cbman's Note: I know the last chapter was slow, but we'll try to
speed things up for this chapter with the Gnosis attack and whatnot.
In this chapter, we'll finally get to see chaos in action (though he
might seem a bit of character during this part), as well as a fight
with Albedo. Even though Canaan's character wasn't really explored in
Xenosaga Episode 2 (he was pretty much just wallpaper on the Elsa for
most of the game), we'll get a look into his character in this fic,
he'll actually do something and have some use. Also we get to learn a
little bit about what the Zohar Project is in this chapter, along with
what the Ormus Sect has in store for Elly and Miang. Not sure what
else to say, but let's get to the story.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Marionettes
(Jin's POV)
The color red, it's been so long since I've seen the ruby elixir of
life flow so freely, it's been so long since I've had my blade cleave
through another human being.
"Miss Yui, children, hurry, this way!" I order.
These men in red and black attacked so suddenly. Miss Yui and I were
making preparations to evacuate the Foundation, but before we knew it,
several of these men forced their way into the temporary orphanage.
Currently we're trying to get out of the Residential Area, but with
every corner we turn, we seem to run into more of these soldiers.
"There they are, stop them!" two more soldiers appear the moment we
turn the corner.
I quickly begin to rush forward with all my strength, the men beginning
to open fire on me. Their aim is inaccurate luckily, each of their
shots striking only the walls or the ground. After a few seconds I
find myself almost within arm's reach of these men, my right hand
pulling my katana out of its sheath as my arm swings it to the side.
The steel curve quickly slices through one of the men's flesh, a geyser
of crimson erupting from his chest the second after the blade is
extracted. The remaining soldier brings his rifle upward in attempt to
block my next swing, but the material of his weapon is weak as it
splits in half after my sword makes contact with his gun. He falls
quickly after, his body sprawled out on the ground as a lake of blood
forms beneath his corpse.
"Is everyone all right?" I ask Miss Yui and the children.
"I wanna go home!" Abel cries.
"Don't worry, everything's going to be okay," Miss Yui assures the
child. "Just be a big boy, Mr. Jin will get us home soon and
everything will be all right, okay?"
I don't know if I can do exactly what Miss Yui tells the boy. We've
already come across a total of ten of these men, I'm sure there's a lot
more waiting for us as well. I can't exactly tell if I can bring
everyone back to Second Miltia either, they may have taken over the
docks as well. These soldiers aren't amateurs either, it's obvious
that they've had some sort of military training, they've taken over
this entire section of the Foundation without alerting us of their
presence until now.
"Jin, above you!" Miss Yui warns.
I look up and find three more of these men on the rooftops of the
building, each of them with some sort of firearm pointed at me and the
others. I order Miss Yui and the children to run back in the direction
we came, only to find ourselves in the same situation the moment we
turn the corner, this time there are six men on the roofs. More
soldiers appear after, these ones from behind and on the same ground
level as us. They begin to close in on us, leaving us no more room to
move. If it were just Miss Yui and I, I'm sure we could get ourselves
out of this situation, but with the children, we can't afford to take
any risks.
"Great...," I mumble underneath my breath.
"You gave us quite a chase there, Mr. Samurai," one of the soldiers
says in a mocking tone. "Did you really think you could get away from
us that easily, especially with these kids?"
"Leave the children out of this," Miss Yui orders the men, "they've
done nothing wrong."
"We've got our orders, lady, and our orders were to imprison every
person in the Foundation, man, woman, or child. We assure you that no
harm will come to you if you follow our orders."
"Your orders are now revoked," another voice enters the area now.
All of the soldiers lower their weapons at this point, all of them
parting to the sides to reveal a woman I had never seen before and next
to her are Jr. and MOMO.
"You heard the announcement, right?" the woman asks all the soldiers.
"The Gnosis have been spotted outside the Foundation, there's no time
to go through with the rest of the operation."
"Then, what are our orders now, Lady Citrine?"
"We will assist the Kukai Foundation in dealing with this threat," the
woman answers. "We will withdraw from our current mission and..."
"Jin, Miss Yui, are you and the kids all right?" MOMO asks us as
Citrine continues giving orders to her men.
"Yes, but what exactly is going on here?" Miss Yui asks.
"We'll explain later, right now the Gnosis are invading the
Foundation," Jr. informs us. "We have to get the civilians to the
shelters and clear out the Gnosis that have already made their way
inside."
"I'll assist in the evacuation," I volunteer.
"I'll go too," Miss Yui says.
"No, it's too dangerous," Jr. tells her.
"What do you mean too dangerous?" Miss Yui spits. "I've been in worse
situations when Jin and I were in the Miltian Military. I may not look
it, but I'm just as capable as Jin with a sword."
"As much as I'd like to support you, Miss Yui, I'm afraid I can't this
time," I tell her.
"And just why not? You always get into a trouble whenever I'm not
around."
"That may be true, but who will take care of the children while we're
away?" I point out. "I know that this situation is very hard for them,
we can't just let them stay in a shelter by themselves or with
strangers."
"...I suppose you're right."
"I might as well take her place then," Citrine sighs.
"What?" the words shock Jr. "Why would you...?"
"That weakling, Albedo, I'm sure I'll run into him if I stick with
you," Citrine explains. "That, and I just might bump into Nigredo as
well. We'll have a little family reunion, isn't it sweet?" she asks in
a sarcastic tone.
"The Gnosis are already in Sectors 26 and 27," MOMO senses, "we have to
hurry. If this keeps up..."
"Then let's go already!" Jr. orders.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
(Miang's POV)
The sun is rather warm today and the breeze so gentle. The blades of
grass dance at my feet, the tips tickling my skin. I look up into the
sky to find and endless blue without a cloud in sight; I look forward
to see the colors of green and white, a field of flowers is what fills
my vision. I begin to run through the field now, running through the
endless trail of flora and fauna until I reach the pinnacle of a hill.
The field truly does look endless where I stand, nothing but the colors
of green and white. No, there's something else I see, it's faint, but
I see more colors. Not just colors, people, two of them to be exact.
A smile quickly curls on my lips after, my entire body filled with
energy once again.
"Elly! Mother!" I call out to them.
The two of them are frolicking in the field hand-in-hand, smiles
stretched across both of their faces. I try to call out to them once
again, but the result is the same as the last. They continue to dance,
their attention still not lingering toward me. I begin to run down the
hill now and call out to them once again, but at this point they begin
to turn away, their expressions still happy. They begin to walk and I
find myself running faster. Faster and faster I try to push myself,
but no matter how hard I push, no matter how hard I try, I can't seem
to keep up with them.
"Mother! Elly!" I call again.
Again, they do not stop, their figures growing smaller and smaller,
slowly merging into the edge of the field. I cry out for them again,
calling out at the top of my lungs, but again, they walk as if they
haven't heard me. Within seconds, they are gone, their forms nowhere
to be found in this infinite field. I come to a stop once again, this
time not out of shortness of breath, but by another feeling. Streams
begin to escape my eyes at this point, my nose suddenly becoming
congested, and my throat dry. The sky begins to darken at this point,
the breeze disappearing, and the field turning black. Thunder begins
to fill my ears as a small tap falls on my arm. Another follows, and
then another shortly after. More and more do I feel taps falling upon
my body, and before I know it, these taps have created rivers that run
down my entire being. No, not all of these rivers were created from
the rain, two of them are of my own creation.
I find my knees weakening at this point, falling to the now muddy
ground. My nose begins to sniffle, but it doesn't help my congestion,
if anything it makes it worse. I feel something inside me is broken,
torn right in half, but I cannot tell what it is. My voice hiccups a
little at first, the hiccups growing louder until it becomes a whimper.
The whimpers become more rapid with every raindrop that meets with my
head, my hands falling into my palms in an effort to contain the floods
that escape my eyes. I can do nothing but sit here, my entire being
once again consumed by emotion, consumed once again by loneliness.
It is now that I wake up, my cheeks still wet from the tears from my
dreams. I sniffle a little bit more and bring my hands toward my eyes,
cutting off the stream that runs from them. I stop however when my
left arm tries to move to my face, there is something that is pressing
against it. No, it isn't just pressing against my arm, but my chest as
well. I turn to the source of the weight to find something pressing
against me. No, not something, someone. Cerulean blue hair, snow
white skin, it is none other than my other half, my little sister.
"Elly...," I barely call her name.
I had forgotten that I fell asleep with her earlier this morning. The
poor thing came all the way out here on her own, but I can't sympathize
with her entirely unfortunately. She left Mother all by herself, and
she came here by herself in an attempt to save everybody. This is so
rash of her, not like how she was when she was still an android.
Still, I suppose it's better this way, because the first time since I
can remember, I haven't woke up to find myself alone.
"Miang...," my little sister begins to wake up now.
"Good morning, Elly," I greet her. "Or should I say, good afternoon?"
"Afternoon? What time is it?" she yawns.
"It's about 1300 hours in Standard Miltian Time," I tell her. "You've
been asleep for three hours, did you not get enough sleep last night
before you came here?"
"I guess you can say that," she answers.
"Well that's enough idle chatter," I tell her, "I have to get you out
of here."
"All right," she nods.
I open the door to her cell now and take a moment to look down the hall
to make sure no one is around. The entire area is desolate with the
exception of the other prisoners. I quickly signal Elly out of her
cell now and lead her to the door at the end of the hall. Again there
is no sign of anyone on the other side so I open the door for her.
"Where are we?" she asks after I lead her inside.
"This is the prison ward's office," I tell her as I rummage through the
confiscated material closet. "I believe these are yours," I find her
sword and blaster in the corner.
"Thanks," she takes the weapon back.
"Along with these, right?" I find her pair of glasses in a plastic bag.
"I'm surprised they didn't break when Lady Orgulla struck them to the
floor."
"It must be strong material," she says as she puts the accessory back
on.
"The door to your right will lead you into the main area," I direct
her. "From there, continue to follow the corridors to the south and
you'll eventually make it to the twelfth hangar, that's where your
craft is being stored."
"How's security at this time?" she asks.
"It shouldn't be too bad," I answer, "most of the sect is in prayer
now. You'll only have about an hour to get to the E.S. Dinah before
security returns to normal. That should barely be enough time. In any
case, I have to return to my quarters, I've been gone longer than I had
expected."
"Wait, Miang," my sister stops me. "Come with me. Both of us know
that you don't really want to be here, so why not come with me?
Please, Miang, you said that they need your personal data in order to
complete the mass-produced KOS-MOS units. If you come with me, they
can't input the data and together we can..."
"I'm sorry, Elly, but I can't," I regretfully interrupt her. "Like
I've said before, I have a debt to those who have brought me into this
world, and I intend to repay them for it. I really do wish I can go
with you, Elly, but I can't. I have my duty, just as you have yours to
protect Mother and your friends. The next time we meet, we'll be
enemies. I'm sorry, Elly, but this is the way things must be."
"...I...I understand, Miang," Elly tells me after a moment of
hesitation. "I appreciate everything you've done for me and Shion
these past few days, but..."
"That's enough, just go," I turn away, trying my best to hold back my
tears. "Go!"
"All right. Goodbye, Miang."
The next thing I hear is the sound of the door slamming on her way out.
The tears begin to run down my face at this point and my lips
quivering. I find myself crying, but this time it is not out of
sadness but from joy. My sister truly does care for me, asking me to
go with her despite the things I've done in the past. It was nice to
finally wake up next to someone, to not be alone and crying. Thank
you, Elly, thank you for bringing a smile to my face, even if that
smile is but temporary.
"You've done well," I hear my master's voice now.
"...is it all right to just let her go like this?" I ask.
"This is the role Master Wilhelm has given her," I find myself being
pulled into his embrace. "This is her destiny after all. Not just
hers, but yours as well, Miang."
"I know," I bring my hand onto his. "Still, despite how she appears,
she is just a child. She will go through...many hardships as she
follows the path Fate has laid out for her. I would know, I went
through the same path when 'she' merged with us back then."
"Hardship or not, she must fulfill her role no matter what the cost,"
Master Wilhelm appears now, stepping out of the shadows.
"I intend to do whatever it takes to make sure that happens," I assure
Master Wilhelm. "Because of my fate, no, because I am her sister, I
won't allow her to fail in her task."
I'm sorry Elly, but the completion of our goal relies upon you...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
(Elly's POV)
The Ormus Sect, more widely known as the Immigrant Fleet, they were
said to be the first people to leave Lost Jerusalem and journey out
into the reaches of space. They are a very religious group, the Zohar
lying in the center of their beliefs. They believe that the Zohar was
a gift from the heavens and that it is the key to Mankind's salvation,
perhaps this is why they are a key factor in the Zohar Project.
I find myself in a large hallway now, the walls and randomly placed
columns all appear to be made from black marble. Two more hallways
link with this one, both linking the east to the west. The entire area
is well kept, there isn't a speck of dust or dirt. I can hear the
sound of Ormus prayers echoing throughout the hallways, streaming
through the intercom system. Every wall and column contains the cross
of Ormus as well, my outfit definitely stand outs from the colors of
the area and the Sect's members.
I hear footsteps not too far from my current locale along with the
sound of several voices. I run to the nearest column at this point and
press my back against it in an effort to avoid being detected. Their
voices and steps grow closer and closer, my instincts already making me
draw my sword, ready to jump out so that I may strike them down before
they can alert any others. The need to attack does not arise though,
as the individuals voices and steps pass the corner, the sounds growing
quieter and quieter with every passing second. I leave the column now
to watch the men pass through a door at the end of the hallway to the
west.
I continue south now and come across the second hallway. I hide behind
the nearest column once again and scout ahead. There are no signs of
any others that may walk down this hallway, but I notice a camera
planted near the ceiling of the right corner. I remove my blaster from
my garter and set the blast's power to minimum, taking aim soon after.
With the security device in my sight, I pull the trigger quickly, the
tiny beam that escapes its barrel destroying the lens of the camera. I
scout the corners once again for any similar devices but find none. I
return my firearm to my garter now and continue down the hallway until
I stop at the door to the south.
I press the switch for the door and ready my sword again as the metal
device slides open. To my relief, there are no guards or anybody else
in the area. This new area is big contrast to the last one; there is
hardly any light here, only a faint green glow that goes along the
floor toward the end of this hallway. I can see circular bases of
devices through the dimly lit area, along with the sound of waves of
liquid. I try to ignore the sound of the liquid and try to head to the
end of the hallway. About halfway however, the devices that are
aligned to the sides of the lights begin to glow a faint green,
illuminating the entire area. I turn my attention to the left side of
the room, only to find a sight I had not wanted to see again.
I find myself nearly stumbling again when I see those monotone faces,
that dull blue hair, and the marks of "KOS-MOS" on their foreheads. I
try to breathe in deeply to prevent myself from panicking once more,
but I hardly have the time to do so as the sound metal humming echoes
from above. I turn toward the ceiling now to the translucent ground I
was standing on when I was captured, along with the figures of the
Patriarch and a man dressed in violet with a scar over his right eye.
My eyes begin to shift left and right, looking for a place to hide, but
I have little time to look as they draw closer to my current locale. I
head in between the closest containers next to me, pressing my back
against one of them so that I may try to hide my figure behind the one
inside. They walk closer and closer toward me, I try to hide further
by shifting a quarter more to the left of the container so that my back
is facing the left side of the unit inside. The two stop in the middle
of the room now and I try my best not to say a single word and make a
sound.
"It pleases me that you've come, Chief Inquisitor Margulis," the
Patriarch addresses the man. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"No, the pleasure is mine, Your Holiness," the man bows, "but I'm
afraid I have come here today on official business."
"You've come to check on the status of the mass-produced KOS-MOS units,
correct?" the elder man asks.
"It's taken two years to get them to the final stages of their
development," Margulis speaks as he approaches one of the containers.
"If the original archetype had not been destroyed two years ago, then
the Project would have begun sooner."
"That's not true, Margulis," the Patriarch tells him. "The truth is,
the destruction of the Original Archetype was always a part of the
Project, it was necessary for the creation of the 'Alpha' and the
'Omega.'"
"The First and the Last," the inquisitor translates, "in other words,
you originally planned for there to be two prototype KOS-MOS units and
then base the mass production of the KOS-MOS Project to be based on
those two, correct?"
"That isn't entirely true," the Patriarch corrects him. "There must
always be a balance between things in the universe; with light there is
also darkness, with life there is death, with good there is evil. Do
you remember the 'Old Prophecy' of our Sect, Margulis?"
"'When the torch of Mankind's existence has nearly come to an end, a
Great Evil shall come about to extinguish the remaining light. In that
moment of darkness, the Army of the Devil shall rise from the bowels of
existence and unleash the Apocalypse. Before darkness fully engulfs
existence however, the light will be rekindled by our Savior and her
children, driving the Great Evil away from the Universe. Peace will be
restored, all traces of the Great Evil becoming less than dust for the
rest of Eternity,'" Margulis quotes. "If I understand correctly, you
are making the two prototypes the embodiment of that prophecy?"
"That's correct," the old man nods. "The Great Evil, KOS-MOS Unit
00-00-00-00-1, a machine that greatly strives to become human, while
our Savior, KOS-MOS Unit 00-00-00-00-0, a machine that accepts her
fate, and her children, the mass produced KOS-MOS Units, they were all
created as a reinactment of the 'Old Prophecy.' For the Army of the
Devil, who better to play the part than the Gnosis? When the Zohar
Project is complete, the people shall then place their trust in Ormus,
allowing us to take our rightful places as rulers of the Universe. Of
course, the Federation Government wishes to take our plan for their own
selfish ambitions, to further influence their power throughout the
Universe."
"Yes, Your Holiness," the scarred man agrees, "the fools of the
Federation Government have no intentions of restoring faith in the
people, all they wish is to manipulate them further for their own
ambitions."
'Is that the true nature for the Zohar Project?' I think to myself.
'Or was what the Patriarch said a lie that was fed to them by my former
superiors? Whatever the case may be, the result is the same; millions,
if not billions, of innocent people will die, regardless of which
version may be true. I'm not sure if the Federation Government knows
this though; the research conducted by Dr. Mizrahi regarding the Zohar
is hidden away in MOMO and Canaan, and that information isn't complete
either. The two only contain a quarter of the Y-Data altogether, an
eighth is in the hands of my former employers, and the rest...'
"Who's down there?" Margulis calls down to the level below me.
The lights in the entire area turn on now, Margulis and the Patriarch
quickly spot me a second later. I waste little time after they see me,
running to the door to the south and quickly opening it. I find myself
in a metal walkway now, with several more joining it at the end. The
alarm begins to siren throughout the entire facility now, along with
the voice of the Patriarch.
"KOS-MOS Unit 00-00-00-00-1 has escaped!" he announces through the
intercom system. "She was last located on B1 of the Mass-Production
Lab. All Inquisitors are ordered to capture her, but do not kill her.
I repeat, KOS-MOS Unit..."
Men in black robes begin to appear from the other walkways in front of
me now. Some are armed with short swords, others with partisans, but
none with firearms. I ready my blaster at this point and begin to run
down my walkway. I set the blast to high again and quickly aim at the
closest linking walkway, my shot striking its base. The metal bridge
begins to tilt a second later, the entire thing falling soon after due
to the weight of all those men. I do the same with the next three
walkways I come across, the result being the same with each.
The men from the rest of the walkways have already made their way onto
mine. I point my gun in front of me at this point and begin firing,
not caring where I aim. Three of the five shots I fire find themselves
on the two leading inquisitors, but the falling of their bodies does
nothing to slow the others down. I try to fire again, but my weapon
only clicks as I pull the trigger. I release my blaster from my grasp
at this point and edge my hand toward my sword.
The crowd of enemies only draws closer with every step, the crowd
becoming one member short the moment I free my blade from its
restraint. The body of the inquisitor I just killed falls off the
railing of the walkway after I cut him, but it leaves an opening for
the next one. This one tries to lunge at me with a spear, my sword
barely swinging back in time to deflect the lunge. My left hand takes
hold of the pole part of the weapon at this time and pulls the
individual in. I bring my forehead to his nose at this point, a river
of blood escaping after, but instead of slashing him like his
predecessor, I grab him by the collar and throw him off the side of the
walkway.
A flash of metal is seen through the edge of my eye after I recover, my
knees lower and my body following so that I may duck past the swing of
my latest assailant. Before he can follow with another swing, I plunge
my blade upward, stabbing it through his abdomen. I rise afterwards
and begin to push forward with all my might, the blade piercing through
his back as the tip meets with the next one behind him. I push my foot
into the chest of the body in front of me afterward, causing the two
corpses on my weapon to fall into the direction of the inquisitors in
front of me. The next four stumble to the ground after, leaving me
room to charge forward.
I swing my blade downward in a diagonal fashion, catching the next
inquisitor. My arm swings again afterward, this time to the side with
my weapon parallel to the ground, my body following the direction of
the slash so that I may also catch the ones behind me. My blade
continues to swing in all directions at this point; right, left, down,
up, wherever I swing, the sound of metal striking or a splash of blood
follows. The strength in my arms and legs begins to drain at this
point, but no matter how much they ache, I continue to move forward.
The number of enemies seems infinite, and I can't use my Ether in an
enclosed area like this because I may risk destroying my only means
toward the exit.
I notice at this time that the last one I had just plunged my blade
through is beginning to kneel to the floor, succumbing to the stab I
just inflicted. I begin to push my foot against his shoulder now, my
other following after, pushing all of my weight into him so that I may
leap into the air. Somehow I manage to jump across to the other side
of my assailants now. I return my blade to its sheath now and point my
palm at the inquisitors as my hand begins to tingle from the charging
of my Ether.
"La so lu te ve ta!" I chant.
A blast of aura escapes my hand at this point, the stream blasting
through the mass of enemies and the walkway. When the attack finally
settles, I find no signs of my assailants, along with a majority of the
bridge missing. I take a moment to catch my breath after this, but I
take no longer than a minute because more inquisitors might come in
through the south of here at any second. I pass through the door now
and find myself in a large concrete area, very different from the other
rooms I had passed earlier.
This one appears to be a warehouse with many large boxes are stored
here. Numerous cranes are placed here as well, but none of them seem
to be in working order at the moment. I can hear my own steps echo
throughout the area as I walk, there doesn't seem to be any other
signs of life. I travel further down the warehouse, but I don't see an
end in sight, nor do I see the entrance when I look back. I feel my
heart beginning to beat more slowly, my breathing becoming deeper, and
cold perspiration running down my brow. Eventually I come to the end
of the warehouse now to find another door.
"I'm impressed you've made it this far, KOS-MOS Unit 00-00-00-00-1," a
voice begins to echo throughout the area.
"Who's there?" I call.
A faint whistle begins to blow in my left ear now, a tiny glimmer from
the edge of my eye follows shortly. The glimmer grows brighter and I
begin to make out a flat shape that is parallel to the ground. I duck
once again to avoid the object, the device clinging to the wall behind
me in an angle. I remove the piece of metal from the partition after,
taking a second to inspect the object. It's the same kind of knife
that was used when I fought that female inquisitor earlier. There's no
doubt about it, the one who threw this is...
A figure engulfed in the shadows begins to drop to the surface now, the
figure landing several feet in front of me. White hair tied in a
single pig tail, pale white skin, and a black dress with many straps of
leather creating the skirt, the one that was responsible for my
capture.
"Orgulla...," her name barely escapes my lips.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
(MOMO's POV)
Each of us is silent as we sit in the transport to the Foundation. I
can see the tension between Jr. and Citrine, despite the fact that they
try to look calm. There's a spark in each of their eyes, as if it were
leftover from their past, like a rivalry that was never settled. No,
this goes beyond a simple squabble between family members, this is
something deeper.
"Any minute now," Citrine says, loading a new clip into her pistol.
I can't help but feel unsettled as I watch Jr. and Citrine, that look
in his eyes is similar to the glare he always gave Albedo. I'm afraid
he may explode in any second, just like that time when he rescued me.
I see his hands beginning to ball into fists as he stares at her, but
she simply closes her eyes and rests her head against the wall of the
transport. I place my hand on Jr.'s, averting his gaze toward me and
causing his fist to loosen.
"Jr., about what happened earlier...," I try to explain what happened
between me and Ziggy.
"Hey, don't worry about it," he tells me, doing his best to give me a
smile, "it's not my place to choose who you've given your heart too.
If that's your decision, then I completely stand by you for it."
"No Jr., how I feel about Ziggy is not the same as how I feel about..."
"It looks like we've arrived," Jin informs us before I can explain.
I look out the window of the transport and find the station already in
chaos. The civilians are panicking, running around as they try to
avoid the four Gnosis that occupy the area. Some are crushed by the
Gnosis, others are grabbed and shatter, turning into salt after being
touched by the Gnosis for a few seconds. I ready my baton as the
transport finally comes to a stop, Jr. and Citrine taking to the door,
their guns already pointed in preparation of what may be waiting for us
outside.
As soon as the door to the transport opens, the two immediately open
fire on the first Gnosis they see. The giant yellow creature falls
back for a moment, but it tries to swing forward with one of its large
appendages in an effort to counterattack. We all roll to the sides of
the transport so that we can dodge the attack. Jin then takes his
sword at this time and swipes down on the arm with all his might,
severing it from the rest of the Gnosis's body. The monster emits a
loud screech afterwards, staggering back for a moment as it tries to
recover from the pain of losing its arm. Citrine and Jr. move in at
this moment, unloading several shots into the creature until it falls,
disappearing into the atmosphere after. We take this opportunity to
get out of the transport car at this time, only to find ourselves
standing before a larger Gnosis.
Before either of us can make a move, a stream of light suddenly strikes
the side of the Gnosis, diverting its attention away from us. I turn
to the source of the light to find Miyuki with a bow-like weapon in her
hands and Allen. The Gnosis begins to rush towards them now, the next
shot that Miyuki uses has no effect on it at all. Jr. chases after the
monster, unloading the rest of the ammo in his guns until it falls to
the floor. I turn to Citrine now who stands in front of a single
Gnosis with a halo-like device floating above its head and two long
swords in its arms. She doesn't move as the creature walks toward her,
her body still not flinching as it brings its weapons downward. Before
the blades can meet with her however, her arm quickly rises, the gun in
her pistol unloading several rapid shots, causing the creature to fall
after. I turn around to find Jin dealing with the final Gnosis,
slicing it in two before it could make a single move. With the current
threat now over, Jr., Citrine, Jin, and I rush over to Miyuki and
Allen.
"You guys all right?" Jr. asks.
"I thought we were gonna die back there!" Allen breathes a sigh of
relief.
"Oh Allen, you're exaggerating," Miyuki tells him as she swings her
hand into his back. "If it weren't for my invention..."
"You almost got us killed with that thing!" Allen interrupts.
"At least you're still alive," I interrupt the two.
"Have either of you seen Shion?" Jin asks.
"The Chief? No, we thought she was with you," Miyuki answers. "We saw
Ziggy, Canaan, and chaos though, they went to Sectors 26 and 27 where
the main threat is. They're still trying to get some of the civilians
to safety. Gaignun Kukai's over there too, he said there was a machine
or something that was hovering over the area and wanted to check it out
personally."
"Albedo...," Jr. growls.
"So the weakling is already here," Citrine scoffs. "Our little reunion
will be sooner than expected."
"In any case, this area is dangerous now," Jin informs the two. "We'd
appreciate it if you help the civilians in the vicinity get to the
Durandal."
"All right, we'll do what we can," Allen says.
"MOMO, take this," Miyuki hands me her weapon. "It's an old invention
of mine, it's similar to KOS-MOS's sword in the fact that the base of
its power is based on one's own Ether power."
"Thanks," I take the bow.
"Let's get going!" Jr. orders.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
(Canaan's POV)
Sometimes I wonder what I'm doing here, I wonder why I must do such
redundant tasks. Throughout my existence I have always done what my
superiors have asked me, whether it was escorting a high-ranked officer
of the government to providing firing support for soldiers on the
battlefield. My superiors say that there is a great purpose for me
taking these operations, a purpose that is vital to the entire human
race. My true mission they said was to find the ones with the
"potential," the ones who had "shining wills" so to speak, the ones
that...
"How many more are there?" my old partner asks, interrupting my
thoughts.
"I estimate approximately two-hundred and counting," I answer as I look
through the scope of my rifle.
"He seems to be taking care of most of them," Nigredo points out.
I look through the rifle scope once again to find a large beam of
energy beginning to rain down on the legion of Gnosis. A large blast
follows seconds after, each of the beings succumbing to the fire that
is created. Many, however, still remain. I turn to the source of the
attack to find an unknown A.M.W.S. hovering above them. Several
A.G.W.S. from the Kukai Foundation begin to fly towards at it with
their weapons attacking. The bullets from their craft don't seem to
affect the enemy. Several capsules escape the wings of the unknown
machine at this point, these capsules surrounding the A.G.W.S. and then
unleashing lasers upon the party. In a single blast, the A.G.W.S. are
destroyed and the unknown craft begins attacking the Gnosis again.
"He also seems to be attacking our men as well," I report. "Is this
the embodiment of the saying 'all is fair in love and war?' If it is,
I'm not laughing."
"Actually, I've never seen you laugh once, Canaan," chaos tries to
joke.
"Gaignun, it's too dangerous for someone of your stature to be here,"
Ziggurat 8 informs the Kukai Foundation's Director. "I advise that you
evacuate the facility immediately."
"I appreciate your concern, Ziggurat 8, but I'm afraid I have a score
to settle with the one inside that craft," Gaignun tells him. "If I
hadn't given in to my fear back then, there may have been a chance
that..."
"Nigredo...," chaos calls him by his old name.
"I seem to be getting a transmission," I switch on my radio.
"Hello, is anyone there? Respond?" Rubedo's voice echoes on the other
line.
"Jr., where have you been?" Nigredo swipes the radio out of my hands.
"I've been trying to contact you through telepathy for the last half
hour. I wanted you to..."
"Now this is a sight to see, Nigredo ordering around our 'beloved
leader,'" another voice echoes over the line.
"Citrine...?"
"Gaignun, forgot about that for now, what's your status over there?"
Rubedo interrupts. "Gaignun?"
"Oh, uh, the civilians are safe," he answers after a moment of
hesitation, "we've gathered them in a single area in Sector 27, but
Albedo and several hundred Gnosis have blocked off our escape. We're
running low on reinforcements on the south side of the sector; we've
been trying to replace them, but doing so would lower our A.G.W.S.
defenses outside the Foundation."
"Leave the outside to my men," Citrine orders on the other line.
"The transport we're using is currently five miles from your current
position, we'll arrive from the south of your current locale."
"No, don't come over here!" he suddenly orders in a frantic manner.
"Jr., no matter what you do, don't bring Citrine here! You have
to...!"
"We've got trouble," I interrupt.
The unknown craft begins to fly toward us now, but it does so at a slow
pace. I load a new clip into my rifle now, loading it with
Armor-Piercing Anti-A.M.W.S. rounds. I aim the scope at what looks
like the core of the craft and fire a single shot. The bullet meets
its mark, but ricochets off the machine. I aim my rifle elsewhere on
the machine's body now, aiming for the small crack that links the arm
and body. I aim directly for one of the cables inside it, but the
bullet ricochets once more. I place the scope's sight over the central
device on the head now, but the result is the same as the last. The
craft has almost approached us now, but unfortunately none of my
bullets are working.
"What's this about Citrine?" the pilot's voice echoes from within the
craft. "The nerve of that wench showing up here!"
"Get out of here, Albedo!" he orders.
"You want me to leave so soon, you're not a very good host, are you?"
he taunts. "After all I've done to get rid of these annoying insects.
Why look, here come some more."
I turn my attention back to the Gnosis legions outside the city and see
them traveling faster at an alarming rate. With the last wave of
A.G.W.S. on this line wiped out by the unknown A.M.W.S. craft, the only
thing that can really hold them back now is my rifle. I extract the
current clip in my gun now and replace it with Anti-Gnosis rounds,
opening fire upon loading. I don't bother to concentrate on aiming, I
know that my bullets will hit at least one Gnosis, there isn't any time
to aim properly. After only seven shots though, the energy rain from
the enemy craft falls once again, this time engulfing all of the Gnosis
in the vicinity. I look up now, away from the scope of my weapon to
find the enemy A.M.W.S. now hovering above us, its pilot lowering
himself down before us.
"Freeze!" the Foundation soldiers immediately point their guns at the
white-haired individual.
"Now now, cool your jets," the man says in a mocking tone, "you're
taking this way too seriously."
"Look you...!" one of the soldiers spits.
"That's enough," Nigredo orders his men, trying to regain his cool.
"Albedo, what do you want?"
"I come here on business today, little baby," Albedo taunts. "The last
time I came was for pleasure, but I'm afraid I have a job to do here
today."
"And what kind of job is that?" Nigredo demands.
"That's for me to know and you to find out."
"Don't give me that, talk!"
"And what will you do if I don't?" Albedo continues to tease.
One of the soldiers opens fire at this point, shooting at his arm. The
limb falls to the floor after, but the man simply flinches after being
shot. The arm on the ground begins to disintegrate shortly after, the
arm regrowing on the stub at the same time. His other hand takes hold
of his wrist at this time, popping the bones in his shoulder by pulling
at it. The same soldier begins to shake now, unloading several more
shots, these ones meeting with his head, shoulder, and leg. Holes are
left where the bullets impacted, along with small rivers of blood. The
holes quickly patch up in the same manner as his arm, a smirk falling
upon his face as the wounds heal.
"Ooohoohoo, that tingles, hehehe hehehe heh," Albedo chuckles.
"That's enough, you'll only provoke him further," Nigredo orders his
men.
"Albedo!" I turn around to find Rubedo, MOMO, Jin, and an unknown
woman.
"Well well, if it isn't little Rubedo," Albedo chuckles once again.
"And the self-centered wench, Citrine."
"Jr., I told you not...!" Nigredo begins to yell at the red-haired
Variant.
"Is that you're idea of a comeback, weakling?" the woman scoffs,
interrupting Nigredo. "You're as pathetic as ever."
"Not as pathetic as you, fourteen years ago," Albedo retorts. "Tell
me, how bad is the hospital food, seeing how you've probably eaten it
everyday until now."
"Your comebacks are still terrible," Citrine sighs, "I thought you
would come up with at least one good comeback after all these years."
"Why you insolent...!"
Another bullet strikes Albedo, this one causing his entire head to
explode. I turn back to Citrine who holds her a pistol in front of
her, the barrel hissing with smoke. I turn back to Albedo to find his
head once again regenerating. The smile he wore when he was shot
earlier is not on his face this time, his expression now filled with
anger.
"You have no right to speak with me," she says in a harsh tone. "One
who has allowed themself to fall from the grace of our original cause
is not worth my time. As a surviving member of the U.R.T.V. Forces, I
shall destroy you."
"How noble of you," the white-haired man cracks his neck, "you always
stuck to the mission back then, you never allowed personal matters to
get in their way. Now that I have made contact with U-DO, your mission
has become personal. Too bad you can't accomplish that mission, I
can't die after all."
"I have to hand it to you, not many can survive a blast from a gun like
this," Citrine continues. ".50 caliber Desert Eagle Action Express, a
small step up from the .45's we got back then. Eight shots per clip, I
wonder how many you can take before your head stop growing back again?"
She begins to fire once again, but Albedo leaps into the air to avoid
the first two shots. I take my rifle now and set it to AUTO,
unleashing a burst of rounds into the air. Others begin to unload
their weapons on the man as well, but his body regenerates with every
shot that is fired. He stretches his arms after, his palms beginning
to glow a light purple. Small beams begin to escape his hands at this
point, each of them striking the ground before us and filling our
vision with smoke. I switch my vision to infrared mode, finding our
enemy landing in the smoke. His claw-like hands embed themselves into
a soldier, tearing out a string-like structure as he extracts it from
his body. Another soldier tries to fire upon him again, but his
efforts are useless as Albedo returns the favor with another blast from
his hand. The smoke clears for the most part now, the only ones that
remain are myself, Nigredo, Rubedo, chaos, Jin, MOMO, Citrine, and
Ziggurat 8.
"You're quite pathetic, relying on your dogs to take care of me,"
Albedo boasts.
Jin tries to rush in at this point, his blade taking a swing at
Albedo's torso. Though the blade meets with its intended target, our
enemy simply laughs it off, his hand wrapping around Jin's neck
afterward. Ziggurat 8 rushes in after, I try to give fire support by
switching my gun back to MANUAL so that I may get more accurate shots.
Two shots meet with Albedo's arm, freeing Jin from his grasp
immediately. Ziggurat 8 has come within striking distance now, his
mechanical fist meeting with our opponent's abdomen. The punch stuns
the man for a moment, allowing Jin to slice his weapon downward,
splitting him clean in half.
The two halves quickly pull back together however, his maniacal laugh
escaping his lips after his body reforms. The back of his right hand
strikes Jin now, sending him backward and into the ground, his left
hand catching Ziggurat 8's next punch. Nigredo picks up a fallen
soldier's rifle at this point and begins to open fire. Albedo simply
lets the bullets hit, laughing as each projectile meets with his body.
Getting tired of taking the bullets, he tosses Ziggurat 8 at Nigredo,
sending them both to the ground. The enemy begins to approach me now,
taking his time as he simply walks. Rubedo, Citrine, and I try to
unload all of our ammo into him, but it only causes him to stagger a
little. In a matter of seconds, I find my rifle only clicking when I
pull the trigger. Before I can back away to escape, his fist meets
with my chin, his foot then striking at my chest. The kick catches me
off guard, pushing me in the direction of the still standing U.R.T.V.
units, sending all of us to the floor.
I try to push myself back up, but I find my legs unable to move after
that last attack. Our nemesis begins to approach MOMO now, chaos
quickly pushing her behind him.
"Beautiful, isn't it, ma peche," the man asks as he holds his hand
toward her. "This pain, so sweet, so alive. This emotion, I love it;
the look of fear, the feeling of agony, pain can bring about the most
expressions to the human soul. Do you know this feeling, this feeling
of helplessness, of fear, of agony, you recall it don't you? Ah, the
sweet expression when you were in my embrace, surely you cannot have
forgotten it already, have you?"
The young realian tries to cover her ears as the man speaks, her body
slowly inching away as she turns her face away from his. chaos tries
to stay close to her, moving as she moves, trying to silence Albedo's
voice with his own.
"Don't listen to him, MOMO, close your ears," he orders. "Ignore what
he says, don't..."
"Ignore, how can she?" Albedo continues. "Her ears need not remind her
of what she felt that day. Look at how her body trembles in my
presence, how her eyes burn with tears and hatred, she needs not my
words when she remembers everything with a simple spark to remind
her."
"Get away from her you monster!" Rubedo screams.
The red-haired U.R.T.V. returns to his feet in an instant now, his body
fully charging forward with his shoulder leading the way. His attempt
to attack fails unfortunately, our enemy simply turning his body to the
side to evade the attack. Before he can recover however, the claw-like
hands embed themselves into Rubedo's abdomen. The young realian
watches in horror as the villain lifts Rubedo into the air with his
embedded hand, but chaos takes little time to react upon seeing this
action.
"Unleash a fragment of thy power!" he chants.
His hands glow a bright blue at this point, his arms swinging forward
in full force. The blue light within his hands escapes after the
swing, the light turning into a burst of energy that runs through
Albedo's body. The attack removes Albedo's arm from his body, freeing
Jr. in the process, but chaos doesn't end his attack there. His fist
meets with Albedo's face next, the punch causing him to stagger.
Another punch follows, this one meeting with the other cheek. More
punches immediately follow, striking him in the abdomen, face, and
other parts of the body. chaos continues his attack relentlessly, not
giving Albedo a chance to counter at all.
"You're a monster!" chaos screams at him as his assault continues.
"Wishing to bring pain onto others all for the sake of your own
pleasure, how dare you! You had no right to bring about such sadness
onto others with your actions, you had no right to destroy the lives
you brought injury too with your own hands! Why do you wish to bring
pain onto others so badly? You couldn't have always been like this...
Why, Albedo, why do you wish to force your own pain unto those who
aren't involved?!" he asks, bringing his fist upward, striking his jaw.
Albedo falls backward after the uppercut, his back quickly meeting with
the floor. Everyone begins to recover from their injuries at this
point, barely returning to their feet. Albedo begins to rub the last
spot that chaos struck, spitting out a trickle of blood after doing so.
"I felt that punch; you're no ordinary boy, are you?" Albedo asks.
"Who are you?" he staggers back to his feet.
chaos rushes in afterwards, Albedo trying to strike first by going for
a lunge with his sharpened nails. The stab misses, allowing chaos to
begin another assault on Albedo. He begins with a knee attack to his
chest, followed by a backhand to the face. An uppercut to the stomach
follows after the backhand strike, the punch bringing Albedo into the
air, his body supported by chaos's arm. A splash of crimson escape
Albedo's mouth after this strike, the blood splattering onto his
attacker's hair. His eyes begin to shut now, his arms and legs growing
limp. chaos begins to lower his arm now, slowly lowering Albedo to the
floor.
"Who I am is not what I am," he answers Albedo's question now. "I am a
wayward soul, one who simply wishes to escape the shackles that bind
me. I am one who has not been given a choice in the way I live, I
simply exist for the task I was born to fulfill, much like you and your
siblings. Unlike you however, the ability choose is impossible for me,
and for that I envy you. May your heart and soul find peace, even if
that peace is but a short one..."
"chaos...," Jin stands still, observing his friend.
"Is everyone okay?" chaos turns his attention toward everyone else now.
"I guess so," Rubedo answers, still staggering from his wound.
"Jr.!" the young realian runs toward him, her arms quickly wrapping
around him. "Thank goodness you're okay."
"Yeah, I'm fine," he tries to assure her.
"I guess we're all okay then," Ziggurat 8 approaches them.
"Can you stand?" Nigredo approaches me.
"I hate to say it, but can you give me a hand?" I ask.
Nigredo pulls me up to my feet, wrapping my arm around his shoulder so
that my feet can touch the floor. I turn to where Albedo lies at this
point, Citrine standing over him with her pistol pointed at him.
"The threat may be over now, but what do we do about him?" Citrine asks
the others. "As badly as I want to finish him, I know a bullet to the
head won't stop him, despite what I said earlier."
"I don't know, but we have to dispose of him as quickly as possible!"
Nigredo answers, his face soaked in perspiration. "In the meantime,
we'll have to keep him under strict captivity. Ziggurat 8, take Albedo
to the Prison Block on the Durandal. chaos, I'd like you to accompany
him in case he regains consciousness."
"All right," chaos nods. "Come on, Ziggy, this way."
The two begin to leave the area at this time, my eyes never leaving
them for a second. That hidden strength within chaos, in all the years
I've known him, I've never seen him use such a thing. His readings
were off the chart, but he didn't seem to have the "potential." The
analysis of Ziggurat 8 I did nearly a century ago revealed that he did
have the "will." Albedo and Citrine have already used the potential of
their "wills," everything is going to plan so far, but the search for
the final one continues. Nigredo is not a possible candidate, nor is
anyone else here. Though I must wonder what is wrong with Nigredo,
suddenly starting to panic when the other three Variants were coming
toward him. No matter, I have a mission to accomplish. I was told
that the one who possesses the final "potential" was amongst this
group, but I have yet to encounter...
"Hey, are you guys all right?" a stranger's voice catches my ear.
"Allen, I thought you were helping the civilians at the station escape
to the Durandal," MOMO says to the man.
"Miyuki said I was only getting in the way, she said I should probably
head over here when it looked safe to help you guys with the civilians
over here," he explains. "Come to think of it, I think she just said
that to get rid of me."
"Don't be so hard on yourself, Allen," the young realian tries to
assure him, "I'm sure she didn't mean it like that."
This man, Allen, he seems like an incompetent individual. Clumsy,
stupid, and a burden, and yet there is something else about him. This
feeling, this sensation, it's similar to the ones I had in the past,
similar to the readings of Citrine and Albedo fourteen years ago.
Allen Ridgeley, could it be that he is the one I'm searching for? If
it is indeed true, then my mission shall come to an end shortly. Very,
very shortly...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
(Elly's POV)
"I'm glad you remembered my name, KOS-MOS Unit 00-00-00-00-1," my
opponent smirks.
"Don't call me that!" I seethe.
"This truly is amusing," she begins to chuckle, "a machine trying to
act as if she were angry. What am I saying, 'she,' machines don't even
have a gender. Sure they may take the form of human beings, but..."
"Shut up!" I scream at her. "Who are you to judge me when you know
nothing about me, what gives you the right to do so?"
"And what doesn't give me the right?" she retorts. "Realians have
their rights, humans have their rights, but where does it say anywhere
in the Miltian Charter or any other government document that machines
have rights? Machines are nothing more than tools that are meant to be
used by their creators, and tools exist simply to be used for a certain
purpose. Hammers drive things into surfaces, guns are meant to kill, a
television is meant to entertain, and what is your purpose, KOS-MOS
Unit 00-00-00-00-1? What is your reason to exist?"
Her last statement makes me pause, my mind beginning to contemplate on
what she just said. I was originally created as a weapon, but I no
longer wish to go through with that role any longer. Why else do I
exist? Was there something I was born to do in this universe? Am I
just supposed to be the pawn I was originally created to be?
"...I don't know yet, but I do know this, my purpose is not to fulfill
your organization's needs, nor is it in any way to support the Zohar
Project!"
"Damn machine, know your place!"
She draws her energy blade at the moment, her swing barely missing my
arm. I draw my blade the moment she tries to follow with a second
slash, the strike coming to a halt as our weapons lock. I swing my
blade's sheath at this time, but my attack misses leaving my left arm
open. Before I can recover, she draws her dagger, the blade skidding
across the surface of my arm. The cut causes me to wince, causing me
to lower my blade for a second, giving her enough time to ready for
another swing. I try to dodge the next slash, jumping back as far as I
can, but her energy blade still manages to meet with my right shoulder.
The cut almost causes me to drop my blade, but I manage to recover from
this wound faster than the last.
"I could care less about what His Holiness's orders are," she spits,
"I'm going to rip you to shreds. I'm going to smash your face, gouge
your eyes, peel of your nails, rip off each of your fingers and limbs,
I'll make sure you'll never fulfill your purpose, no matter what it may
be!"
Her words make my blood boil even further, the grip around my weapon
tightening as her threats replay in my head. I find my body charging
forward once again, this time with both of my hands grasping the hilt
of my sword. The edge begins to grind against the ground as I run,
sparks igniting as it slides against the concrete surface. She simply
stands there with both of her blades at her side, not moving a single
inch. Finally I swing upward, but it is at this moment I realize I've
fallen for a trap. She blocks my sword with her dagger, her energy
blade then slicing downward. Again I try to jump out of it's path, but
the weapon still manages to slice off a majority of the right side of
my skirt and barely cut my leg. I reach for my gun on the garter on my
left leg after, only to find nothing there. I then remember that I
dropped it back in the walkway so that I could draw my sword, and then
I destroyed the walkway with an Ether attack after, destroying my
firearm with it.
By the time I turn my attention toward Orgulla once more, I find her
already within arm's reach of me. Both of her weapons swing upward
this time in an "X" formation, the blades barely missing as I jump away
again. I try to retaliate soon after, jumping forward once more with a
lunging attack. She manages to evade my strike with a simple step to
the left and tries to counter with an overhead strike with both
weapons. Before either of the weapons can come down, I release my left
hand's hold on my sword and jam my elbow into her ribs. The elbow
strike manages to stun her, allowing me to follow with a swing of my
blade. The edge swings upward from the right, the swing ending at her
shoulder. After remembering what happened the last time we fought, I
continue with another slash, this one being a swing downward from the
right shoulder to her left side. A third swing follows, this one a
slice parallel to the ground, and my find attack being a rising slash
upward. Geysers of crimson erupt from the newly-created wounds, a
splash of the same substance escapes her lips as she falls to the
ground.
I wait several moments with my sword ready, waiting for her to return
to her feet. After several seconds of waiting, she begins to push
herself off the ground. Her entire body trembles as she tries to pick
herself back up, her mouth hacking up more blood as she does so. She
finally manages to push herself back to her feet, but her entire body
looks like it's ready to collapse at any moment. I take this
opportunity to strike once again, but just like the last time, she
drops all of her weapons the moment my swing misses. She tries to grab
my arm again, but I release my left hand again from my weapon and curl
it into a fist, my knuckles quickly meeting with the bridge of her
nose. The punch leaves her stunned once more, allowing me to strike
her with my blade once again.
She goes down once again after this strike, her right hand quickly
taking her dagger off the floor the moment she falls. My opponent
tries to hurl the blade at my foot, but I manage to step away from it
with ease. More blood begins to escape her mouth again, but again she
returns to her feet. She takes her sword off the ground once more and
I prepare for her next attack.
"Ah!" she suddenly cries in pain, crackles of electricity beginning to
escape her body. "Stay out of it, Manes!" she screams as she pushes
her palms against her skull.
The electricity comes to a stop soon after, her body no longer
staggering. The color in her eyes has changed just as it did last
time, changed to an ice blue. The blade in her hand no longer glows a
bright green, but glowing the same color as her eyes. The blade has
grown in length and width, the weapon's blade as tall as her. Her form
suddenly disappears from sight, but in the blink of an eye, I find it
right in front of me with her giant blade swinging over her head. I
quickly raise my sword at this point in an attempt to block. I do
manage to catch the attack, but the strength of her swing is still
strong enough to push me back and lower my weapon to the ground. She
moves again soon after this, this time her palm strikes me.
The force behind the blow pushes all of the air out of lungs and pushes
me against the air. After several seconds, I find my entire back
pressed against the surface of one of the steel boxes, a large jolt of
pain crawling up my entire spine. I find her disappearing before my
sight again, reappearing a second later in front of me once more. I
barely manage to dodge this attack and try to counter, but her palm
once again strikes me, this time near my abdomen. Again I get pushed
back, meeting with the surface of the wall that leads toward the exit.
I fall to the ground after, my arms barely stopping my fall before my
nose meets with the floor. I find her approaching me once more, but
this time she walks toward me with her weapon pointed to the side.
I try to force myself back up, my legs barely able to sustain the
weight of the rest of my body as I return to my feet. I ready my
sword once more, bringing it to my side. Just holding my blade feels
as if I'm lifting several tons, I can barely keep it steady. My entire
body is trembling, I'm barely able to sustain myself from falling back
toward the floor. I don't know how much longer I can last, this new
strength of hers must have a weakness, but what? The weight of her
blade should prevent her from following up with a second slash soon
after swinging it, but I don't have the strength to block it.
Countering soon after is impossible too, she'll simply attack with a
palm strike. There has to be a way I can use her palm strike against
her.
Before I can think of anything, I find her already swinging her blade
once again. I step away from the strike like last time, my arms
instantly reacting my going for another swing of my sword. Her palm
begins to push forward again at this moment, but she fails to realize
that I didn't go for the full swing of my weapon. I quickly bring my
blade in front of me now, the edge of the weapon facing her palm. Her
hand engraves itself into the edge of my sword, her voice screaming in
agony as it sticks there. I extract the blade soon after, slicing
upward toward her shoulder. She staggers after the swing, falling
forward after my weapon slashes her side. She tries to counter
afterwards with a lunge of her giant weapon, but I easily manage to
dodge the attack. I swing downward on her wrist afterward, striking
the flat side of the blade with all my strength, sending her weapon to
the ground. I follow with another slash now, barely missing her collar
bone. More swings follow, each one causing her to stagger further and
erupting a new blast of scarlet each time. Finally after ten more
attacks, she falls to the ground, a large lake of ruby forming around
her.
I find my entire body drenched in my own sweat and my lungs heavy. I
wait for her to return to her feet again, waiting several moments. Her
arm begins to lift up again and I ready my sword once again. Her legs
do not move though, nor does her other arm. The only other thing that
moves is her mouth and her voice flowing along with it.
"Da...damn you... Sellers..."
Her arm falls back to the floor afterward, her entire body becoming
still. The heaving of her chest seems to stop at this time, as do any
other signs of movement. I turn back toward the exit, finding the
sheath for my sword on the ground. I place the weapon back in its
restraint and make my way through the door.
Amazingly, the entire hangar has no guards patrolling it whatsoever.
At the end of the hangar I find my craft standing there. I run to the
end of the hall and toward the machine, punching in its start code from
the control panel it's connected to. The cockpit opens at this point
and a rope with a foot rest lowers toward me. I place my foot on the
rest and tug, causing it to pull me toward the cockpit.
Wasting little time, I activate the controls for my craft. The moment
I turn on the controls however, the machine begins to start up. I try
to set them to manual, but it refuses my input. I try to operate the
control sticks as well, but moving them does nothing. I then look at
the destination screen on the right hand side of the cockpit chair and
it reads a location. It reads, "Labyrinthos, Miltia."
"Labyrinthos, why?" I pound my fist against the controls. "Unless...
No, they didn't plan on me escaping, did they?"
The engine begins to run now and the hangar doors begin to open. I
frantically try to change the course once again, but the controls still
refuse to accept my input. E.S. Dinah begins to move now, walking
toward the air lock. I try to move the control stick away from there
again, but like the previous attempts, nothing happens. Before I can
try anything else, however, one of the controls begins to flash a
bright red. I activate the switch and Miang's portrait appears on the
main screen.
"Hello again, Elly," my sister greets me.
"Miang, what's going on here?!" I frantically ask her. "The controls
for the Dinah, they're not...!"
"I know, Elly," she tells me, "I did that."
"What, why?!"
"I'm sorry, Elly, but I'm simply following my orders," she apologizes.
"No, not just orders, this is part of your role too, this is, just as
my master said, your destiny."
"What about you telling me to protect Shion," I ask, "I can't protect
her if...!"
"Mother is heading in your direction right now," she interrupts, "I
know this because she is with one of our operatives right now."
"Operatives?" I ask. "Wait, you can't mean...!"
"The 'Pale Horse' has been assigned to the task," she answers. "Don't
worry, you'll be reunited with Mother and your friends soon."
"That's not the point!" I yell at her. "We both know what she's
capable of, what she can do to the others of her kind."
"I'm sorry, Elly, but..."
"Don't give me that 'I'm just following orders' talk again! You've
just sent all of them to their graves by sending her!"
"I'm sorry, Elly," she apologizes again. "The 'White Horse' is there
as well. It's best that you hurry so that you may save them."
"Miang, wait!"
"Good luck, Elly," my sister's transmission ends.
The door to the hangar opens now and my craft begins moving once more.
The next thing I know, I'm flying forward, but for some reason, I'm not
flying in hyper space. I try to activate the controls once more,
trying to get at least the communications up and running so that I may
call back Miang.
"Great!" I strike the control panel once again.
I can't believe it, they already sent the "Pale Horse," and they even
sent the "White Horse" as well. This can't be good, this is definitely
not what I expected so soon. If only I hadn't left Shion and the
others, I would've been there too... No, it's too late for regrets, I
have to focus on saving them now. Shion, everyone, please, be safe...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
(Jr.'s POV)
"Don't the stars look nice out tonight, Rubedo?"
"I guess," I answered. "Stars are just balls of gas that are being
burned in the atmosphere or something like that, Sakura."
"There's more to life than just facts, Rubedo," Sakura said. "I mean,
life wouldn't be exciting if everything was simply all about them.
Imagination is what can make things interesting; without it, there is
no such thing as curiosity, no such thing as invention."
"I think I see what you mean."
"Hey Rubedo, where's your mother?" she suddenly asked. "Your dad's Dr.
Yuriev, right, but where's your mom?"
"...I don't know much about my mom really," I admitted. "All that I
really know is that she had a good set of chromosomes and healthy eggs.
I never really asked anything about her now that I think about it."
"Don't you ever wish you could ever meet her?"
"And what, meet her and say, 'congratulations, you're the mother of a
bunch of anti-U-DO weapons?'" I said sarcastically. "No, I don't think
there would be a point in meeting her; Albedo though, he wishes to meet
her someday, he wants to know all about her and possibly get to know
her. It's really pointless if you ask me, getting close to someone
when they're only going to die at some point."
"Don't say that, Rubedo," Sakura said, a hint of sadness in her voice.
"It's not pointless to get close to someone. Life is short, you can't
go on in life all by yourself. You need others to get by, so they can
support you, so that you can support them. People aren't perfect, they
can't do anything by themselves no matter how capable they are."
"Sakura..."
"Daydreaming I see," a voice interrupts in the present, "are you sure
you're the same Rubedo from fourteen years ago?"
"I wonder that too sometimes," I answer, turning to the female U.R.T.V.
who stands in the entrance of the park. "There are times I think that
U.R.T.V. #666 died fourteen years ago along with Sakura Mizrahi. I
keep telling myself that I'm Gaignun Kukai, Jr. now, but the ones who
remember my past self won't acknowledge that."
"Heh, it's just amusing to see you getting so philosophical," Citrine
scoffs, taking a seat beside me.
"Unlike you, Citrine, we've matured over the years," I turn around to
find Gaignun entering the park as well. "Can't you learn to get over
the past as we did?"
"No, I can't," she answers. "Our purpose for existing was to eradicate
U-DO, there's no way I can ever let that go. Yuriev told us back then
that we should do whatever it takes to accomplish that goal, no matter
what the cost, even if that cost is our own lives. However, when we
were finally given the chance to do so, you severed the link between
us, Rubedo!" she seethes. "You denied me my right to existence, you
stole my purpose in life, but that shouldn't matter, soon I will have
another chance to accomplish my goal."
"Whatever," I shrug.
"In any case, the remaining Gnosis have been exterminated," Gaignun
informs us, "I guess it's thanks to your men, Citrine. In any case,
Jr., let's prepare a landing party for the trip to Labyrinthos, we'll
be arriving on Old Miltia in half an hour."
"All right," I nod.
"I'll go too," Citrine suddenly volunteers.
"What for?" I ask.
"I told you I had another chance to accomplish my goal soon, didn't I?"
she reminds me.
"No arguments there, let's go," Gaignun orders.
Just like that huh? Something's definitely not right about this whole
situation. Citrine and her men just tried to raid this place before
the Gnosis attack, so why the sudden change in heart. And what's with
Gaignun just letting her come along with us in the landing party, he
knows about what her men tried to do too, not to mention he seems to
have forgotten to evacuate the civilians off the Foundation. Just what
is she up to, and what's wrong with Gaignun?
* * *
I begin to board the Elsa now, all of our preparations are complete. I
board the bridge to find the entire landing party there. The party
consists of chaos, the cyborg, MOMO, Canaan, Jin, Citrine, and myself.
The controls of the ship will be done by the Elsa's crew along with
Allen (despite how useless he may be).
"Everything's ready then," I inform everyone. "All right, let's take
off!" I order Captain Matthews.
"Not so fast," Citrine stops Tony from activating the ship's controls.
"I'm the one giving the orders here."
"Huh, what do you mean?" her last sentence angering me. "I'm in charge
here, just what makes you think...!"
"Oh, but she is in charge, Rubedo," a familiar voice echoes from the
speakers of the ship.
"Huh, who the heck is that?" Captain Matthews asks. "Hammer, where's
that voice coming from?"
"That's strange," Hammer says as he types on the control panel, "it's
coming from Master Gaignun's office."
"It's been a long time, Rubedo," the main screen finally reveals the
face of the voice.
"Gaignun?" the face puzzles me.
It is Gaignun on the screen, but something is different. The voice,
the tone and the pitch, it's not as deep as Gaignun's, it's more raspy.
The expression on his face too, it looks very bitter, and his hair,
it's not his usual black color, it's blond, a whitish blond, almost
like... No, that's not possible! He died fourteen years ago, I saw it
happen, I was there when Gaignun shot him, so why is here now?!
"It can't be... Yuriev?!" I exclaim.
"Yuriev?" the name confuses MOMO. "Who's that?"
"Dr. Dimitri Yuriev," chaos explains, "the scientist responsible for
the creation of the U.R.T.V. forces twenty-six years ago. He also did
research on U-DO prior to that. He donated his own genes for the
creation of the U.R.T.V.'s, in other words, he's also..."
"...the father of the U.R.T.V. forces," I finish.
"I'm not going to die, not now, not ever," Yuriev continues. "For now
I have to thank Nigredo for lending me his body, I knew something like
fourteen years ago would happen so I created a fail safe in case I was
betrayed, that fail safe being that my mind would be carried over to a
Variant of my choice."
"That doesn't sound possible," Jin tries to contemplate, "the
U.R.T.V.'s may be clones of you, but there isn't any feasible
explanation as to how your mind still exists without some sort of
surgery."
"A feasible explanation does in fact exist though," Yuriev explains.
"When I created the U.R.T.V. Variants, I had implanted each of them
and myself with nanomachines that constantly did a transaction of my
memories; in other words, the nanomachines copied my thoughts and
memories and stored them. When the nanomachines in my own mind ceased
to function with my death, this triggered a switch in the nanomachines
in the Variants, that switch allowing my mind to become active once the
four Variants were together. Rubedo and Nigredo were the only Variants
who were available at the time of my death, so my resurrection could
not occur right away. I had the choice of taking control of either
four of you when you all came in contact with one another again, but I
took Nigredo because of his position as Director of the Kukai
Foundation."
"Why you...!"
A burning sensation suddenly comes over me at this moment, the jolt
sending me to the floor. I feel as if my blood has turned into acid,
the air solidifying into boulders in my lungs, and my eyes housing an
inferno. I turn to Citrine who points her palm at me, her hand glowing
a pale yellow color. The others immediately try to draw their weapons,
but they are stopped by Yuriev's voice.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," he says. "The entire Kukai
Foundation is under my jurisdiction at the moment, and my men are also
stationed here. This entire facility is at my mercy, if you try
anything, I wouldn't hesitate to kill them all."
"You bastard!" my curses barely escape my lungs.
"What are you doing to him, stop it!" MOMO orders as she rushes to my
aid.
"Each U.R.T.V. Variant is given a special power," Citrine explains.
"Rubedo has the ability to control his cell growth, Albedo the power of
regeneration, and Nigredo is able to hypnotize others with his voice.
Do you know what mine was? The ability to control the bodily functions
of any of the U.R.T.V.'s. Right now I'm increasing the temperature of
the red blood cells in Rubedo's body, imagine what will happen if I
continue this for five more minutes."
"You damn bitch!" I curse again.
"I've also brought someone else along in case you can't see things my
way," she snaps her fingers.
The door to the bridge opens now, several of Yuriev's men walk in as
they carry a person with a bag over their head and their arms tied
behind their back. They push the person to the floor, removing the
concealment from their head after. The individual takes in a deep
breath after being freed, her face then pressed against the floor and a
rifle pointed at her head.
"Chief!" Allen exclaims.
"Shion!" Jin screams.
"Allen! Jin!" Shion cries.
"You bastards!" the Vector employee begins to charge forward.
"No, Allen, don't!" Jin warns him.
He charges in blindly, making a fist and trying to launch it toward one
of the soldiers. Unfortunately, the man easily evades his attack by
stepping to the side, the butt of his rifle meeting with Allen's
stomach after. That one blow is strong enough to send Allen kneeling
to the ground, the guard bringing the back of his gun to his spine
again to send him face first to the floor. He begins to push his foot
into his back after, the others beginning to turn their attention to
him now, only to stop the moment the other guard points his weapon at
them.
"As you can see, you have to do what we say from now on," Yuriev
smirks.
"...all right, what do you want us to do?" I ask.
The pain in my insides comes to a halt now, but no one tries to
retaliate this time.
"The Original Zohar," Yuriev explains. "I want it. Not just the
Zohar, but the records of Mizrahi's research, the Y-Data. Albedo has a
copy of what that 100-Series Prototype has, but the records contained
within that military realian you have has the next part of the
research."
"The next part?" the cyborg asks. "You mean that the Y-Data is divided
into different sections?"
"Precisely," Yuriev answers. "A majority of it is with you right now.
In any case, I have a Foundation to run, I'd greatly appreciate it if
you get this done as soon as possible. Citrine, I leave them in your
care and command."
"Yes sir," she salutes.
"Damn it..."
So this is what Citrine was really up to, she must have known about
Yuriev's fail safe device. I knew I couldn't trust her, and the
position we're in now... Damn, there's no choice but to go along with
what she and Yuriev wants.
"Set course for Old Miltia," Citrine orders Captain Matthews. "Bring
us as close as possible to the coordinates I have laid out in this
flight plan," she hands an electronic device to Hammer. "As for the
rest of you, enjoy your flight," she says in a mocking tone.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
(Orgulla's POV)
Everything is dark, I feel myself sinking deeper into the abyss. I
want to swim away, I don't want to be passed along the current. I try
to move my body, but it doesn't react to any of my commands. My eyes
are shut, but even when I open them, I still see nothing but black.
Wait, something's beginning to appear before me, but I cannot tell.
The darkness begins to mold into different shapes and forms, the color
of white replacing a majority of the black before me.
"Lady Orgulla, are you all right?" a voice begins to echo. "Lady
Orgulla?"
I find the scenery immediately being replaced, my vision staring into a
white ceiling. I begin to lift my upper body forward so that I may sit
up, but my arm suddenly jerks and a small sensation of pain fills up my
lower arm. I turn to my arm to find several tubes attached to it, as
well as some sort of machine hooking the tubes.
"Thank goodness you've regained consciousness, Lady Orgulla," I turn to
the side to find an inquisitor at my bedside. "The men were getting
worried when the KOS-MOS Unit..."
Before he can say another word, I find my other arm springing forward
and my fingers wrapping around his throat. I find my face scrunching,
my nails burying themselves into his trachea. A warm fluid begins to
run down my fingers now, the streams growing more rapid and thick as I
push my fingers deeper into his throat. His hands try to pry mine away
as he takes hold of my wrist, but his touch only intensifies my hold.
After several seconds, his body finally grows limp, my hold on him
finally being released.
"Don't you ever mention that name again!" I spit as I drop his body to
the floor.
"His Holiness would not appreciate that you killed one of his men,"
another voice echoes in the area.
I turn to the end of the room now to find the KOS-MOS Archetype
standing against the door. Just the sight of her face makes my blood
boil once more, my body ready to just jump on her and beat her face in
with my bare hands. Unfortunately I cannot, my legs are also attached
to the machine to the side of my bed.
"What do you want?!" I seethe.
"I just came to report that..."
"Your so-called sister escaped, tell me something I don't know!" I
spit. "Stupid machines, always stating the fucking obvious!"
"I'm sorry."
"I don't want your fucking apology, it's not like you even mean it!"
"I also wanted to inform you that Units 00-00-00-00-2 through
00-00-00-13-4 of the KOS-MOS Project have just been uploaded with my
personal data," she continues, her voice as calm as ever.
"Well congratulations," I say with sarcasm, "how does it feel to be a
mother of a bunch of 'Anti-Gnosis' weapons?"
"You know what, I don't even know why I'm telling you this," she
exasperates, "if you're just going to be a little bitch the entire time
I give my report, then..."
"What did you just call me?!"
"You heard me! I called you a little bitch, and let me add something
to that, fuck you!"
"Keep that up and I'll tear you to shreds!" I retort. "I don't care
what my orders are, I'll kill you, your sister, and all your fucking
children when given the chance."
"The feeling's mutual," she says, slamming the door on her way out.
That damn machine, how dare she speak toward me like that. It's
because of her sister, no, it's because of that whole family that...
Damn you, Sellers, on that day two years ago, if hadn't listened to
that old man, then...
"Then what's holding you back?" a voice asks.
"This is none of your business, Manes!" I yell.
"You blame Sellers for making us what we are now, yet you do not take
any action against him, why is that? Is it because he created us? Is
it your loyalty to His Holiness? Tell me, what is it?"
"Shut up, how the hell should I know!"
"You're so weak," she taunts, "it was your thoughts of him that got you
defeated earlier. Now if I were to deal with him, he would be out of
our way, our thoughts totally void of him, allowing us to destroy what
truly matters."
"No, we'll destroy that machine and her 'family' first," I tell her,
"then we can once again fulfill our true purpose..."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
XenoMark's Note: Well, how was it? It was really hard to write as
usual, especially Orgulla since I had to practically invent her
character since she didn't get much screen time in Episode 2 (though I
did get a bit lazy on her POV to tell you the truth, I'll do better
next time). You're probably wondering why Orgulla is upset with Elly
and Miang, I'm afraid the reason won't be given for a while. Speaking
of Miang, you're probably surprised how she blew up on Orgulla, but
let's put it this way, one can't be patient forever, and she still has
a bit of that bitterness she had in "Bound" (though not done in the
same sensual way of course). I'm aware that Citrine's weapon of
choice, the .50 caliber Desert Eagle isn't made to fire in a rapid
succession, but there's a reason for why she can do so, I'll actually
explain that and why she survived in the next chapter. Though more
questions were raised in this chapter, I assure you I'll answer them
eventually in the story. Also in the next chapter, we'll have the
first appearance of the Mass-Produced KOS-MOS Units. Well I hope you
all look forward to it. Review if you like, but no flames as usual
please. Hopefully I'll see you in the next chapter.
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