this time; the force behind this attack is strong enough to push her back and free the weapon in her hand. Again she falls, but this time her face is pointed toward the ceiling of the facility. It is obvious that I cannot just leave her lying like this, at any given moment she may return to her feet and attempt to attack me once more. I walk over to her now, finding her nearly unconscious. I begin to pull her up at this moment, taking her by the collar of her dress. My right hand begins to pull back, preparing the final punch that will render her dead. The blow never comes however as my sensors detect two more life forms entering the vicinity. The doors that allow entrance to the area begin to open now, with the mentioned life forms running through. I immediately recognize the female among the two, my memory identifies her as the Testament of Sameness. The silver-haired boy that accompanies her cannot be identified however, so I must take precautions if I have to deal with him. "Ziggy?" the unidentified boy begins to address me by that title now. "What are you doing!" he asks as he hurries over to me. It is clear that he is after the KOS-MOS unit I am trying to dispose of, but I try to swat him away before he can come close. The boy manages to dodge my swing, his face showing a puzzled look after. "What have you done to Elly, Ziggy!" he begins to question my actions. "After you all escaped, I thought that something terrible had happened to all of you, but now I find you...!" The sound of Chief Inquisitor Margulis's battle on the floor below interrupts the boy's speech before he can say another word. His confused look now shifts into an angry one at this point, his entire body now giving off faint readings of Ether. The readings gradually increase in the manner of milliseconds, and after only three seconds, his readings are off the chart. The readings quickly die however as more life forms appear on my sensors. This time I read four of them, and as such, four more individuals enter. These ones that have now entered are a different variety: one male human, one male U.R.T.V., and two Realians, one male and one female. Three of these four are registered in my data banks however; the U.R.T.V. is labeled as U.R.T.V. #666, Rubedo, the leader of the U.R.T.V. Forces. The male Realian is a Vector Military-type, programmed with the 'Canaan' factor. The other Realian is also identified, she is the 100-Series Observational Realian Prototype known as MOMO. I find my entire body suddenly freezing the moment I recognize her face. For a second, I believe I saw her face smiling at me, but the scenery around us was different. The feel of her arms wrapping around my waist was also apparent, and there was some sort of music in the background. What I had just seen must have been a small malfunction, it shouldn't be of any concern at the moment. "What the hell!" the U.R.T.V. reacts upon seeing me. "Ziggy, what are you doing!" the 100-Series gasps. "Machines are rather simple to understand once you get basic gist of them," the Testament begins to smirk now. "They'll do anything you tell them to; of course it might take a while to program them to do it with all those firewalls, protection codes, and other technological mumbo-jumbo." "I should have known you would have done something as under-handed as this if we let you go ahead of us!" the U.R.T.V. spits, pointing one his firearms at the Testament. "I had nothing to do with this one actually," she admits, remaining calm as the gun remains pointed at her face. "Besides, you ought to know now that your weapons are useless against me." The barrel of the U.R.T.V. leader's gun begins to pull back at this moment, the bullet inside suddenly launched out as a whole. The projectile explodes into a cloud of smoke shortly after, giving the Testament a moment to jump away and onto one of the beams stretched across the ceiling. "Ziggurat 8, take care of them," the Testament orders me. "Kill them all." "Roger." "Old man, are you serious?" the U.R.T.V. leader asks me now. "Stop it, Ziggy!" the young realian begins to order me now. Another image of her flashes through my mind once more. This time the U.R.T.V. leader is in it as well. "Is your paycheck the only thing you care about!" the red-haired boy yells at me. "You just wanna dump her off so you can get to your next job, is that it, you're just gonna leave her like that!" "Though I dislike your way of words, that describes the situation rather well," I find myself answering. "You son of a...!" the young boy begins to throw a punch. "Jr.! Ziggy! Stop it!" the young realian screams. "Jr., please calm down, Ziggy's only doing his job, and..." "Only doing his job, how can you say that, MOMO!" the U.R.T.V. turns his anger to the young realian now. "Don't you see what's going on here, he doesn't care about how you're feeling right now, he just wants to drop you off like that and be on his way! I know that's not what you want, MOMO, so..." "Ziggy's already done more than enough letting me stay with at the Uzuki Residence for the past few days," the 100-Series interrupts him, "he's already gone more than out of his way to allow me to do so. Ziggy's job was only to escort me to the UMN Committee's Central HQ, that's all, he didn't have to do anything else." Another malfunction? This is starting to become a problem. I must not let such a thing stop me again. If I were to make a single error, it may jeopardize my mission. "Everyone, Ziggy's... not his usual self," the KOS-MOS unit in my grasp barely speaks. "They must have...reprogrammed him when we got separated. He's after Shion, you have to stop him. Jin's... also in trouble, he's fighting on the floor below us. Please, help them..." The KOS-MOS unit says nothing more after that. It's clear that she has only fallen unconscious as her chest slowly heaves after her eyes shut. Her wounds are not serious, but if she exerts herself anymore, the wounds will worsen. I will have to finish her off later to ensure her death; at the moment however, I must complete the orders the Testament of Sameness has just given me. "Everyone, I'll go help Jin," the silver-haired boy informs his comrades. "Allen, Canaan, keep Shion safe, and when you get the chance, take Elly out to the sidelines of the fighting as well. Jr., MOMO, I'm going to leave you with Ziggy." "But...!" the young realian tries to protest. "You'll find a way, I know you will." The boy tries to run past me at this moment and I naturally try to stop him. I cannot chase him for long however, as a bullet is fired before my foot. It is clear that the U.R.T.V. has no intention of allowing me to stop their comrade, so I must take care of him and the 100-Series first. My objective of stopping the boy should be completed regardless as Commander Margulis of the U-TIC Organization is fighting their other ally on the floor below. Without wasting anymore time, I hurry toward the enemy that had just fired. Oddly enough, the U.R.T.V. does not fire again as I dash toward him, instead his hand shakes relentlessly as he continues to point his firearm at me. When the two young ones are within my reach, I begin to launch my fist forward. The U.R.T.V. and the Realian jump away in separate directions after my attempted strike, but again neither makes an attempt to counterattack. Another shot of gunfire follows from behind me, being fired from the military Realian that is assisting the Vector employee. "What're you doing, stop it!" the U.R.T.V. suddenly yells at the realian. "You heard the KOS-MOS unit, the cyborg has been reprogrammed, and thus, is to be viewed as an enemy," the Realian explains. "He must be destroyed." "That's not right, he can't help it!" the 100-Series tries to defend me now. "Ziggy is...!" I charge at the 100-Series now while she tries to speak, knocking the U.R.T.V. away in the process. As soon as the pink-haired girl realizes my attack, the military Realian begins to fire again. I manage to dodge this shot, stepping forward at the same time my right hand grabs the 100-Series by the collar. I turn the child in the direction of the firing enemy now, preventing any further shots to be fired. Surprisingly, the girl doesn't attempt to struggle as she remains in my grasp, instead she looks at me with a sorrowful and worried look on her face. "Ziggy, please, don't do this...," she begs. "MOMO!" the U.R.T.V. yells as he recovers from my attack. "Ziggy, have you really forgotten everything?" the child asks me. "You couldn't have forgotten everything. You said it was your mission to protect me, remember?" Another image flashes through my eyes now, the 100-Series Realian once again found within. I find myself approaching her as she stands on the other side of what appears to be a jail cell. She begins to look at me with a puzzled expression with a hint of fear. "Who... are you?" she barely manages to ask. "The Contact Subcommittee sent me here to rescue you," I find myself answering. The images disappear from my sight once again, just as quickly as they had come in, replaced by another scene. I appear to be hiding with the girl, the two of us ducking underneath the window of what appears to be a control room. "Um...," the child begins to speak. "Are you a military Realian?" "No," I answer, "an ex-human." "Ex-human?" "A cyborg," I explain. "An ancient relic. I registered as an organ donor without giving it much thought, and they resurrected me after my death." "That infamous Life Recycling Act, right?" she questions. "Yeah. The Species Preservation Act came about thanks to the mess that old law caused." "Um...you still haven't... ...told me your name," the young Realian brings up once again. "It's Ziggurat," I answer, "8." "Ziggurat...8?" the girl gives me another puzzled look. "You're a real human, but your name sounds more like a model number. I know!" her face suddenly beams into a smile. "How about I call you Ziggy instead? Z-I-G-G-Y. It's short for Ziggurat..." "MO...MO...?" I begin to address the girl I'm holding before me now. What is this I'm seeing? A malfunction? No, memories, these are memories from not too long ago, so why...? "What are you doing, Ziggurat 8!" the Testament yells at me from the beam on the ceiling. "Finish them, you have a mission to accomplish." "I..." I find my fist beginning to loosen now. "You recognize me now, don't you, Ziggy?" the young girl asks. "I know I just started out as another mission objective to you, but I know that's not how it is anymore. Remember when you danced with me during my birthday?" "Come on, Ziggy," the scenery around me disappears once again, the young child now tugging at my arm, "dance with me." "I'm sorry," I apologize, "but I'm not much of a dancer." "Oh come on," the Realian continues to tug, "please!" "Go for it, cyborg," I turn around to find the U.R.T.V. leader encouraging me, "but I got the next dance, okay?" "...all right," I give in after a moment of ridding myself of my insecurity, "but I'm not very good at it." "Yay!" MOMO cheers as she leads me to the dance floor. "...that's right," I finish recalling, "I..." "Does your mission mean nothing to you, Ziggurat 8!" the Testament yells again. "Finish...!" "Shut up!" the U.R.T.V. leader begins firing at the Testament. "I can't do it..." I begin to lower MOMO to the ground now, "because..." "You're the closest thing I have to a parent, Ziggy," I remember. "...because I love MOMO as if she were my own daughter," I finish in the present. Yes, that's right, I can never bring myself to harm her. The only reason for why I no longer wish to forget the past is because of her. She is the light I have found in the darkness of my life after a century; there is no way I can extinguish it with my own hands, much less let anyone else do it. Voyager, how could I allow myself to be manipulated by him agai...! My sensors suddenly pick up a strong reading of Ether. It's coming from above us; MOMO is directly in the path of the blast I'm reading! Without even thinking, I quickly push her out of the blast's path, but the moment I do, I find the mentioned Ether now raining down upon me in an instant. My mechanical arm and left leg have melted within the blink of an eye, my entire body quickly falling to the floor after the blast disappears. "Ziggy!" MOMO screams. I turn myself over to face the ceiling, finding a giant hole that stretches through the floors above us. A giant object also appears in this hole, the object growing larger with every second. The device seems to be giving off some sort of fuel residue, I can only conclude that it's some sort of A.M.W.S. unit. This machine is not like anything I've seen before; it's gold in color, with wing-like devices protruding from its head and back. The frame itself is rather bulky, almost like the machine Albedo pilots, but somewhat smoother. The head itself only has a single red orb on its face, almost like an eye. Two figures stand on the shoulders of the machine. The first one I recognize immediately; it is the KOS-MOS Archetype unit. The other one is an elderly man who wears some sort of cap and long white robe. I zoom in on the face of the old individual, seeing his neatly-groomed white mustache and pale skin. This man who is he, and what is he doing here? "Took you long enough to get here, Your Holiness," Citrine greets the man. ---------- (Shion's POV) I'm only a copy. I'm only a copy. I'm only a copy. I'm only a copy. I'm only a... "Shion...," I faintly hear someone calling my name. "Shion..." No, it's not a name, it's a label. I'm only a copy of my mother, no, my original self, a duplicate of her genes. The me that's here isn't really me, it never was. I was created to replace someone, to take over a duty. "Shion...," I look ahead to find the one who is speaking lying on the floor, barely conscious. "Set them free...," Elly barely speaks. "Please set..." "...my sisters free," the apparition of my mother's nurse suddenly appears before her. "Set them free..., was that what my original self was supposed to do?" I ask. "Is that the purpose for why I was born?" "Please, set them free, Shion," Febronia requests once again. "I'm asking you as individual, and not a copy, to set them free." "But why me!" I continue to yell. "Why must I set them free? Is this what everyone is expecting of me! I don't want to do it, I can't do it! I'm sick of everyone telling me what I should do!" At that very moment, Jin and chaos appear, jumping from the floor below to the current floor. The two of them are injured, but they ignore their wounds for the most part, instead turning their attention upward. I find my eyes beginning to follow theirs now, finding a large, gold-colored machine hovering above us, along with Miang and another man standing on its shoulders. "Ah, his Holiness has finally arrived," I turn back to where Jin and chaos stand, finding a man I had never seen before smiling at the giant robot. "It's here," the old man turns toward the Zohar, "finally, after fourteen years, we can begin to fulfill the Old Prophecy." "We can accomplish it sooner than expected, your Holiness," Miang informs the man, "the 'Mother of Destiny' is here as well." 'Mother of Destiny,' I find myself becoming more frustrated now that I've heard that title. The reason for why I exist was to be this so-called Mother, a role I never wanted bestowed up on me. "Hello Mother," Miang begins to address me now. "I'm sorry for having to meet you each time under the worst circumstances, and I'm sorry for keeping Elly away from you for a while." "Shut up!" I find myself taking my anger out on her now. "Don't you dare call me 'Mother!' You're no child of mine!" "Mother...?" "I told you not to call me that! 'Mother of Destiny,' is that what all of you just see me as, huh! Some sick prophecy you wish for me to fulfill? How can you all choose me to do something I had no say in!" "Please Mother, I didn't mean..." "I told you to shut up!" "It's obvious that the woman has no intention of coming with us peacefully," the elder man begins to speak now. "Margulis, restrain her." "Very well," the unknown man nods. "Get away from my sister!" Jin orders as the man brushes past him. Jin tries to raises his sword once again in an attempt to stop him, but a loud bang suddenly echoes within the vicinity, the bullet meeting with the ground a centimeter away from Jin's foot. I look to the source of the noise to return my gaze to Citrine who stands on a beam in the ceiling, the gun in her hand still smoking from the shot. "Don't touch her!" chaos tries to stop the man now. The gold mecha begins to turn at this moment, facing the direction of chaos and my brother. A beam of light emits from one of the fingers of the machine, the light suddenly traveling across the space between chaos and the one called Margulis. The beam quickly cuts into the metal floor, slicing it clean off from the rest of the area. The newly created platform begins to fall to the level below, but Jin and chaos attempt to jump off before they can follow. While they are still in the air however, Miang suddenly jumps off from the shoulder of the unknown machine in the direction of the two. A sword materializes in her right hand at this point, the blade pointed toward the ground in an angle and the hilt of the weapon facing up. Jin tries to meet with her incoming attack with his own sword, but by the time their blades meet, Miang forces Jin away, instantaneously knocking him to the edge of my location in the same swing. chaos attempts an attack at this point with his own fist, but Miang easily sees through this and catches his attack in the palm of her hand. She copies the same action she did with Jin, throwing him on top of my brother. Instead of falling to the level below, her feet manage to find their way onto the Zohar, forcing her body into it so that she may rebound off it and jump in front of her two opponents. "I can't allow you to interfere," she tells the two. Jin and chaos return to their feet at this moment and begin to attack again, but my attention quickly turns back to Margulis who continues to approach me. Jr. and Canaan step forward this time, the two of them drawing their guns and opening fire. None of their rounds strike their target however, as they are easily deflected by our enemy's blade. As I watch, I suddenly find myself being pulled to my feet, with one arm on my shoulder and another around my waist. "Come on, Chief, let's get out of here!" Allen tells me. My co-worker tries to make me walk with him, my feet dragging against the floor with every step. He pulls me to where Ziggy, MOMO, and Elly are resting, with MOMO trying to do her best to tend to their wounds. "Don't worry about me, MOMO," the cyborg says as he tries to drag himself back up to the remains of his mechanical legs, "I can still..." "Stop it, Ziggy!" MOMO cries. "You're in no condition to fight. Because of me, your arm and legs...!" "Why...?" I begin to ask everyone. "Why are you all doing this?" "Chief?" "I'm not really me, I'm only a copy," I explain, "so why, why are you all risking your lives for me!" I yell. "Is it because you all wish something of me too? Am I really that important that you'd kill each other!" "The 'Mother of Destiny' is a vital factor in the completion of our prophecy," the old man dictates from his machine, "so of course we are willing to take as many lives as need be to obtain you. Yes, we'll take the lives of everyone that's unnecessary to achieve our goal." "Is that so? Then..." I equip my M.W.S. one last time. "Chief, what are you...?" I find myself beginning to walk now, walking toward the recently cut edge of this floor. No one is able to stop me fortunately, everyone is too busy fighting amongst each other. Yes, even MOMO and Allen have gotten themselves caught in fighting as Citrine opened fire on them when they tried to follow. I begin to charge my weapon at this point, the invention beginning to hum softly as it collects the energy. The humming gradually grows louder with every passing second, the M.W.S. even begins to shake against my arm. "Warning, continued charging of the unit will result in self-destruction," the system of my weapon speaks. "If that is what you request, remove the unit and move to a safer area within a minute's time." A minute's time, that's all I have left before I can end this sad existence. The shaking and noise becomes even more erratic as I continue to stand in this spot, my eyes drifting toward the energy containers that sit below. Thirty more seconds the M.W.S. reads, it will be over soon. I continue to scan through each of the mechanical ovals as I await the inevitable, my eyes slowly reading the tiny letters engraved on each one. They stop drifting however, as my eyes barely scan two words on two separate containers. "Cecilia...?" I read from them. "Catherine!" Feb's sisters! What are they doing there? Why have they been mutilated and...! "Shion..." I turn around to see the apparition of my mother's nurse once more. "Please, set my sisters free..." "Feb..." Why, why Cecily and Cathe? They did nothing wrong, they were just ordinary children, they did nothing to deserve this! Was it because they were involved with me when I was still a child? And these other Realians that are inside those devices like them, what did they do to deserve this? For the future of the Realians, is this what Feb meant? Is this what all Realians were built for, to act as some component for this relic! No more. I can't take it anymore. Everyone... everyone is suffering because of me. And because of that, I... I'm sorry, Feb, but I can't set them free, but I can... "Shion!" The inevitable does not come however as I find myself suddenly pushed to the floor and the M.W.S. quickly peeled off my arm. As I fall to the ground, I watch the red device fall to the lower level, the entire unit releasing a rain of energy as it transforms into a gigantic explosion. The beams begin to shower over the oval devices below, each beam causing several to engulf in flames upon impact. The initial fires spread quickly, immediately hopping to the ones next to them in seconds until the entire collection is set ablaze. Finally, I had set them free, but not in the way I wanted. I... I just... I just killed hundreds, if not thousands, of innocent people who had nothing to do with this conflict. If I had set off the M.W.S. like I had originally planned, I would have killed everyone on this floor alone, saving them to be rescued later on by someone else, but then... That death was for me and everyone who wished to manipulate me, so why? Is my life really that of great importance that innocents must die so that I may live! "Why...?" the words of the one who saved me begin to ask in a harsh tone. "What were you thinking, you idiot!" "Elly...?" I look up to find her standing over me, her fingers wrapped into fists. "After all we've done for you, you're just going to throw it all away!" "My life was never mine to begin with," I explain. "I'm only a..." "Don't start with that 'I'm only a copy' bullshit! You're not a copy, you're yourself, Shion. Yes you've inherited your mother's genes, but that doesn't mean... Are you listening to me, Shion? Shion? Shion!" Her words gradually become silent in my ears, my voice doing it's best to shut all noise that surrounds me. "I'm only a copy," I begin to say once again. "I'm only a copy. I'm only a copy. I'm only a copy. I'm only a copy." I'm only a copy. A horrible copy, a copy that just murdered many innocent people... ---------- (Elly's POV) The entire vicinity begins to break into a tremor; everyone else begins to stop fighting as it worsens in a manner of seconds. "What's going on!" I turn back to MOMO as she desperately tries to keep her balance by hugging the nearest wall. "Foolish woman," the Patriarch begins to speak. "I can't believe she destroyed the Zohar's entire restraint system." Restraint system? What is he talking about? Of course, my old data banks spoke of something like this. During the failed project in Michtam twenty-four years ago, Realians were used to keep the Zohar's power in check; their bodies would be hooked up to the Zohar and the Zohar's energy would then flow into their bodies, taking the place of their bodily functions as if they were in some sort of womb. Of course a single Realian was far from sufficient to do the job, it required nearly one-thousand Realians to do this. Often times younger Realians were chosen to do the job because they were not as fully grown and aged as their older counterparts, thus it would take longer for them to replaced with a newer, younger one to take their place if they were to pass away. "Your sister's just as stubborn just as you are, Uzuki," Margulis tells Jin. "Why you...!" After hearing those words, Jin quickly rises back to his feet, running past my sister so that he may swing his sword at his rival, but this time, the Chief Inquisitor does not fight back, instead taking a leap into the air, his feet landing on the shoulders of the gold mecha that hovers above his. As soon as he lands, the machine begins to point its palm at us; the center of its hand beginning to open as a Vulcan gun emerges from within. The weapon begins firing immediately, causing Jin, Jr., MOMO, Canaan, and Allen to scatter. "Your Holiness, what do you want us to do with the girl?" Citrine asks above the noise of the elder man's attack. "Leave her," the Patriarch answers, "we'll just take what we came here for and be on our way." "Hey, where are you going!" Jr. yells as the machine begins to turn away from them now. The young director begins to aim his pistols at the machine now, but each of the bullets ricochets off its armor at the moment of impact. MOMO tries to use her bow after seeing Jr.'s failed attempts, but her attacks only leave black marks on its gold-colored surface. Even Canaan's attempts that follow have no effect, despite his rifle being loaded with anti-A.M.W.S. rounds. The machine is heading toward our direction; they may not be after Shion at the moment, but I can't let them take the Zohar. I draw my sword once again the moment the towering invention's shadow meets with my own. Soon I find myself beginning to running toward my enemies with all my might, my sword slicing into the metallic ground. Blood begins to flow freely from my arms and legs, the injuries that Ziggy had given me a short while ago taking their toll on my body once more. I do my best to ignore the pain, the crimson rivers now dripping into my foot steps and sword. Finally I find myself in jumping distance of the machine, but I find my legs beginning to die on me. I ignore the sudden numbness, but I don't know if I can reach the altitude of my enemies. My legs push into the ground with their remaining strength causing even more blood to escape my wounds. Miraculously I find myself leaping into the air, my body quickly brushing past the mecha's legs, arms, and now torso. At the rate I'm going, Margulis and the Patriarch should be within blade's reach at any... "I can't allow you to interfere, my darling," I suddenly find my sister's face in front of my own. Her right arm immediately begins to swing inward, the hilt of her weapon taking the lead. I bring my own blade in front of me in an attempt to block the swing; even though my sword does catch her own, the sheer power of her attack is enough to knock me backward. I find the wind hastily cutting against my back after the impact of her weapons, my spine meeting with a hard, metallic surface in the next second. I find my legs unable to move after hitting the floor, my arms barely able to push me upward and the grasp of my weapon loosened. As I attempt to recover, Miang lands in front of me, her weapon no longer raised against me but resting near her side. "That was impressive, Elly," Miang compliments me, "I didn't think you were capable of having an instantaneous spike in your Ether, allowing you to jump to that altitude." "You really did mean it when you said 'the next time we meet, we'll be enemies,'" I remember. "I didn't think it would be this soon that we meet again." "Miss Elly!" I find Jin and my comrades that are able to stand rushing toward me. "It looks like we're done here," Miang suddenly speaks, not even turning her attention to the ones running toward her. "Proto-Omega is now finally complete." I turn back to find the gold-colored machine reaching toward the Zohar with both of its arms. Both hands take hold of separate rings that levitate around the artifact, quickly prying them away, causing the Zohar to fall to the floor below. The mecha doesn't allow it to fall far however, as it catches the relic with one of its hands. The chest area of the robot opens at this point, revealing a giant imprint that is in the shape of a giant cross. In seconds, the Zohar fills that space perfectly, the chest component of the machine closing once again after. "I guess that's mission complete, ladies and gentlemen," the black testament suddenly appears on the towering mecha's head. "Voyager!" Ziggy yells at the man. "Thank you for your support, Jan," the cloaked man smirks, "without you, this mission would have been a failure." "Bastard!" The tremors begin to worsen at this point, growing even more uncontrollable before. The shaking causes everyone to fall to the floor at this point, it's impossible for anyone except for Miang to stand up. "I suggest that you and your friends escape, my love," Miang advises me. "I really am sorry about all of this, Elly." "Miang...!" I glare once more. Without saying another word, my sister and Citrine hop onto the shoulders of Proto-Omega. Our enemies begin to fly away at this point, the earthquake only worsening by the second. Debris even begins to fall from the floors above us now, and at the rate this is going, is won't even be ten minutes before this whole floor is buried! Hope is not lost however, the latest piece of debris is something I quickly recognize. It's gotten a few dents from falling, but it doesn't look like it will affect its flying capabilities. "What's that doing here?" Canaan asks upon seeing the machine. "When I came here, the E.S. Dinah landed on the top floor of this building," I answer. "I'll be able to fit two other people aside from myself in the cockpit, I'm afraid everyone else will have to hold onto part of the exterior while we escape." I force my sword into the ground at this moment so that I may use it as a crutch. I hurry over to Shion who still remains lying in the same spot, muttering the same words of "I'm only a copy" again and again. I try to deafen my ears to her words, ignoring them as I wrap her arm around my shoulder so that I may drag the two of us to my craft. The others manage to open the cockpit for me, but I find the strength in my legs beginning to die on me again. More debris from the floors above falls, each piece of concrete or pipe comes closer and closer to hitting us. Somehow I manage to drag the two of us to the A.M.W.S., placing Shion in one of the cockpit seats. "MOMO, I think we can fit you and Ziggy onto a single seat," I tell her as I see his current condition. "Everyone, I'm afraid you'll have to ride in the hands. I'll hold each of you close to the chest area to minimize the chances of being struck by any debris." "Elly, are you all right?" Jr. asks as I practically drag myself so that I may place Shion on one of the seats. "You're bleeding." "I'm all right," I try to assure the boy. "Here, let me administer a Medica Ether," MOMO offers, "you're not in any condition to..." "I said I'll be fine!" I practically yell. "We have to get everyone out of here, and now!" I drag myself into the pilot seat of the machine at this moment just as MOMO takes the third seat and places Ziggy on her lap. With the three of us now inside, I immediately start to activate the controls. "I'm sorry, if it wasn't for me," the cyborg apologizes I start up the machine. "You couldn't help it," I tell him, trying to ignore the pain of my wounds. Luckily the craft starts up without any problems or delays, allowing me to take the others into the mecha's hands as promised. With everyone now on board, I activate the rockets on the E.S. Dinah so that we may escape. Immediately after leaving the floor we were on, we are greeted by several giant pieces of concrete that fall from the upper levels. The moment my fingers tighten on the controls, more pain shoots up my arms. I clench my teeth in an attempt to block out the sensation, but it only causes more crimson rivers to escape the craters. Somehow I ignore the pain, allowing myself to pilot the craft so that I can dodge the falling pieces of the building without having to change the course of the Dinah. Even though we managed to escape from the immediate danger, we are immediately greeted by more rubble the moment we pass through. Four pieces in each direction, I don't know if we can escape this one, but... No, there's a small space which we can fit through, if we can just... I feel myself beginning to grow faint again as we fly toward this new hazard, even my vision begins to grow blurry. I shake my head in an attempt to regain my composure, but it doesn't do much good. I can't seem to focus, everything looks exactly the same now. No, there's something that stands out. The light, it's the sunlight, I can see it through the small crack of the falling construction. I have to focus on it, and then... We manage to pass through, the sunlight on the other side growing brighter. More pieces of debris fall, but we're so close to the exit that simply flying against it won't slow us down. I ram through each of the pieces of concrete and the iron beams, keeping mind to hold the ones on the exterior of the craft close to avoid and injuries. Before we know it, we are outside, but I feel as if we're still not out of danger yet. "Something's not right," Ziggy informs me as we continue to fly into the atmosphere. "It's faint, but doesn't it feel like this entire area is shaking?" "I'm detecting tremors coming from the crust of this area," MOMO reports as she reads the screen displayed in front of her. "It's not the building that's causing this, it's..." "The whole planet is shaking!" I realize. "Without the Zohar, all of Miltia is going to split apart!" "Is that even possible!" Ziggy exclaims. "U-DO must have not only linked with Labyrinthos over the past fourteen years, it must have also merged with the planet's core during that time as well," I explain. "In other words, U-DO, which is part of the Zohar, is part of the core of Miltia, and with the Zohar taken away, part of the core must have also been taken away, so much that the planet can't contain itself." "So what're we going to do!" MOMO asks frantically. "I don't think I can fly the Dinah into space in time before the planet collapses, but even if I were, the others would...!" "Hey, is that you in there, Miss Vector?" a familiar voice suddenly enters my radio. "Matthews!" I activate the rear camera on my craft to see a welcomed sight. It's the Elsa, and she's flying in our direction. "We're gonna open up the hatch, get in there as soon as you can," Matthews orders on the other line. I quickly turn the Dinah around at that moment to see the hatch in the Elsa beginning to open. I feel my consciousness dwindling again, the control panel and joystick are painted with random spots of crimson. I'm losing a lot of blood; I hate to admit it, but I'm not sure how much longer I can stay awake. "I'm only a copy," my ears turn back to the attention of my lover. "I'm only a copy. I'm only a copy. I'm only a copy. I'm only a..." I can't fail now, I still have to prove to her that she isn't a copy, I have to at least get her and the others to safety. No, not only that, I have to stop my former superiors, I can't let them complete their objective, and I can't have them manipulate my sister any longer. And Abel, I promised Abel I would return, I promised myself that I would find out what it is about him that makes me see my own immaturity. "Everyone, it might get a bit rough," I announce to everyone on the exterior with my radio. "Just hold on tight." Everything begins to merge into black at this moment, but the last thing I see is the lights inside the hangar. Remembering where I last saw them, I begin to force my foot into the craft's acceleration with my remaining strength. I can no longer see where we are going, and I can barely even hear the others' screams. Are we heading in the right direction? I don't know, but we have to... I feel the entire craft coming to a sudden stop now, my body nearly breaking out of the seatbelt before it bounces back against the seat. It may have not been the best landing, but we've made it. "We made it!" I barely hear MOMO's cheerful voice. "Yes, we've made it," I barely speak. "We've made it... Feeling... rather light-headed now. Must rest..." "Elly, are you okay?" I can hear MOMO's voice beginning to grow frantic now. "Elly? Elly!" "What's going, what happened!" I hear Jin's voice now, panicking as much as MOMO's. "Oh my god, I can't believe she was piloting like that in her condition!" Allen speaks next. "C'mon, we have to get her to the infirmary, quick!" I hear the Durandal's captain's voice next. Their voices have virtually become deaf now, and I can't feel any part of my body anymore. I guess that doesn't matter right now, everyone is safe for the moment, that's all that really matters. Yes that's... all... that... really... matters... ---------- (chaos's POV) Elly, I can't believe she went ahead and piloted that craft in her condition. If only I knew that it was that bad, I would've done it for her. I'm such an idiot, why didn't I...! It's just like that time so long ago. I failed 'her,' I didn't do what was right and because of that, 'she...' "She should be okay for now," MOMO's voice breaks me out of my pondering. "But we have to get her to a hospital, she's lost a lot of blood and needs a transfusion as soon as possible." "Don't worry, as soon as we get back to the Foundation I'll get her into the best hospital we have," Jr. assures her. I begin to leave the infirmary at this point, I can't bear to see her like this. Back there, I couldn't sense her for a majority of the time unlike how I normally could. U-DO was always known to block our powers to an extent, it was stupid of me to assume that she was dead. And Pellegri, she's still acting as 'his' messenger. She said we'll be meeting again soon, after all this time. Will I be ready to confront him this time? No, if I couldn't even confront 'her' other half, there's no way I can confront him. Miang... I thought she had regained her memory back by now. No, she did, but not all of it. She's been exhibiting some of her true potential, but not all of it. Is she even aware what she's really capable of? Can I even bring myself to fight her if we were to meet again? Whenever we confronted each other recently, she would always act as if she didn't recognize me. Her memory must not have been fully restored, I suppose it would make sense, Elly's true potential has not been fully realized either. It was foolish of me to suggest the idea to Citrine to contact her, it was stupid of me to assume that she had remembered everything that happened back then. "Hey chaos, you all right?" I find myself wandering into the bridge now. "I'm sorry, Captain, I guess I'm just a bit under the weather, that's all," I answer. "That's not like you at all," Matthews tries to cheer me up, "but then again, I can't blame you for acting the way you are after everything that just happened. The android girl's in critical condition, the cyborg's nearly destroyed, Miss Vector is in some sort of psychological shock, and on top of that, Old Miltia just crumbled into space dust." "This is all too cruel," I barely manage to speak. "Every one of them has been forced into a cruel destiny all because of a single mistake made so long ago." "Huh?" my words causes confusion amongst the rest of the crew. "...it's nothing," I tell them. "By the way, Captain," I try to change the subject, "how did you manage to get rid of Yuriev's soldiers?" "Actually..." Before the Captain can say another word, I begin to sense something. No, not something, someone hiding behind each of the different control panels in the cockpit. Before I know, these people suddenly come out of hiding, their guns all pointed at me. "Freeze!" these individuals order. "What the! Captain, why...?" "When you guys left, these guys came board on our ship shortly after and took care of the soldiers. We thought they were there to help us out, but then we found ourselves taken hostage by them. They ordered us to drop them off in Labyrinthos, but by the time we started heading there, the whole planet started shaking and there were you guys flying in that weird robot." "That weird robot is called an 'E.S.,'" one of the soldiers explains. "Sorry about the rude introductions, boy, but it was necessary for us to commandeer your ship." "You... You're Meris Orthas of Scientia, aren't you?" I immediately recognize the woman's face. "Her great-granddaughter actually," the woman corrects me. I begin to wrap my fingers into fists at this point, but each of the soldiers quickly notices this, cocking their guns once again as a reaction to my own. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," she tells me. "I've got several more men hiding throughout the rest of the ship. Make one wrong move and my men might have to resort to violence." At that very moment I hear more men's orders echoing from the other side of the ship. Again I hear weapons being cocked and orders to stand down, along with my comrades being forced to comply. I should've known it wouldn't be this easy to escape, but still, I know for a fact that this isn't 'his' doing. "Ma'am, you're not going to believe this," a Scientia soldier reports as soon as he reaches the bridge. "There's a KOS-MOS unit here as well." "A KOS-MOS unit, are you serious!" Meris exclaims. "There's something strange about this one though, ma'am," the soldier continues. "This one's on life support and in critical condition." "...that is strange, but that doesn't matter, that's not going to affect our plans," Meris tells the soldier. "Captain, take your ship to these coordinates," she orders, handing him an electronic device. "I know it seems like we're here to harm you, but that's not the case," she informs me now. "We know you're from the Kukai Foundation, we simply want to ask you a few questions. There's also those two Vector employees and that KOS-MOS unit, we would like to question them too. As long as you answer our interrogation, we'll let all of you free." Answer your interrogation, I'm afraid that's impossible. It's bad enough that I've gotten my friends involved, I don't want anyone else to get caught in the mistake I made so long ago. Friend or foe, I don't care, I don't want to see anyone else get hurt. I'm sorry everyone, but this is all my fault... ---------- (Wilhelm's POV) Fate, such a peculiar word. For many years Man has believed that their lives were pre-ordained, in fact, many still believe in this notion. Does such a thing called "destiny" truly exist, or does Man create his own kismet with his "free will?" "Master Wilhelm," my red-cloaked subordinate interrupts my thoughts, "I wish to give a report. Citrine and Voyager have retrieved the Zohar, it is currently in the hands of the Ormus Organization as you ordered." "I see, thank you for your report," I tell my subordinate. "I'm afraid I am not finished, sir," he continues. "Dimitri Yuriev has been trying to contact you about this decision; he is currently on the line, will you take his call?" "Yes, patch him through," I answer. I turn my attention to the video phone on my desk now, the screen revealing me a face I have not seen in a short while. Short while, maybe it isn't so short when comparing it to the life span of others. "Dr. Yuriev, what do I owe the pleasure?" I answer the line. "Spare me the pleasantries, Wilhelm," the man spits, as crude as ever. "Why did you send the Zohar to the hands of the Ormus Organization? I thought we agreed...!" "Yes, we did agree, good doctor," I interrupt, trying to calm the man down. "The Zohar will be yours, but be patient a little longer." "A little longer, that was exactly what you told me a century ago!" the doctor continues to lecture. "It may not seem like a long time to you, but...!" "Is a week sufficient enough?" I interrupt once more. "Before we can hand the Zohar to you, we need one week for... another project." "'Another project?'" he scoffs. "Just how many more do you need until...?" "This will be the last before we can obtain our goal, I assure you." "You better be telling the truth, my patience runs thin, Wilhelm," he says, beginning to calm down. "You have my word." "Do I really? Just remember this, don't even think about backing down on our deal, otherwise I'll expose everything you and your subordinates have been up to for the last several millennia." And with that, the man hangs up. The fool, does he think his threat scares me? Even if he were to attempt to expose everything, he would too would expose the truth of his existence. I do intend to keep my promise to him, after all, we did create that alliance nearly a century ago after the Voyager Investigation, even if that alliance has been shaky. Even if you do plan on breaking that alliance, I have the 'White Horse' ready to act at any given moment. Yes, you'll get what's coming to you, my good doctor. "Master Wilhelm, I'm afraid I must question you on something," I look up to still find my subordinate standing in the same place. "It regards Miang..." "Miang? What is it you wish to ask about?" I ask. "During the last battle, you ordered Voyager to reprogram Ziggurat 8, even though it was only temporary, but then you had Miang destroy his mechanical limbs. I'm aware that you are attempting to temporarily disable all obstacles just as you did with Elly's capture, but I still don't understand why you didn't awaken the 'final one' when you had the chance?" "It's quite simple, despite how strong the 'Mother of Destiny' is, she is still fragile emotionally. If she were to experience anymore trauma during the time, she would be unable to cope with so much loss and undoubtably commit suicide as a result. There is also the fact that 'he' has no reason to advance to another existence at the moment. As a wiseman once said 'the fate of destruction is also the joy of rebirth,' that is why we must prolong his 'birth.'" "I see... While we are on the subject of Miang, I must also report on her actions lately." "I'm already aware of them. I know that she spared those Scientia soldiers and fought with Orgulla, but I already have something planned to fix her recent misbehavior. After all, that's why we also created 'her.'" "'Her?'" "Yes," I answer, pressing a button underneath my desk. The flooring in the center of the room begins to split now as another metal platform makes its way up from the hole. The platform isn't empty however, for my main attraction also rests in a container that sits upon it. It isn't long before the new floor appears, and in the center of it, is where 'she' rests. "Sir, this is...?" She's so beautiful as she sleeps; her pearl-white hair easily rivals the hue of her father's. Her skin is also exactly like his, and those eyes, it is almost frightening that they resemble one another so much in appearance. No, not just him, but 'her' as well. Yes, she looks almost like her mother as well. It would bring me such pleasure I see your face when she finally awakens, when you two finally meet, when you see what we've done with her. The drama, how I love a good drama. "Soon you shall be born, my dear," I place my hand on the glass. "Soon, my beloved T-elos..." ---------- XenoMark's Note: I think this was the longest chapter I've written so far, and it was probably also the most difficult. Sorry to leave it a cliffhanger here, but the chapter's long enough I think. Don't worry about Elly, she'll be okay in the next chapter (at least, okay in terms of health now that she and the others have been taken hostage by the Scientia Organization). As for T-elos, she's finally made her way into the fic, and we'll actually see her in action in the next chapter, so wait for it (hopefully I'll be able to update quicker than I did with this chapter). Also in the next chapter, expect to see a one-on-one conversation between Albedo and Citrine. Unfortunately though, we won't learn what chaos's "mistake" was in the past until later on in the fic, so please, watch out for it. If you want this fic to be updated quicker, please leave a review (but no flames please). I'm also thinking about whether or not I should open up my own forum thread for my fics on but I'm not sure, what do you readers think? Anyways, that's enough ranting, hope to see ya all in the next chapter.
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