End of Childish Days

Sedaytion yawned loudly, blinking a few times as the newly risen sun glared down on her beautiful ice blue eyes. Rubbing them gently, she let another yawn leave her lips. Her head shook slightly; her eyes gazed upwards to the sky. Puffs of white cloud floated dreamily through the air; the rays of the blinding sun shone done to provide the world with its light, with trees trying to block its way to the ground. A soft, warm breeze ran through the trees, making the weak leaves sway slightly.

The girl's skin felt warm, yet sore from resting on the hard gravel path. Pushing herself up with weirdly numb hands, Sedaytion saw the world more clearly. She was sitting upright in the middle of a light forest, with the sound of a trickling river nearby. But how strange that was! There was no place like that at the Institute, was there? And where on earth had she brought the beautiful, thin, short white dress that she was casually wearing? She looked down, her red hair didn't fall down to cover her chest as it usually did. Her finger fumbled her head, feeling her thick locks had been pulled up into a neat bun.

Her eyes returned down, to her bare feet in which her nails had been painted red. Her finger nails had too been painted red: a sharp colour of blood. She pushed her lips together, then pushed her legs up to stand straight. She brushed off the pieces of dust and gravel that had been left on her cloths then looked ahead of her.

There was no sense of fear or a feeling for alarm in her veins. Instead she felt almost at home, like she belonged to be there. Her mind also felt numb; as if she were not to care if there was a fire or something bad happening. It was strange, unusual.

"Sedaytion …" the o-so familiar voice whispered in her ear made her jump. The voice felt so close, she could even hear their breath tickle her skin, but when she turned her head in the direction there was no one there.

The memories of her life suddenly flooded to her as she realised who the voice belonged to. It was none other then Albedo Piazzolla; U.R.T.V number 667, also known as her boyfriend. Sedaytion took a quick step foreword, but then froze almost as suddenly at an unknown sight in front of her.

"Jem, your name is Jem, correct?" the woman who stood in front of her asked.

The woman was strange; her hair was pure white and was almost the same length as Sedaytion's but was as straight as a pin. Her bangs had been pulled back, to show her pale face more clearly. Her eyes were a shade of pink, soft and delicate; showing curiosity and slight amazement. The woman stood higher then the short Sedaytion, with her hands in hand. She was wearing a dress exactly the same as Sedaytion's, but hers was the shade of red that was painted on Sedaytion's finger nails. As Sedaytion looked closer, she could see her nails were painted pure white, like her own dress.

"May I speak with you?" the woman asked, taking a step foreword. "I saw you at the City; I thought I had seen a ghost."

The woman stood in front of Sedaytion, and placed a frail hand under her eyes, close to touching her skin.

"You look so much like her," she said. "You have your mothers eyes; her face yet you in-herniated the fiery head from your father."

"State your business," Sedaytion demanded as fierce as she could, taking a step away from the woman, who laughed.

"It seems you have in-heriniated more then just the fiery hair from him," she smirked. Sedaytion shook her head.

"Who are you?" she asked, ignoring her comment un-intentionally.

"I'm your other half," the woman said. "We have both been kept in bondage."

Sedaytion frowned, taking yet another step back. She wanted to get away from such a strange woman, but something inside of her stopped her from running.

"We're closer then you think," she said, lifting up her left wrist. Printed on her skin were the same dragon and the number '001' in blue ink.

Sedaytion's eyes widened in fear mixed with a strange sense of amazement. So there were other experiments, but what was she doing here? Was she dead and was she haunting her?

"You can learn from all I've failed at …" the woman sadly said. "You have to do all you can do; use your powers for their potential."

"You mean, in the good way, right?" Sedaytion asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That is not what they were made for," the woman said. "Would you wish to learn of the story? Would you wish to learn how we truly became to be like this?"

"Wait," Sedaytion said, lifting up her hands. "Just tell me who you are first."

"Imogen," the woman said. "My name is Imogen, and I died four years ago, but do not be alarmed."

Sedaytion's eyes widened, and she swung her arm. "Do not be alarmed? What the hell?" she yelled loudly; her mind suddenly jumped into reality and she urged to know where she was and who Imogen truly was as well. "Where the hell are we? Am I dreaming?"

"We are in an Encephalon Dive," Imogen said calmly. "I've been programmed into the Computer of the Institute, where it connects with you."

"Connects with me?"

"Yes," Imogen nodded. "When you have the Dives, and when they had the program to put the chip inside of you."

"But, you're dead," Sedaytion frowned. "You just said so."

"My mind still goes on in this form," she said. "I have been watching you. I have … made so many mistakes, which is why I have been damned to such hell, but you can do what we were made to do – you can do it."

"Do what?" Sedaytion yelled. "Kill people and destroy places? I'm not a weapon."

"You are," Imogen said, shaking her head. Her pink eyes looked down to the floor. "I was too. We are the same, so you must do the right thing."

"We're not the same," Sedaytion said, shaking her head. "See?" she pointed to their cloths. "We may have the same concept in cloths, but we have opposite colours. We are opposite."

"Silly girl, comparing it to fabrics," Imogen said, shaking her head. She put a finger on her lip, then looked at Sedaytion; grinning at her with an evil smirk. "There's nothing you can do, anyway. That medicine doesn't work. You're blended in with the chip."

"You're lying," Sedaytion said, denying the words.

"They just want destruction," she whispered. "And that is what you must provide them with."

"No!" Sedaytion said, taking yet another step back. A smile appeared on her face. "Like you can do anything to harm me. If I am as powerful as you all make out, then no one can force me into anything."

"You plan to kill us? Hurt us?"

"Only if it's necessary,"

"You want to."

"No."

"You want to hear our bones crackle …" she said. "I do too; stop denying it."

"Stop it!" Sedaytion yelled.

"You're like Rubedo …" Imogen smirked. "But I guess you've been told this already, yes?"

Sedaytion stayed silent. Her fingers fumbled at the hem of her dress, her lips pursed together.

"There isn't much you can do anymore, so don't deny it," Imogen said.

Sedaytion opened her eyes quickly, awakening in the normal world. Her eyes were back to the beautiful gold and pink, filled with confusion and dismay. She blinked a few times, gathering her thoughts and emotions she had. She felt the softness of her sheets above her body, and the soft mattress below her. Her eyes stared across her dark room. Her curtains were open, letting her see the dark, eerie park and black sky with its cold stars.

Sedaytion's eyes looked to the side, to see the time. It was half four in the morning. She yawned, pushing herself to sit up properly; she couldn't be bothered to fall back to sleep. Her red hair fell down her face, but soon was brushed behind her ear messily. She looked at her wrist, with the picture of the dragon on it and stared.

How she wanted to try out her powers, yet she didn't want to. She was frightened, in case they did work, then what would happen? That would leave so many questions … but it would give so many answers. Before she knew it, her hand was glowing the yellow it normally did. A spark left her middle finger, slowly floating in the air before disappearing.

Sedaytion's head hung, she breathed in then left it out after a minute. Weakly, she rubbed her face before letting her hand stop glowing. A groan left her throat, and then she pushed the sheets off her body. Sedaytion walked over to her window in silence, pressing her face against the cold glass. The cold ran up her skin, making her shiver as if to shake off all the horrible thoughts and feelings. Her eyes looked down to the park; she watched the leaves sway in the wind. A deep sigh left her lips, her mind began to wonder about things.

"Had it all been a dream?" she asked herself. When she spoke, her breath left a white fog on the window, which evaporated into the air after a few moments.

There was a knock at her door, making her turn her head quickly. The door began to slowly slide open, letting in a faint orange light from the hall. She could see Albedo slowly edging his way into her room, a look of concern on his face.

He hadn't noticed her at the window and it took him a few moments for his purple eyes to find her. The corners of his mouth creased upwards into a smile, and he stepped into her room, shutting the door behind him. He was again wearing his uniform, as he always did. His eyes showed tiredness; did that mean he had been up all night?

"What are you doing here?" Sedaytion asked, taking her face from the window.

"I thought something was wrong," he answered. "So I came to make sure you were okay."

Sedaytion frowned. "What makes you think something's wrong?"

"Nothing," Albedo said, looking slightly embarrassed. "You'd think it's stupid."

Sedaytion paused, unsure of a counter. She shook her head, ending that conversation, and asked him a question. "Do you know a girl called Imogen?"

"Imogen?" he repeated, tasting the name.

"Yeah," Sedaytion nodded. She put a finger on her lip and looked down at the floor. "There was another experiment, like me, who was called Imogen."

"Maybe you should ask Rubedo," Albedo suggested.

"Have you been up all night?" Sedaytion asked, taking a step closer to Albedo. He nodded, but shook his head after.

"I tried sleeping, but I…" he shook his head sharply. "Does it really matter?" his snap made Sedaytion hesitant to step foreword again.

"I was only asking you a question," Sedaytion said quietly. A memory quickly flooded into her head; when he held her by her neck, threatening to kill her. She could remember the pain of his hit on her face so well, her cheek began to tingle. She took a step back, slightly fearful of him hurting her again, like he had when they met.

Sure they were in love, unlike then, but Albedo was in fact turning crazy, which even she couldn't deny.

After the moment of silence, she spoke. "I took the medicine, to stop it working," she quietly began. He stared at her, listening to her words. "But … the medicine didn't work, and I know that because Imogen told me. She said I was just like her; that I have to carry out what she failed at."

She paused, looking at Albedo. "Are you mad at me, or something?"

"No," he simply answered.

"Then why did you snap? Why are you being so silent?" she asked him.

"We have to go to Militia," he quickly said. His eyes immediately hit the floor when he finished his sentence.

"Miltia …?" Sedaytion repeated. "Why?"

"To connect with U-DO," Albedo answered.

"For real?" Sedaytion asked, her eyes wide.

Albedo managed to give her a slight nod, and immediately tears began to fall from his eyes uncontrollably. Sedaytion quickly moved over to him, wrapping her arms around his toned body. She held tightly onto him, letting his head rest on her shoulder. She hushed him soothingly a few times, telling him everything would be okay but she knew her words could not get rid of his fear of U-DO. Even though he couldn't die, Albedo was terrified.

He held tightly onto her, as if it would be the last time he would see her. For some reason he felt like something was going to go wrong. He had trust in Rubedo, their leader, but something in his stomach was telling him it would end up bad. His fingers seeped into her soft hair, brushing her red locks. His tears fell onto her shoulder, making her pyjama's slightly wet.

"You'll go out for the day," Sedaytion said. "And you'll be back home before you know it, thinking about how much you achieved and how it was fun."

There was silence apart from the few sobs that left Albedo's mouth.

"Please don't cry," Sedaytion said, resting her head on his chest. She listened to his forever pounding heartbeat that provided her with so much comfort.

"You'll be okay," Sedaytion assured.

It was later that day, she, Rubedo, Nigredo and Albedo stood in the hallway, about to leave for their trip. She was holding tightly onto Albedo's hand; he was refusing to let go. His palm was sweaty from the stress; his eyes were still puffy and red from crying. He could feel his heart pounding quickly, and butterflies had filled his stomach. He gave Sedaytion a deep kiss, before hesitating to let go of her fingers. He pulled away slowly, walking towards the door.

"I'll be back soon," he told her, standing by Rubedo.

"We won't be long," Nigredo said, nodding.

"You better not be," Sedaytion said, winking.

Rubedo went over to Sedaytion, giving her a quick hug. However, before they parted he whispered something in her ear.

"I'll bring him back," he promised. "Without a scratch."

"I know," Sedaytion whispered. "I trust you."

He pulled away from her, smiling widely. Gently, he hit his chest. "See you in a bit!"

"See ya," Sedaytion smiled. He walked away, opening the door.

Sedaytion waved as they left, Albedo kept his eyes on her as long as he could. Then, before she knew it she was stood in the hall, all alone, waiting for them.

Sedaytion stood in the Observation room. Many Doctors and Scientists were in there; staring at Computer screens, handing out sheets and talking about the U.R.T.V's. Helen was there too; keeping a headset on, listening carefully to what was going on. There was so much going on in that room, Sedaytion found it amazing that they all knew what each other was doing. She had been stood there for a few hours, waiting to hear from Rubedo, Nigredo and Albedo. All the adults had told her everything was going according to plan and that there was nothing to worry about; they were U.R.T.V's after all, and they knew exactly what they were doing.

Sedaytion found it hard to just sit and wait; or even stand. She found herself pacing around the room, often getting in someone's way. She had been ordered to sit down a number of times by the adults, but she never stayed seated for more then a few minutes. Her legs had minds of their own, and she even found herself twisting her fingers, sometimes painfully. She waited, just waited for something; she waited for the word that they were coming home.

"U.R.T.V's are setting up the Mental Link," a woman's voice said.

Sedaytion quickly turned her head to a brunette, who was holding a spare headset in her hand. Softly, the woman held out the headset to Sedaytion. "Would you care to listen?"

"Thanks," Sedaytion said, nodding with a smile.

She took the headset from the woman, and sat down at a screen. Through the blurred, poor quality video footage, she could see them setting up; Albedo clung tightly to Rubedo. Sedaytion put the headset on, being able to hear Rubedo speaking.

"Come on, come on," Sedaytion mumbled, her face getting closer to the screen.

She watched as Rubedo put Albedo's arm up, which made her smile. Everything was going perfectly; the link had been set up and the U-DO beams were being prevented, but she could just about see an expression of horror on Rubedo's face. She watched as his hand lowered from the link.

"No!" she suddenly yelled out.

She heard in the background the commotional Doctors and Scientists, yet she couldn't care for her side of the world. Her hands were on the table and she had stood up suddenly. She knew what Rubedo was doing.

He was breaking the link.

He was going to put all the others at danger! Including Albedo! She stared in horror, watching Albedo try and stop Rubedo. But it was too late; Albedo and Rubedo's hands split, and the link had gone. The U-DO waves were out of control, hitting other U.R.T.V's.

"Damn you, Rubedo!" Sedaytion suddenly yelled, slamming her fists on the table.

Then a U-DO wave flew into the air, aiming to hit Albedo. Before she knew it, the purple beam hit him, and she heard his scream run through her ears. Quickly, she tore off the headset, so she couldn't hear him then her screen went blank. The world turned silent, but she knew people were moving in the background at a fast pace. Sedaytion felt numb, her legs stumbled backwards, and she sat in the chair. Like a doll, she stayed seated; her eyes emotionlessly stared foreword.

Was Albedo … dead?

After what seemed like forever, Sedaytion was quickly swept away from the room by Helen. The next few hours were a blur, but she remembered drinking lots of hot chocolate, and she remembered biting her nails. Helen was talking seriously to her, placing a hand on her face, but none of her words went through. Nothing made sense and it was like she was in a nightmare.

"There have been no records of U.R.T.V number 667 being recovered," the man slowly whispered.

"Oh God no …" Sedaytion cried, covering her mouth with her hand. Tears began to suddenly pour from her eyes, and her heart skipped a beat. Her legs collapsed, and she screamed into her hand, biting down at her skin so hard she pierced it.

Everything that had happened, everything they had planned; every thought she had of them spending there lives together was wasted. It was over; there would be no more laughing with Albedo, there would be no more singing and no more assurance. There would be no more Albedo and Sedaytion walking hand in hand.

Her world came crashing down before her and she didn't know how she was going to pick herself up again. She didn't even know if she could.