| “ | We hurt others, we lie to ourselves, we hate, we blame others, we regret, but, even if we are weak, and even if it is our fate to disappear entirely, I think the will to change the future is still an important one. We must try to change things around us, little by little. Even if it is one step at a time and even if everything is already pre-determined, it’s not something for us to be sad about. No. On the contrary, the future is overflowing with hope. And we have infinite paths to choose from.
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” |
Shion Uzuki is the main protagonist of the Xenosaga series.
Background
Childhood
Shion at 8.
Shion was born on the planet Miltia from the union of Suou and Aoi Uzuki, workers for the U-TIC Organization, 13 years after the birth of their first child, Jin. Shion grew up well, having a happy life. She became friends with Febronia and her sisters, Cecily and Cathe. Shion was raised by her father after her mother was confined to Labyrinthos's hospital wing due to her disease linked to U-DO, and regularly went to see her. From her mother's room she saw the part of the Song of Nephilim.
She helped save the life of Virgil, even though he was a Galaxy Federation soldier, thus an enemy of the U-TIC.
She met Kevin Winnicot for the first time in front of Labyrinthos. Kevin tried to approach her on Wilhelm's orders, not being kind to her, but quickly fell in love with her.
Miltian Conflict
At the age of eight, Shion found herself in a church when the Miltian Conflict began. She bore witness to the death of Febronia and ran away in terror. She decided to go see her mother in Labyrinthos using a hidden path. She arrived in her mother's room only to have her father throw her in and be killed by Asura-27 Realians that Kevin was working on. She went to her mother's side, but was forced to hide when the berserk Realians got in and then murdered her mother.
Once the Realians were gone, Shion tried to stop her mother's bleeding and screamed in horror before entering a trance-like state. Due to being an Animus resonant, like her mother, she resonated with the Zohar located under Labyrinthos, which provoked the mass-arrival of the Gnosis in the Real Number Domain. Nevertheless, contrary to Wilhelm's plan, she was unable to "summon" Abel's Ark. Her brother Jin arrived shortly after, but was too late to save his parents because of a fight against Margulis. Hiding his sadness, he took Shion away from the planet.
Years at Vector
Over time, Shion forgot certain events of the Miltian Accident, namely her part in summoning the Gnosis. She grew distant from Jin with time, considering him responsible for her parents' deaths and being an irresponsible person in general. Despite this, Jin tried repeatedly to get closer to Shion, while hiding from her the fact that she called the Gnosis. She and her brother spent a lot of time at Boss's restaurant, Moby Dick's Cafe, where she learned to expertly prepare curry, which became her specialty.
Shion as she appears in Episode I.
Shion attempted to join Vector Industries' Third Research and Development Division but after reading an essay of hers, Kevin Winnicot pulled strings and had her assigned to Vector's First Research and Development Division at the age of 18 in T.C. 4763. Her youth, keen intellect, and good looks made her a popular person in the company. She had a bright, cheerful personality and was always optimistic. She became reacquainted with Kevin here, and met Allen Ridgeley, who developed a strong attachment to her. While they worked together on the KOS-MOS Archetype, Shion fell in love with Kevin and they began dating. She acquired her trademark round glasses as a gift from Kevin during this period, and they eventually were engaged to be married.
This rosy period ended with Kevin's death at the hands of the the KOS-MOS Archetype, as he tried to defend Shion from it after its activation by U-TIC. (it was later revealed that the incident was entirely planned by Kevin). Shion became Chief Engineer of the KOS-MOS Project General Operation System Research Center in the Vector Industries First R&D Division, Allen became her assistant, and Kevin became a Testament.
Shion was devastated by his death and KOS-MOS, who was already a very large part of her life, became the most important person in her eyes. Shion worked endlessly to complete her, which Kevin expected her to do. Eventually, through her dedication to the project, Shion began resonating with Mary Magdalene's consciousness inside of herself as she was the previous incarnation of the Maiden of Mary.
Episode I
The Woglinde Attack
Shion and KOS-MOS during the Encephalon simulation battle
Shion was stationed on the Federation star ship Woglinde where she was finishing to complete building KOS-MOS. She felt attracted by the Zohar Emulator of the ship and saw a small girl many times. She met Virgil, though neither of them show signs of recognizing the other after so many years. She also met Cherenkov onboard the ship.
Shion was summoned to the bridge to deliver a report on the development of KOS-MOS to the ship's captain. While she was en route, the ship was surprised by a Gnosis fleet. Shion tried to go near KOS-MOS, but was blocked by Gnosis. Virgil and his team tried to protect her, but a Gnosis appeared from a wall behind her and grabbed her. She didn't die or transform into a Gnosis, the usual results of a Gnosis encounter, and was saved by KOS-MOS who activated herself.
She was disgusted when KOS-MOS killed Virgil, even though she did it so she would have a better chance of protecting Shion. Shion and Allen were put in an escape pod by KOS-MOS, with Cherenkov holding on to the outside in a space suit, just before the Woglinde exploded. KOS-MOS ended up on the hull of The Elsa, a scavenger ship, and threatened to smash open one of the bridge's windows and expose the crew to the vacuum of space if they did not take her aboard. KOS-MOS refused to take Shion's pod on the Elsa, considering that she would be saved soon by a Federation ship. Shion tested KOS-MOS's logic by threatening that she would commit suicide if KOS-MOS did not take her with her.
Cathedral Ship
Shion cooked for the Elsa crew to pull her weight aboard the vessel, she made them curry, and kept an eye on KOS-MOS. In the Gnosis Cathedral Ship, Shion was surprised by some information possessed by KOS-MOS that she, the leader of her creation, didn't put into her databanks and couldn't understand her behavior, acting like she was on a secret mission of some sort. Aboard the Cathedral Ship, Cherenkov succumbed to being touch by a Gnosis on the Woglinde and mutated into one. Shion and her friends were forced to kill him and this deeply saddened Shion, who had experienced a connection to Cherenkov when he died and had learned of his past as a bio-weapon that had been mistreated after the Miltian Conflict ended and there was nothing else to fight.
When they escaped the Cathedral Ship, they met Gaignun Kukai Jr., the leader of the Kukai Foundation and the Elsa's debtor, on his ship, the Durandal. He showed them the Zohar Emulators created by Joachim Mizrahi, and revealed to them a room filled with people that had been touched by Gnosis yet, curiously, did not turn into salt nor did they become complete Gnosis. They retained some of their human traits, but more than half of their bodies had become Gnosis. None had survived the process.
Jr. took them to the Kukai Foundation, only to meet the Federation's Navy upon arrival. They had been framed for the destruction of the Woglinde due to doctored tapes created by the U-TIC Organization, depicting the Durandal destroying the craft. They realized that KOS-MOS had a black box that recorded everything that took place and had a AAA security system, meaning that it was impossible to tamper with and nothing else could prove their innocence.
They decided to access the "box" through KOS-MOS's subconscious using an Encephalon dive system. Because the resonance between Shion and KOS-MOS was strong and they had shared many experiences, some of Shion's memories were projected into the Encephalon. Shion relived difficult moments, such as seeing her father alive or seeing her parents and Febronia die once again before her eyes. They successfully retrieved the information but were contacted by a girl named Nephilim and Febronia who informed them of the existance of the wave-form U-DO. They showed the group a possible future where KOS-MOS fought U-DO and destroyed it along with the universe. They promised to eliminate the threat and were let out of the Encephalon. They tuned in the data and were succinctly cleared of all charges from the Federation.
The Song of Nephilim
U-TIC dispatched Albedo, Jr.'s brother to attack the Kukai Foundation in order to steal MOMO so that he can extract the Y-Data from her. He uses the Song of Nephilim, another device created by Joachim Mizrahi, to get there, which summons a large hoard of Gnosis to attack the Kukai Foundation. Shion and her friends purge the residential areas of the Kukai foundation of most of their Gnosis and rescue several people, but when the time comes to return to the Durandal, MOMO stayed behind to take care of a wounded man. She was swiftly kidnapped.
Albedo once again contacted the Durandal and revealed that he had taken MOMO. Jr. was furious and charged after her, boarding the Song of Nephilim with his friends. Jr. said he would handle the mission alone but Shion dissuaded him, saying that the battle affected all of them and they had a right to be there. He backed down and led the way into the Song. There they found MOMO, though they quckly realized that Albedo had taken her essence as she was catatonic. This just served to further enrage Jr. and they rushed further inward.
Shion will be seen in the Y-Data as being connected to KOS-MOS by Albedo, who claims that it all makes sense now when observing Shion and KOS-MOS.
They take some time to prepare for the battle but during their reprieve, Shion had to deal with KOS-MOS's communication issues as well as her hallucinations. This consequently results in her slapping both Allen and Jr. due to their behavior.
They fight through the Song and are able to see Albedo, who has MOMO and reveals that the MOMO they found was just a Kirschwasser. However, before they fight, the Blue Testament steps in and fights for him, while Albedo flies away in E.S. Simeon. The man tries to talk to the group and tells them that their quest is meaningless, but before he can reach the apex of his speech, Jr. tells him to shut up and get out of their way. They fight and the Blue Testament turns into a Gnosis, though he later retreats.
The Merkabah Conflict
Afterward, they deactivate the Song and thwart the Gnosis's attack. However, Albedo then summoned the space station Proto Merkabah, another work of Joachim's. He uses the canons on the station to systematically obliterate the Federation fleet and began preparing to fire on Second Miltia. Shion and her friends enter Proto Merkabah using the Elsa and fight their way to the reactor core, where Albedo was waiting. After rebuffing the man, he turned the reactor into a Gnosis to "test" the party and buy himself time to escape. Albedo set Merkabah on a collison course with Second Miltia, the party concocted a plan to destroy the station by jettisoning all its compartments, breaking it into thousands of pieces. However, the destablization would destroy the station faster than any of them would be able to return to the Elsa in time to escape. KOS-MOS volunteers to stay behind and activate the destruction program, despite Shion's attemt to dissuade her. KOS-MOS calmed her by informing her that she was able to run faster than all of them and would be able to make it to safety in time. Shion reluctantly left her and stalled the Elsa's takeoff as long as possible. They waited until the last possible minute before they took off. Shion then had a strange feeling and told Tony to stop at a wall before leaving the station completely. KOS-MOS blasted through it seconds later and jumped to the Elsa as their section of the station began to break apart. Shion caught her, but due to KOS-MOS's weight, was unable to pull her aboard until Ziggurat 8 came and helped her.
The Elsa began entry into Second Miltia's atmosphere but the Elsa's heat shield began to disintegrate rapidly. KOS-MOS briefly morphed into a powerful being to prevent the Elsa from being destroyed. Meanwhile, Albedo discovered that the Y-Data is protected; he told U-TIC that MOMO would have to connect to the U.M.N. for the data to work. While these events were transpiring, Wilhelm stared at his Compass of Order, understanding that his plans were going in full motion.
Episode II
Aftermath
Shion in Episode II
The Elsa successfully landed on Miltia. Shion handed to KOS-MOS to Vector's second Division so they could create her battle frame Version 2 and install the Tertiary Weapon System. Shion decided to walk around her old home and became hungry. She stopped by Moby Dick's Cafe and remet Boss, as well as Junior and chaos. She also reluctantly ran into her brother, Jin, and she became upset. Despite this, she spent the night at the family's house, though she left early the next morning without saying goodbye.
Y-Data crisis
Shion participated in the Encephalon Dive into MOMO's consiousness in order to retrieve the Y-Data for the Federation. There, they visited some of Jr.'s memories from his time at the Yuriev Institute as MOMO was based on Jr.'s late love, Sakura Mizrahi, the daughter of Joachim Mizrahi. After an incident where Albedo reappeared and stole the activated Y-Data from MOMO, before being killed, Shion and Allen were stationed on the Dammerung. There, she had more visions of Nephilim and a request from Febronia to go to Old Miltia to save her sisters.
Shion, with Allen's help, stole E.S. Dinah's main frame, and used to it to join the Elsa. Voyager, in the E.S. Dan, attack her, but she was saved by KOS-MOS who activated herself from Vector Second Division and came on her motorcycle to show Dinah's true power, causing Voyager to flee.
Later, on Old Miltia, Shion saw what happened to Cecily and Cathe, now part of the Zohar's control system, and attempted to prevent KOS-MOS from killing them in order to stop U-DO, but then, on Febronia's request to free them, allowed KOS-MOS to proceed, though this greatly saddened her.
Episode III
Gnosis terrorism
Shion learned many things over the course of the next year, such as Vector and her Father's involvement in the Gnosis phenomenon, which lead her to leave Vector and join Scientia with Doctus.
Vector allowed her to keep E.S. Dinah as a present of departure. She then began to research the true purpose of the Unus Mundus Network.
KOS-MOS's rescue
She later traveled to Fifth Jerusalem to see Allen and KOS-MOS. She was surprised by the view of the Omega as well as T-elos, and was saddened when she heard about the cancellation of the KOS-MOS Project. She then proceeded to rescue KOS-MOS from the facility where Vector had put her, treating her as garbage, and reactivated her.
Shion's subconscious
When T-elos attempted to destroy KOS-MOS, Shion yelled and set in motion the events leading to everyone diving into her subconscious in an attempt to save KOS-MOS from T-elos.
In her subconscious, on Old Miltia, that she thought to be the past, she discovered the first blueprint of KOS-MOS and use them to fix the android. Voyager tried to kidnap KOS-MOS when they were unable to activate her, and also attempted to take Shion's necklace. It was at this moment that KOS-MOS finally activated. Shion had visions of U-DO in the form of Abel.
After a series of events, Shion saw the death of her mother and discovered the truth about her summoning the Gnosis. Unable to bear this, she also entered in trance, this way summoning Abel's Ark, and the team realized that everything around them is her subconscious. Winnicot, who revealed himself as Testament to her, tries to convince her to join him, but fail because of Jin, Allen, and KOS-MOS, who then take Shion away from him and T-elos in the Elsa.
Michtam's Crisis
Shion later learned the truth about of her identity as the reincarnation of the Maiden of Mary and that KOS-MOS contained the spirit of Mary Magdalene. After KOS-MOS awakened, Shion and KOS-MOS met Kevin Winnicot and Shion decided to go to his side, fighting her friends. Allen tried to make her see what a monster Winnicot was but was unsuccessful. Shion looked worried while Kevin proceeded to torture him despite his failure. KOS-MOS then saved Ridgely's life and Shion saw the truth, then choosing to leave Winnicot. Kevin, unwilling to let Shion go, decided to eliminate her friends, thus he transformed and prepared to battle. Despite using all the powers of a Testament, Kevin lost the fight and questioned if this was the result Shion desired. Kevin then told her that she was confused, and is unable to make calm decisions about where she stood. Kevin proceeded to continue the fight with her friends, but Shion got in between him and her friends, and pleaded to Kevin to stop. Kevin told her that he didn't want to hurt her either, and asked her in frustration on why she can't seem to understand his feelings. Wilhelm, having waited long enough, told Kevin to stand down since his time was up. Kevin grunted in anger and left to regroup with Wilhelm, and Shion tried to stop him from leaving.
Wilhelm tortured Shion when she refused to activate Zarathustra with her pendant, the Key. Out of pain, agony and desperation, Shion begged Kevin to save her, and Kevin, not willing to lose the one woman he loved, chops off Wilhelm's right arm, and freeing Shion from her torture. Shion looked to where Kevin turned against Wilhelm, and Wilhelm was unsurprised by Kevin's betrayal. Wilhelm told Kevin that he knew he would betray him, and that his only reason for becoming a Testament was to save Shion. Wilhelm then placed Kevin in agonizing pain, and did so to Shion as well. Wilhelm then asked Shion if she's changed her mind, but she stubbornly refused to use the Key. Wilhelm then ordered KOS-MOS to do it instead as a way for her to protect Shion from the torture. KOS-MOS destroyed the Key at the last moment and saved Shion. In one last effort to end Wilhelm, Kevin punctured Wilhelm in the back, and told him that it was time to end this battle.
Upon Zarathustra going out of control, Kevin used his power to suppress the system's energy, and told Shion to destroy it. However, Shion feared that Kevin will vanish from this world as a result of his attempt to minimize Zarathustra's power, but Winnicot assured her to not worry about him, but to concentrate on the system, for this battle won't mean anything if she doesn't stop it. After a moment to build her strength, Shion accepted to proceed with stopping Zarathustra while Kevin kept suppressing its power.
With Zarathustra defeated, Wilhelm and Kevin began to disappear, but not before KOS-MOS allowed Shion and Kevin to express their feelings one last time. Shion said a last farewell to Winnicot, who tried to save her from torture and died because of it. She hugged KOS-MOS and cried, since KOS-MOS had to stay behind. She also cried when Jin decided to stay behind as well, and they both expressed regret for how they behaved.
She left with the Elsa, and while onboard upon escape, Shion senses Jin's death from miles away, suggesting that, despite the friction between the two of them, she ultimately cared for him deeply. She goes on to find Lost Jerusalem and begin a romantic relationship with Allen.
Relationships
KOS-MOS
Shion's relationship with KOS-MOS was complex. Shion was often motherly towards her, trying to explain what was right or wrong. Eventually, their relationship evolved into genuine friendship. KOS-MOS would also act as her confidante whenever Shion was uncertain or afraid. KOS-MOS is the only person that Shion never rejected, despite Winnicot's urging.
It is revealed that this is partly due to the fact that KOS-MOS contained Mary's spirit and that Shion was the Maiden of Mary in a past life. Their relationship may be therefore be considered akin to the one Mary Magdalene and the Maiden shared, though the exact nature of the ancient characters' relationship is unknown.
Allen Ridgeley
Allen Ridgeley fell in love with Shion the first time he saw her though she never returned his feelings or considered him anything more than a co-worker until the end of their adventure. He tried several times to tell her how he felt but something always prevented him or she didn't pay attention. His affection for her was completely evident to everyone working on their team constructing KOS-MOS. Ridgely revealed his feelings for her successfully during his stand against Winnicot. After this, Shion was much more compassionate toward him and even intervened when Ridgeley was tortured by Winnicot.
After Zarathustra was defeated, the two enter a relationship.
Jin Uzuki
Shion did not get along with her brother, Jin Uzuki, who is 13 years older than she, after the Miltian Conflict and their parents deaths, which she blamed him for as he was unable to save them from Gnosis. Shion resented Jin for his lax attitude and inability to hold a steady job for more than six months. Despite her attempts to avoid him, Jin reached out to his sister often, inviting her to honor their parents or come visit their family home, which he had turned into a medical practice and later a bookstore due to his annoyance at his patients. Shion's avoidance of her brother reached the point of desperation when in close proximity to him. Although they don't always agree, Jin looks out for his little sister like when Kevin Winnicot tried to get her to go on his side. They apologize mutually for their behavior after Zarathustra was destroyed.
Kevin Winnicot
Kevin Winnicot was Shion's boss and lover before the events surrounding KOS-MOS's awakening. He attempted to manipulate her at first for Wilhelm's plan, but fell in love with her and were engaged to be married. He died when the KOS-MOS Archetype was risen by U-TIC and his death devastated Shion. When she replaced him as the leader of the KOS-MOS project, Shion became obsessed with finishing her for Winnicot. He was risen by Wilhem as the Red Testament and he became the leader of Vector's right-hand man. Winnicot still held feelings for Shion and persuaded her to leave her friends in order to join him. He died again when he attempted to stop the awakening of Zarathustra and this saddened Shion, though she had already realized that he was evil, but did all this to save her life. They exchange their feelings from the broken pendent that KOS-MOS destroyed, and it is revealed to contain flower petals from the garden Shion made. The exact flower petals that shows how much he truly loves her, even to the very end. As Kevin bids her farewell with a smile and passes on to the other side with peace in his heart, Shion now looks forward to the future and bids him farewell with renewed resolve. Despite all the pain and suffering within the story that he may have caused, Kevin's undying love for Shion, and Shion's discovery of his determination to sacrifice himself for her, helped her become stronger and looking forward to saving the universe from destruction.
Juli Mizrahi
Shion's relationship with Juli is plain and clear, and both of them are in friendly terms. Juli expressed that she envies Shion's resolve to stay true to her calling, while Juli continues to do things that she doesn't if they are right or wrong. Juli even gave Shion a warming conversation about the duties of a creator, and how one should believe in those they created and cherish. Interestingly, both Shion and Juli had family members that had suffered a mental or subconscious disease: Shion's mother was unable to move and fell into a coma, and Juli's daughter was unable to speak and express her emotions on the surface. This is due to the fact that Shion's mother shared the same blood from the People of Zohar, and that Juli's husband, Joachim Mizrahi, also came from the People of Zohar that have the ability to utilize the Zohar and make contact with U-DO.
Personality
Shion was someone who always appeared cheerful and happy, though as the series progressed she became more rude toward people she spoke with. Shion was a skilled chef, specializing in curry, as she grew up learning from Boss, the owner of Moby Dick's Cafe. Her friends and those she cared about were very important to her and she would do whatever was in her power to save them, though she eventually chose her love for Winnicot over them before realizing he was a monster (albeit, he only wanted to save her life more than anything else).
Her past heavily affected her personality. Because of her parents' deaths and those of many others during the Miltian Conflict, she tried to help people as much as she could and was very stubborn about her convictions. She also seemed oblivious to the fact that Allen was in love with her throughout the series. Jin commented that she possibly got her nature from their grandfather, and Margulis even comments that her eyes and attitude reminds him of a man he knows (presumably her grandfather), and he clearly doesn't like it.
Battle Skills
In addition to Shion's intellect, it is heavily hinted that she learned the same martial arts that Jin and Margulis are masters of, as taught by her grandfather. This shows in her Double Tech attacks with her brother which include fast and skillful swordplay. When you choose her as your character avatar and command her to destroy an object, most of her moves are kicks and punches, not just her M.W.S. attacks. Though unlike them, she primarily focuses on hand-to-hand combat but uses her M.W.S. in conjunction with it. It is stated that she was taught at least some of this battle technique in the Episode I database, which states that their grandfather taught her a strong, high kick.
In battle, Shion relies primarily on the M.W.S., an invention of her friend Miyuki Itsumi, she is also skilled in the use of Ether to augment her combat skills. Shion is the only character who can use the ultimate Erde Kaiser spell in Episodes I and II. It uses 60 ether points, more than she will likely acquire by the end of the game, though with the Angel Ring that number is halved to a more manageable value. A special side-quest is required in order to obtain this item, but it will do 9,999 points of damage. It can kill almost any boss, including both optional bosses of the first game, but can only be used once per battle.
Trivia
- Shion's previous incarnation was known as "The Maiden of Mary". This is why she could interact with U-DO and was necessary for Eternal Reccurence. The Maiden always followed Mary and they were extremely close, but died early in front of Mary, who was unable to save her.
- Shion makes an appearance in Namco x Capcom, when she, MOMO, and KOS-MOS appear in the middle of Shibuya, Tokyo during a series of dimensional disturbances, in time to help the main characters against a Gnosis attack. In the game, Shion is paired with MOMO as a single unit.
- In Episode I, it was revealed that she suffers from astraphobia, a result of what happened with the KOS-MOS archetype.
- Xenosaga co-creator Soraya Saga (née Kaori Tanaka) has revealed that most of the primary female characters in Xenosaga are named after flowers. "Shion" is the Japanese name of the Tatarian Aster, a type of daisy.
- As seen in Namco x Capcom, she seems to dislike amphibians, mostly frogs.
- If Episode I's bonus e-mails are to be believed, she is friends with Kazuya Mishima from Tekken.
- Shion's appearance from Episode I has a small similarity with the Street Fighter character, Area. Both their weapons are machines attached to their arms and have almost similar signature attacks.
Gallery
