AN: This takes place directly after the events of Episode II, so yes, there will be some spoilers. Also, the quotes coming from the game are probably a bit off, since I'm just doing this from memory. And, one more thing. Eileen and Ozias, who appear in this story, were really in the game. They were always near the shuttle in the park area.
Jr. wasn't sure how long he had been in the park, but he guessed it was nearing the hour mark. After the appearance of that large, ship-like structure, MOMO had gone off to check up on Ziggy, at Shion's suggestion. He wasn't sure whether that was a good or bad thing, though, because as soon as she had let go of his arm and gone, he suddenly felt alone; even though there were others on the bridge. He had smiled, however, and waved to the others before stepping back onto the lift, once it returned from taking MOMO down.
After that, he had found himself on a shuttle to the park area. He had all but ignored the two residents, Ozias and Eileen, who were near the shuttle once he arrived at the park area. And, once he entered the park, he was relieved to see that it was empty; except for the usual environmental bug occupants.
Even now, the firefly imitations were flitting about, performing their programed duties. He hadn't paid them much attention then, and he certainly wasn't now. Instead, the variant URTV was lying on his back on one of the benches, staring at the red 666 written on his palm.
667 was gone. Albedo was truly gone, and Jr. had to admit it felt strange to him... he was so used to feeling both his own and his younger brothers heartbeat. And now... there was only one heartbeat. He had almost let that fact destroy him. He was close, so very close to letting himself die in that space anomaly.
He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. What would the others have said if they had seen him then? Would they hate him, if they knew how ready he had been to give into his own grief?
He opened his eyes again, and his sapphire gaze focused once more on the red numbers. Would they hate him for being upset about Albedo's death?
MOMO looked on silently, watching Jr. from a shaded spot near the entrance to the park. She had been watching him for the past ten minutes, and he had yet to move from that same position, and, needless to say, he hadn't noticed her. She had planned on talking to him, wanting to make sure he was all right. But, she just couldn't bring herself to bother him... He seemed to be lost in his thoughts about something, and she didn't need three guesses to know what that something was.
'Jr..' With a barely audible sigh, she turned and walked out of the park.
"Well, MOMO, did you talk to him?" Eileen asked, smiling warmly as soon as she caught sight of MOMO.
MOMO shook her head slowly, and looked down, "No. No, I didn't."
"What's this?" A male voice asked, which she recognized as Ozias, "You were in there for an awful long time, Miss Prototype. If you weren't talking to the Little Master, then what were you doing?"
At that, MOMO looked up, a light pink color coming to her face, "Oh, Jr. seemed to be thinking about something, and I was, um..." She looked down again, clasping her hands in front of her shyly, "I was just watching him... I didn't want to bother him."
Ozias sighed, and stretched his arms above his head, trying to look as disinterested as possible, "He never seems to be bothered by anything when you're around."
The realian looked up once more, her amber eyes widening slightly in surprise as the blush on her face darkened, "But I really don't want to bother him. If he wanted to be around the rest of us, he would've stayed on the bridge, right? I don't... he probably wants to be alone right now."
Eileen shook her head, before bending down slightly so she was eye-level with MOMO, "Don't tell me you haven't realized by now, MOMO," She began, putting a hand on the younger girls shoulder, "The Little Master doesn't like making anyone worry about him, even though that's exactly what he did when he ran off to the anomaly, but that's not the point here. The point is, he came here because he didn't want you or any of the other people with you knowing that he was upset about all this. As soon as he comes out of there, he'll be all smiles again. And why? Because he doesn't want to worry you."
"Are you going by yourself? Why? You always try to take on everything by yourself."
One of the last things she had said to Jr. before he had gone came back to her, and MOMO looked to the side sadly. The same could be said for things outside of battle, as well as in battle. That was just the way he was, and she knew that. "I know, but..."
"But nothing, little Missy," Ozias snorted, interrupting MOMO, "Either you go back in there and talk to the Little Master like you said you would, or go somewhere else. You've been on the Durandal enough times to know that there's not supposed to be any loitering around here."
Eileen glanced up long enough to send a glare in his direction, before quickly returning her attention to MOMO, "Oh, now don't you mind Ozias any. He just doesn't understand women." She grinned coyly then added, "I guess you could say he's just like the Little Master in that aspect. But we're getting off track again, aren't we?"
"Um..." Was all the pink-haired realian could think to say. Quite honestly, the 'track' seemed to be changing every time one of them said something, so she wasn't sure.
"Well, no matter!" The older woman continued, "Look here, MOMO, we're not going to force you to do anything you don't want to, so if you want to leave Little Master alone, you can. But, I think it's silly that you can stand by him in the face of danger, but are scared to talk to him when the danger's gone."
MOMO looked down to her hands and remained quite for a moment before speaking again, "You make it sound like I'm abandoning him... But I'd never do that to him. Never."
"Then what are you going to do, Miss Prototype?" Ozias asked, crossing his arms over his chest. Even though he felt, mostly, the same as Eileen did on the subject, he wasn't anywhere near as 'pushy' as she was...
Again, MOMO remained quiet briefly before replying, "I... I guess it couldn't hurt to try talking to him again. There's nothing wrong with wanting to make sure he's okay, right?"
Eileen smiled brightly and nodded, "That's right!"
Jr. was still staring at his hand, when he heard the first, faint footsteps. And, at first, he wasn't even sure if they were really footsteps, because they were barely audible above the noise of the fountain. They must've footsteps, though, because they continued, and soon enough, someone spoke up.
"Jr.?"
The Durandal captain didn't need to look at her to recognize who's voice it was, but he turned his head none the less, "MOMO," He said, smiling slightly, much like she knew he would. He pushed himself up into a sitting position, then looked at her again, "I wasn't expecting to see you so soon. I thought you'd be with the old man until his repairs were complete."
"They were almost finished with the repairs when I checked on him," She replied, "He probably won't be waking up for a while though, because he had to have some more maintenance, other than just the repairs on his arm." She paused for a moment, then added quietly, "If you want me to go, though, I will."
"No, no." He shook his head, "You don't have to go. Well, if you want to you can, but, you don't... have to," He added, moving over on the bench, subtly inviting her to sit down.
And, she must've caught on, because she smiled slightly and sat next to him. "Do you want to talk about it?" She asked, after a moments silence.
"About what?" He asked, feigning ignorance, even though he knew that it wouldn't do any good. At least, not when he was talking with her.
"You know what," She replied, looking down to her hands which were folding modestly in her lap. "A lot's happened today, and, well... are you okay?"
"Am I okay?" He repeated the question back to her, raising an eyebrow, "Do you think I'm okay?"
"No." She whispered meekly, her shoulders hunching slightly, "I'm sorry..."
He cursed a few times to himself, and shook his head. "No, don't say that. I'm the one who's sorry, MOMO," He said, looking away from her. The last thing he wanted to do, was take out his frustrations on her, "It's just... I can't believe that I... that I killed him."
She was quiet for a moment, contemplating whether or not to say anything. Finally, she decided to speak again. "It's not your fault," She began quietly, "I mean... I don't know what happened while you were there, but he couldn't have just stood there. He had to have done something to you."
He nodded shortly, still not looking at her, "Yeah... he taunted me the entire time. As soon as I got out of the Asher, he started."
"Taunted? How?" She asked, looking at him again and tilting her head to the side quizzically.
"You might even end up letting them all die." "I hated this girl! She was always flirting with you!" "Is this rag-doll important to you? It's too late. She's already been damaged. By my own hand!"
He closed his eyes and remained silent, remembering some of the things said while he was in the space-time anomaly. There was no way he could tell her what Albedo had said; what he had implied.
When Jr. still hadn't said anything, MOMO reached down slowly and placed her hand over his, "It's okay, Jr., you can tell me."
He opened his eyes to look at her, a small smile curling the corners of his lips when he felt the warmth of her hand over his. If he hadn't been thinking about other things, he might blushed a bit, but instead he only sighed, and the smile disappeared as quickly as it had come. "Different ways..." He trailed off, then shook his head, "But you're the last person I should be talking to about this."
Almost immediately after speaking, Jr. regretted his last choice of words. And that regret only grew when he looked up and saw the hurt look on her face; it was the same look she had given him after he had snapped at her when they were inside KOS-MOS' encephalon.
"Dammit, that's not what I meant," He said, pulling his hand away from hers and standing up. Shaking his head again, he walked over to the large window and looked out at the stars, "I mean, I really do like talking to you, it's just..." Again he trailed off, as he put a hand up against the glass, and bent his head down, "Albedo, he... you..."
Only seconds later, however, the red-haired URTV lifted his head again in surprise when he felt two hands on his shoulders.
"It's okay, Jr..." The realian said quietly, resting her forehead against his back, "I... understand."
"MOMO..."
"You think that I wouldn't understand, because of everything that he's done. But I do understand."
"But, he..."
"I know..." She said, her tone remaining low as she closed her eyes, "I never got to meet Daddy, you know. All I had left of him were memories of him talking to me, before the Kirschwasser let me see him. And, even though everyone used to think he was nothing but a madman, I loved him all the same... It's the same with you and Albedo, isn't it? You knew him long before me or Shion and the others... He wasn't always like he was when the rest of us met him, right? And, he's your brother, so of course you're going to be upset that he's gone... Jr., I'm not going to be angry about that. I'd be angry with you, if you weren't upset."
The confession, to say the least, surprised him. If anyone had any right to hate Albedo, it was MOMO. He had put her through so much; both at the Song of Nephilim, and again at the UMN Control Center. Because of that, she had every right to be angry with him for being upset about Albedo's death, and yet she wasn't.
If it were anyone else, he would've probably turned around and shook them by the shoulders. He would've told them that they should be angry; that they should stop being so kind. But... she wasn't anyone else. She was MOMO. If he said any of that, it would be just like telling her not to be herself.
And, even though it took him a while to realize, everything she said made him feel better. So, instead of turning and yelling, he reached up to grasp one of her hands in his own, "Thanks, MOMO."
Night went, and morning seemed to come much too quickly. After saying their goodbyes, the Elsa had departed with its crew, taking Shion, KOS-MOS, Allen and Jin to the Dammerung. Ziggy and his young charge were about to disembark as well. The cyborg had already boarded the shuttle heading for Second Miltia, but the pink-haired realian lingered in the dock area of the Durandal, along with the ships captain.
"I guess... this is goodbye," MOMO said quietly, looking down at her hands, "Thank you for everything."
"Yeah..." Jr. replied, looking to the side, "See ya... MOMO."
She looked at him silently, as though wanting to say something more, but then she began walking forward, while he stood where he was. Even though she had spent most of the night talking in the park with him, she wished they could spend more time together... even if that was a somewhat selfish thought. She was excited about getting to live with Juli, no doubt about that, but the thought of never seeing him again scared her.
'Goodbye isn't for forever, right?' She asked herself, stopping just a few steps away from the elevator leading to the shuttle that would take her and Ziggy to Second Miltia. She looked down and bit her lower lip gently, thinking something over. Then, before she had a chance to lose her nerve, she turned around and ran back, "Jr.!"
"MOMO?" The red-haired URTV, who was just about to get on the shuttle heading for the bridge, turned just as she reached him, "What are-"
That was as far as he got, before she cut him off by throwing her arms around his neck and pressing her lips to his. He stumbled back a few steps, from both surprise, and the force with which she hit him, but luckily he managed to regain his balance before toppling over.
"We'll see each other again, right?" She asked, taking a step back and looking at him hopefully, ignoring the fact that she was blushing. Badly.
It took him a minute to get over his surprise, and embarrassment, but he finally managed to laugh a bit, "Wha... what kind of question is that, MOMO? Of course we'll see each other again."
The realian smiled brightly at that, but before she could say anything, a voice came over the intercom.
"The decent shuttle to the Second Miltia Spaceport will be departing soon. All passengers please board now. Once again. The decent shuttle to the Second Miltia Spaceport will be departing soon. All passengers please board now."
"That's, uh... you, right?" Jr. asked, somewhat awkwardly.
MOMO nodded, glancing back towards the elevator briefly, "Yeah. I better go before it takes off without me."
He laughed again, "Nah, I don't think the old man would let it leave until you were onboard. But, yeah... I guess you gotta go."
She looked down for a couple seconds, then quickly stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his neck again, hugging him for the second time. And this time, he was able to return the gesture.
"Is it okay if I call once I get settled in with Mommy?" She asked, not moving back from the embrace.
"Yeah. Yeah, of course it is," He replied, "You have the number to the Durandal, right?"
"Uh-huh," She nodded as best she could, "Mary gave it to me earlier."
He smiled and chuckled quietly. Really, he should've figured that the blonde would've already made sure MOMO knew how to contact them. "Then you're all set, MOMO." He put his hands on her shoulders and gently pushed her back a little, then continued, "Now, you better get going before Ziggy's forced to threaten the shuttle's pilot. I don't wanna hear any stories about cyborgs threatening pilots because someone wasn't onboard."
MOMO giggled despite herself before nodding once more, "Okay," She said, smiling at him. Then, as quickly as she had run to him, she turned and ran back to the elevator.
However, she stopped again, just before stepping onto the elevator. Without hesitation, she turned around and yelled loud enough for him, and not to mention everyone else in the area, to hear, "I really enjoyed being here, and I really will miss you, Jr. I'll be sure to call once things get settled. So, until then..." With that, she turned and disappeared into the elevator, just before the doors slid shut.
Jr. blinked a couple times, then stared at the spot where MOMO had been only seconds ago, ignoring the quiet laughing around him. Finally, after what must've been five minutes, the Durandal captain coughed into his hand, in an attempt to look as nonchalant as possible, "Er, well... back to work!" He announced, turning and practically running into the shuttle.
Unfortunately, he wasn't quick enough to miss the, "Nice going Little Master!", that one of the crew members yelled, followed by even more laughter.
Once safely onboard the bridge-bound shuttle, Jr. slouched down into a seat and murmured to himself, "I bet she did that on purpose." Apparently, kissing him in front of them wasn't enough... But, he couldn't hide the smile on his face, even as he covered his eyes with a hand, "I'll never hear the end of this one."