Xenosaga, An Interlude: Macht der Worte

By SusanPevensie394

A/N: So here's part two in the Xenosaga, An Interlude Quartet. I forgot to put this in the first chapter, but the title translation is Power of Love. The translation of this title is Power of Words.

Disclaimer: I do not own Xenosaga or any of it's related characters and themes.

Bad things happen to good people.

But more often bad things just happen, whether you're good or not.

Shion sighed as she made her way through the Elsa, heading towards the crewman's quarters on the main level of the ship. She had just been in KOS-MOS's maintenance lab, trying futilely to once again determine why the android was acting on her own. This was the seventh such attempt, so she was beginning to run out of hope that she would ever find the answer. Which wouldn't be so bad, as long as KOS-MOS didn't cause any trouble. At all.

The engineer knew better than to hope for something like that though. Trouble had a way of following her around. Whether it was simple bad luck in a game, or being attacked by Gnosis, bad luck was all around her. Although in some cases her luck really wasn't so bad at all. For instance, she had survived the attack on the Woglinde with only a few minor scratches. Not that that was really luck. That was just having a super-human android who's job it was to save her life. Still though, KOS-MOS could have chosen to just leave her and the others on the ship.

And then there was what had happened only a few days before with her and the Commander. Although technically nothing had happened, she still felt that some boundaries had been crossed, and that maybe there was a chance that she could get through to him if given a chance.

So really, all things considered, her luck wasn't so bad. Not nearly as bad as Commander Cherenkov's. Less than an hour after stopping in the Dock Colony for repairs he had been attacked by thugs because he was with the military. Strange though, that his wounds paled in comparison to those sustained by the men who had attacked him. Cherenkov had said that they had begun to fight among themselves, but Shion had doubts about the truth behind those words. Those injuries... there had been far too much blood for that to have really happened. But she had decided that the Commander had his reasons for lying, and that if he wanted to tell them, he would. Something which he obviously didn't want to do.

"Commander?" Shion called out as she entered the large circular common room. It was a nice room, she thought; spacious and simply decorated. And surprisingly clean, considering how many men lived in it. She knew from personal experience that men weren't always the best at cleaning up. She supposed that the robots that worked on the Elsa may have done the cleaning. That was way more likely than Captain Matthews, Hammer, and Tony cleaning up after themselves. chaos was a different story. In one word chaos was...different. He was certainly different from all of the other people that the engineer had ever met.

Cherenkov appeared from one of the small rooms off to the right of the door she came through. "Oh... you again..." he murmured.

Shion narrowed her eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?" she asked indignantly. "Would you rather I don't bother helping to treat your wounds?" She made a gesture to the first aid kit she was carrying. "Would you like it better if I let you do it yourself?"

Almost immediately after she said the words she regretted them. What had she been thinking, snapping at him like that? The answer was that she hadn't been thinking at all. The words had just flown from her mouth before she could stop them. Still, they seemed to have a good effect on the man because he sighed and sat down upon one of the many blue upholstered seats in the middle of the room.

"I didn't mean it that way. I'm... sorry that you took offense. I'm just tired."

Shion sighed as well as she sat down beside him. "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have snapped like that... I think we're all on edge right now." She began unwrapping one of the bandages on the Commander's right arm silently.

It was true, they were all on edge. Ever since they had added Ziggy and MOMO to their crew, that is. Although the addition of the two wasn't in itself a bad thing, it was causing a lot of stress for everyone. Apparently the two had been chased by the U-TIC Organization, and that same organization might now be after them to retrieve MOMO. It was all confusing to her, since Shion really had no idea why they would want MOMO so badly. Yes, she could tell that the Realian was special, but...special enough for the U-TIC Organization to go to such lengths to get their hands on her? That she wasn't sure about.

Blinking Shion realized that she had finished treating the Commander's wounds. When had that happened? She had completely spaced out, not paying any attention to what she was doing. Her fingers lingered on the large bandage that covered a good deal of his finely toned back. Wait... when had he removed his shirt and turned away from her so she could tie the bandage? She really had stopped paying attention.

Shion, you need to get a hold of yourself. If you continue like this you're really going to get yourself in trouble, she scolded herself silently. Too bad she wasn't very good at actually following most of the advice she gave herself.

Clearing her throat she moved her hands to her lap and scooted away from him. "Does anything hurt? I can loosen the bandages if they're too tight."

"No, they're fine." Andrew tugged on his undershirt and military uniform jacket as another awkward silence fell over them. Ever since they had spent the night together during the blackout a few days ago things had been strange between them. Finally the Commander turned to face Shion. "Thank you for all of your help."

Thinking he was going to get up, Shion made an effort to get him to stay. "You're welcome... Commander, I was actually hoping that we could talk for a bit."

"About what?" He hoped she wasn't going to ask something personal that he couldn't answer. No, wouldn't answer.

"Well, I just thought it might be nice if we were to get to know each other a bit better... we hardly know anything about one another."

Andrew winced. Exactly what he didn't want to do. Although it might be fine, if he can keep her talking about herself, so that he wouldn't have to answer any questions himself. Yes, that would work. And that would also allow him to know more about the intriguing woman before him. He had tried and tried to get her off of his mind, but failed each and every single time. He was drawn to her, as the proverbial moth to a flame. Whether that was good or bad had yet been determined.

"Very well then. Did you always want to work for Vector?"

Shion nodded. "Yes, for as long as I can remember, anyway. At first I wanted to work in the Third Division, but somehow I ended up in the First."

"Are you unhappy in the First Division?" Cherenkov asked, hoping he wasn't out of line in doing so.

"Well... it's true that the First Division is the most influential part of Vector, but... I've always wanted to work with Realians. And... after everything that has happened, I want nothing more than to transfer to the Third Division." Shion smiled wryly. "But of course that would be after I finish with this assignment and make sure that KOS-MOS is in good hands."

Andrew continued to look at her, his eyes hard. "You really care about her, don't you?"

Shion nodded again, this time more slowly. "Yes I do. KOS-MOS is... well I suppose she's like my daughter, or maybe more like a sister. And even though I don't understand her most of the time, I really want to. I want to know everything there is about her... I want to be more than a creator to her. I want to be a friend."

"You...have a kind heart, Shion."

Shion blushed. "Oh I don't know about that," she responded, holding up her hands. "I think it's more that I just want to go as far with KOS-MOS as I can."

He shrugged. "That is understandable." Hurriedly he thought of another question, not giving her the chance to ask one of her own. And also he wanted to get her to leave as soon as he could. Despite trying to keep himself looking normal, he was starting to feel pain; mind-numbing pain, the after effect of being on the brink of death from a Gnosis. "Where are you from?"

She blinked. What a strange question to ask. The last one had been so deep, and now this. It was almost as though it was asked purely so that she couldn't ask one herself. She saddened at the thought. He really didn't want her to know anything about himself... She shook off the sadness. No, she shouldn't be feeling this way. She would get something out of him, she knew it.

"I'm from Miltia," she replied quietly, not sure what his reaction to that would be.

"Hmm.... did your family relocate after the incident?"

Shion nodded. "Yes. Well, my brother and I did anyway. He and I moved to Second Miltia."

"And your parents?" Andrew questioned, though instantly regretted it when her face dropped.

Looking down at her lap she shook her head, trying to keep herself from crying. "No... they... didn't survive..."

They were both silent again for a few beats. Finally, "I'm sorry," Cherenkov said softly.

"No, it's alright. You didn't know..." Now would be a good time to change the subject, Shion decided. "What about you? What about your family?"

Andrew's breathing by this time was much more labored, though he was still trying to hide his suffering from her the best he could. "No family," he responded, his voice laced with pain. "They all died."

"O-Oh I see... Sorry..."

"It's fine." He was getting desperate now... he needed her gone from the room. "Shion, maybe you should get some rest. It's getting late."

Shion stared at him in confusion. Was he trying to get rid of her? Yes, he must be. She knew it wasn't that late at all. And...was it just her imagination or did he look like he was in pain? It was probably only her imagination, an effort to find a reason to stay with him awhile longer. Sighing she said, "All right... I guess I'll get some sleep..." She stood, and before turning she gave him a smile. "Good night, Commander."

"Good night Shion."

And so she left, entering the other cabin that she, and now MOMO, were using. It was strange, that the Commander hadn't wanted to tell her aything... although not really too strange. He was a private person, and she respected that. But... still, she wished that she could have learned more than just that he had no living family. It was a start though. And she was worried about him too. Near the end he had looked like he was trying to hide a lot of pain. Shion was tempted to go back into his cabin and force him to let her help him, but decided against that. That would only make him angry.

It was early, but she decided to go to bed instead. It would get her mind off of him, for a little while anyway. And hopefully by the time she woke up they would have arrived in Second Miltia. As she drifted into unconsciousness she had no idea that the Commander was wandering the ship, barely hanging on. She had no idea of what would happen in but a few hours time.

Beenden(End)

E/N: Hope you enjoyed this one. The next one should be up sometime next week(or this weekend, depending on how much time I have).

Next Chapter Title: Xenosaga, An Interlude: Macht der Erinnerung (Power of Memory)