A/N: This is probably a pretty boring story. Not a lot of action or violence in it. Not a lot of romance either. Albel's just staying still and musing on things, his relationship with Fayt, his destiny, blah blah blah. And it's probably already out of character because Albel doesn't sit and think for that long.

Disclaimer: Albel does not belong to me, but I reserve the right to borrow him for a chapter and get into his head.

Albel Nox sat on a huge rock outside the inn in the middle of a rain storm. He drew one knee up to his chin and bowed his head down, silently brooding. Random scenes from his past floated through his mind. He tried to sort through the information, put it into some logical order.

"Hey, Albel!" a voice called out.

Albel refused to acknowledge it. He was trying so hard to block out everything and the last thing he wanted was for Fayt to interrupt him. Sometimes Albel truly hated Fayt more than anyone else because Fayt had exposed his weakness for the world to see. But other times, Albel tolerated Fayt more than anyone else because Fayt could see past Albel's shortcomings and still respect him.

Albel shut his eyes tightly and ground his teeth together as he heard the footsteps coming closer. Fayt could be infuriatingly stubborn sometimes.

"Albel?" Fayt asked softly. "You could catch a cold out here."

Albel opened his eyes and found himself staring down at Fayt's shoes. "Hmph," Albel muttered indifferently.

"Come on, let's go back inside with the others," Fayt encouraged.

Albel lifted his head, the rain glistening on his eyelashes. "No, I prefer my privacy. Fool." Hopefully Fayt wouldn't notice the way he spat out his epithet almost as an afterthought.

Fayt shifted his weight to his right foot and stood there awkwardly, unbalanced. "Are you sure, Albel?"

"Yes, I'm sure," Albel muttered, beginning to get annoyed. "I need time to think, so leave me alone."

Fayt sighed heavily. "Alright, but there's a room ready for you if you change your mind."

"I won't," Albel growled.

Albel waited until Fayt began trudging back up the path to the inn before balling his hand into a fist. That brat is so irritating. Who does he think he is, trying to order me around? I could kill him whenever I want to.

Albel lowered his head. He wasn't fooling anyone, least of all himself. He couldn't kill Fayt if he wanted to. That would certainly prove Albel as once and for all the stronger man, but Abel was loathe to so quickly end the rivalry between them. He didn't want to find out who the ultimate winner was; the contest was the important thing.

Bah, I doubt the fool sees it as a contest.

Albel's lips curled into a bitter smile. He was competing against someone who didn't even know there was a competition. Fayt was completely oblivious sometimes, which was probably why he didn't think Albel was really a bad guy, unlike the rest of the group.

Albel let out a heavy sigh as he slumped forward again. His life had just hit rock bottom. His dad was dead because of his failure, he didn't have two complete arms, and then there was this new mess, all the aliens, Fayt included, that had come to mess up his life. The war with Aquaria had been interrupted and he was now being forced to cooperate with the former enemy to serve some lofty universal purpose. It was all insane and he seemed to be the only one realizing it. Their ragtag little group of incompetent fighters could not save the world on their own. It was impossible. Yet there was Fayt, smiling with brave, naïve optimism, believing that he could make a difference.

Albel was rather disgusted that he had been forced into such a group. Of course, without him, they would probably end in a spectacular failure, but Albel could really care less. He didn't want to be part of it and he would make sure everyone knew it.

Albel stretched out on his back, his thin, flexible body easily molding to the rock's dimensions. He stared up at the sky as if looking for answers. But the rain merely continued to beat down on him and Albel blinked as a raindrop hit him squarely in the eye.

Albel shut his eyes again and tried to clear his mind of everything, but the ghosts of his past were not content with staying as ghosts. Albel let out another exasperated sigh. "Nothing ever goes the way I plan, does it?" he muttered, spitting out his mouthful of rainwater. "Ah well, if I can't have a peaceful night then Fayt won't either." Albel began to grin wickedly as he imagined waking Fayt up from a nice sound sleep for some trivial purpose. Perhaps he should also drench Fayt with icy cold rainwater. Yes, that sounded nice.

Albel grinned. "The night is already brightening."