A/N: Tylida! You did this to us last year!
Hah! I did kinda didn't I? Right around this time too. Sorry guys. My fiancée and I had a falling out and I'm not taking it as well as I should be. Hence the ridiculously late update you have before you. It's kind of been hard to write and it was written in bits and pieces so I hope it flows ok. The beginning is a little flashback of Albedo and Sellers. Yay Sellers! I just couldn't resist. The rest is the nightmare itself so I shall let you get on with it and stop talking.

Warning: Nightmare. Those of you with weak constitutions should continue reading anyway.
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Xenosaga, only the sick mind that created the plot.


I imagine that a reason people cling to their hates so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, they will be forced to deal with the pain.
- James Baldwin


Abnormally Attracted to Sin
Chapter 12
Incubus

Was it right to call Sellers his father? Certainly not but the scientist was the closest Albedo had ever come to having one. That was one possible reason why when he was particularly aggravated, he'd find himself in the shrewd paraplegic's laboratory. Sellers always knew when the misfit variant was upset. He'd stomp into the room, his pounding footsteps reverberating from every corner. They always disturbed the scientist and he'd instantly give up on the task he had been given. He'd have to accomplish it later after Albedo left. There'd be a few more angry stomps before he'd hear the boy harshly take a vacant seat in the lab. An angry noise would empty itself from his throat but aside from that he was usually quiet. Sellers knew something was different this time. He wasn't sure why - he just knew. The scientist waited, expecting something to occur. The sooner it did the sooner he could get back to work. He did have a schedule to maintain after all, and these little tantrums were quite the annoying little disruptions. But Albedo didn't speak. His heavy, angry breathing was the only thing Sellers could hear. The scientist was no fool and didn't press it. He would be patient and wait it out; if he didn't it would only make things worse. An hour ticked by and still Albedo was silent. Sellers was about to give up and ask (though doing so would only provoke the unstable boy) what the matter was. Luckily Albedo spoke before he voluntarily did something so stupid.

"Do you know what they call me?"

Sellers assumed by 'they' Albedo meant the soldiers. Most of them were frightened of him. Most of Ormus was frightened of him. He was a dangerous little thing and unpredictable at that. He didn't follow the rules. He didn't listen to anyone. He did whatever he wished and mocked everything Ormus and its military stood for. He was openly resented and every now and then a foolish recruit without prior knowledge would open his mouth. Albedo was always all-too happy to shut it for him.

"Monster," Albedo spoke, answering his own question. "They call me a demon."

Sellers' chair turned around so that he could face the boy. By Albedo's earlier tone he had been expecting him to be truly upset. He should have known better. Albedo was never the victim. A wide grin plastered his face as he raised a bloody hand. It was then that Sellers noticed that the front of the boy's uniform was smeared with the substance.

"They call me crazy, insane." Albedo ran his tongue across a finger, "They wanted a monster, so I gave them one."

Sellers wasn't as easily disgusted as most people and the thought of another dead Ormus soldier wasn't disturbing in the least little bit. Albedo liked that about him and liked even more that the scientist didn't cry out or panic when Albedo jumped onto his hover chair. He placed his feet on the chair's controls and leaned over, planting his hands on the outer ring of the machine. The scientist grimaced a little, unhappy about having to clean blood off of his expensive vehicle.

"What about you, Cripple?" Albedo asked with a grin that made even Sellers uncomfortable. He shifted a bit in order to get closer to the older man, reminding Sellers of the archaic spider ready to sink its deadly fangs into its prey. "Do you find me mad?"

He remained calm and stoic in the face of lunacy. What else was he to do? It wasn't like he could run away. Albedo's purple gaze pierced him as he waited, crouched in that disturbing position. He was trying to throw him off, trying to create an excuse to attack. Sellers was smarter than that.

"Certainly," he said, "but all great minds are."

Albedo's grin twisted dangerously. 'Liar!' it screamed, ready to rip him apart but it faltered when Sellers surprised him.

"After all, one cannot change the world without a little insanity."


The doors opened silently, something Jr. wasn't expecting. There was no ominous creaking or thundering of limestone against the floor. The doors were silence itself as if sound were muted by the all too audible pounding of his anxious heart.

He stepped inside and onto a tiny vestibule separated from the rest of the church by a large series of dark pillars, leaving an opening big enough for two people to walk through. Jr. could see the inside of the church from where he stood. He took a deep breath before looking back to the darkness outside of the doors. There was something grim about the fact that obscure darkness felt safer than a brightly lit cathedral but there was no turning back now. He'd made his decision and it was time for some answers. With a powerful exhale and frozen resolve he turned his back to the comfort of darkness and made his way forward.

The first thing Jr. noticed about the cathedral was its height. It was impossibly tall, the exaggerated verticality revealing the height Jr. had missed in the dark. The rib-vaulted ceilings created a pointed arch and gave the cathedral the shape of a stretched oval, the bottom being cut away by the floor. As Jr. made his way farther into the church he noticed that the ribbing of the ceilings swept down from the roof to create the very pillars that held up the edifice. The vaulted ceiling and the dark pillars repeated from the entrance to the high altar, mimicking a backbone and rib cage with the altar as its heart. Dark brown pews flanked the sides as he walked the cathedral's nave, stained glass windows at each of their ends. A tall candlestick stood unlit on either side of each pew. They were empty of candles and Jr. assumed that they gave light without them and were simply turned off. It made sense. There was no need for them in such a brightly lit place. The walls echoed the gray of the exterior but the floor was covered in a black mirror tile that reflected Jr.'s movements. He couldn't keep himself from glancing down at his image in between the rhythm of his steps. A piece of him kept expecting to see Albedo's likeness grinning up at him from beyond an onyx mirror. But he was always greeted by his own anxious features.

Despite the cathedral's ostentatious height it was small in width and Jr. didn't have to move from the central aisle to inspect the area. The whole building was visible. There was nothing to hide behind, no shadows or doors to wait in. There was nothing and even though the discovery should have given him relief none came. Call him stubborn, call him paranoid, call him crazy but he just knew that this couldn't be all those doors had had to offer him. This couldn't be what had been pleading with him earlier that night. It just couldn't be. He continued his walk forward. His eyes swept down the aisles, between pews and up to the roof again. He turned to look behind him towards the open cathedral doors. There was nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Jr. stopped his journey where the nave ended and became the chancel. In front of him lied the altar raised onto a slightly higher platform. Behind it stood another stained glass window that took up the entire back wall, stretching to conform to the cathedral's height. A large, empty cross hung a few feet above its center. He sighed and shifted his stance, scanning the area one more time. Was this all there was for him? Had he imagined that haunted feeling before? He crossed his arms and glared at his surroundings for what he swore would be the final time. Something wasn't right. Something was out of place, it had to be. There had to have been some sort of explanation for the haunted feeling.

Jr. groaned and uncrossed his arms. He was thoroughly frustrated with himself. There was nothing here. His eyes landed on the empty cross once more. He supposed he should be relieved. He wasn't crazy, he was injured. Still, as his eyes traced the perfect shapes of the unmarred stained glass he found no relief. He chalked it up to his nonsensical paranoia. He was already irritated – hell, this whole predicament was pissing him off. He sat himself down on a pew and leaned back against it. There was nothing here. It was just an empty, abandoned cathedral. The fact that it was still standing was nothing short of a miracle. He leaned his head back to stare up at the ceiling and thought idly - as his eyes traced its ribbed shape - that the longer he stared at it the more it seemed to move. As if it were alive and Jr. was sitting in the glorious insides of a sleeping creature.

He sat waiting and expecting but still nothing came. chaos was right, was always right. It wasn't something he hadn't known, he knew exactly what he had been doing. Trying to pretend like something didn't happen didn't make it disappear. Everyone could see the gaping hole in his chest and no matter how hard Jr. tried to cover it, it wasn't going away.

It had been easier to forget before. Unbelievably so with the new life Helmer had given them. The farther they were apart the weaker their link became and the more Jr. neglected it the weaker still it became. Jr. could feel Albedo and had known he was alive and the knowledge had been somewhat comforting. He'd never wanted his brother to die but he was too dangerous to be around anymore. It was better to just pretend. He'd done a good job of pretending too before Albedo had resurfaced years later from the hell of the past Miltia. He had reemerged pulling hard on a link that had gone unused for years, not even giving Jr. enough time to prepare himself. And so he attacked without thinking, attacked the object of his guilt, his fear, of everything he wanted to forget. He'd had no choice, not with MOMO as his latest attempt at Jr.'s weakness.
But when he had stepped onto Abel's Ark, when he had walked through the hell Albedo conjured for him, it wasn't about MOMO. It wasn't even truly about Sakura. It wasn't about Gaignun or the Institute, Miltia, or anything else. It had been about them.

For once, his ears hadn't rung with the sound of a lunatic's chimeric rhetoric. And for the first time in his entire life Albedo had seemed happy, at peace. That was probably because Albedo had gotten what he'd wanted.

And Jr., Jr. hadn't even gotten to apologize.

Jr. snapped out of his thoughts and pushed himself up. It was time to leave. Obviously the only things here were empty seats and an empty cross. No fantastic epiphany, no extravagant dream to violently shake him from a fitful sleep. Definitely no brother so there was no use in making himself sick thinking over it. He needed to get out of here. He easily resisted the urge to look around once more. He'd seen enough and searching again wouldn't make a difference. He kept his eyes away from the reflective floor and kept them straight ahead towards the welcoming blackness of early morning. He'd sleep it off - all of this - and figure things out from there. His temples ached from memories he refused to acknowledge. He was too fucking tired and this place was too damn quiet. He needed to get out. Black morning held open the doors for him like welcoming arms promising salvation from salvation. It made him all the more eager to get the hell out. He was so tired and the doors were so close.

"Rester, Rubedo. What is your haste?"

Jr. stopped. It was a reflexive action coinciding with the suddenness of his blood running cold. Stopping was a mistake however, and he instantly regretted it as the stone doors slammed shut in front of him.

"Afraid of your mark?"

Jr. stood dumbly, staring at the doors that kept him trapped as if their closing had been a mistake. His eyes must be playing tricks on him. They were open, would open, if he'd just keep walking. But it was no illusion. An earsplitting sound filled the once quiet church. Jr.'s hands went to cover his ears to keep it away but it didn't help. That horrible white noise returned with a vengeance, trying to crush him beneath it once more. Jr. refused to let it consume him again and forced himself to straighten up.

"How silly a sentiment."

Somehow the sentence had found its way through the sound and Jr. spun around to find its owner. That damn static was scraping the insides of his skull but he forced himself to look, to search. He couldn't allow himself to appear weakened. The pews were empty as were the pillars. Every shadow was empty but he could feel him and he could hear him. Albedo was here. A new sound, like the twisting of metal pierced the static and Jr.'s eyes followed the sound to the altar and upward to the once empty cross.

"Did you not know? Everyone is welcome in God's house."

It wasn't a cross anymore, not the one he had seen earlier and he found himself taking a small step backward at the sight.

It was twisted, turned upside down and stretched so that its edges created sharp, dangerous points. A golden tree sprouted from its top as a golden circle connected them together, interrupted by the black points of the cross. It was an iron cross, Ormus' cross.
Jr. wasn't afraid of Ormus. Ormus Jr. could handle, had handled. No, Ormus wasn't a problem.

The problem lie with the person. The person hanging from its pointed cross. The person hanging upside down like an inverted messiah. The person nailed, bleeding, and grinning at Jr. with all the madness he could muster.

"Even you, dragon."

Part of Jr. wanted to run, to find some sort of escape. Another begged him to wake up. Albedo could only be alive in a dream, right? Wake up. Just wake the fuck up. He closed his eyes in an attempt to erase the image in front of him but when he opened them nothing had changed. Albedo was still there, an exact copy of Jr.'s last memories of him as if his Kirschwassers had nailed him there instead of taking him to Paradise. A rosary hung from his neck, swaying slightly every time he breathed. A cruel smile played on his lips, taunting Jr.

"Tell me!" Jr. shouted, placing a hand over a hilt to calm his nerves. He was tired of running. He was tired of being the coward. He was going to face this demented apparition and he was going to get some answers. "Tell me just what the hell you are."

Albedo's smile worsened in a way that made Jr. reconsider escape. He couldn't stand it. "Answer me!" He shouted again, trying not to reveal how shaken he was.

"I know that you can't be real. Albedo's dead so what are you, another figment of my imagination?"

And then he laughed; that horrible sound that drove Jr. to the brink of insanity every time he heard it.

"Eating the bread of anxious toil? Careful Rubedo for you're only giving it to your sleep."

"Answer me!" Jr. yelled back, ignoring Albedo's words. "You called me here, didn't you? Well you've got me so tell me what you want."

"Is it not obvious, mon Rubedo?"

'My Rubedo' he had said, as if Jr. were something to possess. He tensed as Albedo squirmed a bit, causing blood to seep from his nailed wounds.

"I want you."

"Sorry. I'm not for sale."

"My dear brother, you misunderstand me. Redeeming you was not my intention."

Darkness overtook the cathedral and transformed it into a blackness so severe that Jr. felt himself panic for a moment as he fumbled to draw his weapons fast enough. Fortunately it didn't last long. The unlit candles that had lined the nave lit up, throwing the abbey's insides into a soft yellow-orange glow with darkness at its edges. He was surrounded by shadows, the nave being his only safe point. Albedo had him trapped. Still Jr. held his stance, guns raised against the crucified monster.

"Tell me, mon coer, what part do I play in the theatre of your dreams? Am I the victim or the villain?"

"Every dream I've ever had of you," Jr. growled, "has always been a nightmare."

"Ah, but of course! Why I, I was always the villain!"

Albedo's shoulders tugged, causing the cross behind him to shudder. Blood oozed from his wounds, leaving trails on his legs and causing it to drip from the cross' iron edges.

"Crucify me my cruel dragon! Crucify me to this iron, this symbol of regret! Crucify me to this, the very proof of your betrayal!"

A horrible tearing sound caused Jr's heart to drop. Albedo's smile was Glasgow as he gave a powerful yank and separated his hand from the cross.

"But come Rubedo," He laughed, paying no mind to the bloody hole in his hand or the chunk of flesh missing from his palm. "Come, confess yourself to Heaven! Repent what's past, avoid what is to come!"

Another vicious jerk and Albedo freed his other hand but the jerk was too forceful and instead of simply tearing his flesh the demented messiah tore the nail from its spot. The crude thing remained in place as Albedo laughed through his hysterical psychosis.

"And pray dragon, pray! It is Hail Mary time and you are desperately in need of your Gabriel!"

"Wha-what are you talking about?" Jr. shouted but it came out as more of a shriek as he unconsciously took a few steps back. He was very conscious of himself as he cocked his guns however, and all too conscious of Albedo's Cheshire smile.

"What lies in that broken heart of yours, Rubedo?" Albedo tilted his head, heated accusation in his eyes contrasting with the chilling set of his lips and complimenting the gruesome state of his wounds. "How anxious my hero is for his villain. Incessant with desperation it cries. How pitifully it calls, screams for your monster!"

Jr.'s breath hitched in his chest. That was impossible. Jr. had searched their link and Albedo's had come up empty. Albedo was dead. The real Albedo was dead. This one was his own creation, a part of his own self-torment. There was no other way. Wake up, Jr.

"You're not going to trick me again," Jr. demanded, "I'm the damn link master. There's no possible way you could've-"

"What does your silence sound like?"

Jr. stiffened at the question, unwilling reminded of the white noise that clung to the lining of his mind like drying glue; buzzing in and out, louder and louder.

"What of that debilitating debacle that drenches your mind? Summon, seek, find me!" Albedo slammed the palms of his hands against the cross, causing it to shudder. "Forget me not!"

Albedo pressed his palms against the cross and raised his upper body from it. With a rough twist he tore his feet from the nail that held them. Gravity pulled his body down fast but Albedo righted himself, landing on already regenerated feet.

"Why do you run, resist?" Albedo asked as he straightened himself up. He stood with his back facing Jr. The boy shakily tightened his grip on his weapons. "I only answer the unsteady pulse that calls for me. Must you give chase?"

Jr. didn't need to see Albedo's face; he could hear the smile in it. "Fly, dragon."

Maybe he was overdoing it. Just a little bit. Albedo smiled. Good. Oh how lovely it was to see his mighty dragon shivering. What is the emotion behind those tremors? Is it anger, fear, shock, disgust? Albedo couldn't decide. Oh but what a fun game this was. Come, dragon, your darkness calls. A bullet sailed past Albedo's ear, almost making contact before bursting a section of the glass window in front of him.

"No, I'm tired of this game!"

The strength of his voice surprised the madman and sent shivers of his own up his spine.

"You WILL answer me!"

"Yes!" Albedo cried, turning to face his brother. Jr. shrank back a little. Hide behind those weapons any harder and they'll surely break. "Give me more! More of that dangerous fire, my sweet dragon. Fuel my hunger, feed me your vengeance!"

"You really think I'm that stupid?" Jr. bit back. "I know what you want from me. Like hell you're gonna get it!"

Albedo felt the wickedness of his own smile. How very naïve his little dragon was.

"Do you, Rubedo?"

Jr.'s sureness eroded a bit under Albedo's voice. Still he answered:

"Yeah, I do."

"Then come!" Albedo shouted, slamming his bleeding hands onto the altar, causing it to crack under the force. "Commit yourself to this place; the closet of your sins. Deliver me from the confines of your prisonic confessional. Give to me your completion and with it renounce mine!"

Blood from his unhealed left hand smeared the once pristine surface of the altar and dripped down its edges.

"And answer me, mon coer. Contest to me, mon précieux,"

Jr.'s blood iced over at the warped thing Albedo's smile had become.

"Did it hurt?"

Albedo tore through the altar separating him from Jr. and charged so fast that the boy barely had time to think. He jerked to the left at the last second, avoiding Albedo's grasp by mere inches. The madman's laughter rang throughout the dark cathedral. Jr. quickly spun around to face Albedo only to find that he wasn't there. Albedo had vanished outside of the nave and into the unlit shadows covering the rest of the cathedral. There was no sound, no movement, not even laughter as Jr. tried to locate his brother. Jr. was in trouble and he knew it but he tried to keep himself calm; panicking wasn't going to fix anything. There was a small sound to his right. He turned toward it just in time as Albedo flew out of the darkness to grab him again. Albedo missed but Jr. knew that wouldn't stop him and within a few seconds Albedo was coming at him again from another direction. Jr. was trapped in the light as Albedo moved through the blanket his shadows allowed him. He was a flash of white from the darkest parts of the blackened cathedral trying desperately to grab hold of Jr. every time he drew near. He picked up his speed and Jr.'s movements became even sloppier as he tried to keep track of where Albedo had left and where he was coming from. Despite the disorientating motion he always managed to move, he managed to fire his weapon and hit his mark each time Albedo reached for him. It was useless to shoot. It would always be useless to shoot, to fire but Jr. wouldn't lessen the grip on his guns. They were his protection and Albedo wasn't going to break him.

"Did it hurt when you fell from Heaven?" Albedo screamed from the shadows as he launched himself forward again.

Survival had become a dance and Jr. couldn't keep up. Albedo lead him back and forth across the cathedral's nave, keeping Jr. in the dimly- lit center as the boy tried to predict his movements. There was no escape and Jr. found himself stumbling just to dodge. Albedo loved the clumsy movements of his brother. He loved the way his voice shook his counterpart. He delighted in it, bathed in it, and even though his Rubedo's eyes were sharp and his aim perfection, his heart was frantic. Albedo could see it written like ink on his skin. It didn't take much; a simple slip, a second too slow, reaction time confused with the constantly changing location of his enemy, and Rubedo was his. His guns were knocked from his hands and he was thrown onto the floor before he could comprehend what was happening. A sharp slamming sound met the tile beside his head and for a moment Jr. thought he had blacked out. It took him a few seconds to realize that the blackness he was staring into was the cathedral's onyx tile. It took a second longer to realize that the slamming sound had been caused by Albedo's nailed hand breaking the tile beside him. His frantic expression greeted him as he rushed to pull himself up but he was stopped by a hand on his back.

"How ugly is your shadow, your reflection?"

Jr. struggled to push himself up but only succeeded in being forced harder onto the cold tile. Albedo bent low, so that Jr. could feel his breath against his neck. Jr. kept his pitiful struggle, closing his eyes at the feeling of Albedo being so near.

"I can see the innocence of your incubus," Albedo whispered. Jr. shivered and tried again to break away. Albedo only pressed down harder. "His wings are sharp and his soul is lost. Deliver him to me."

Jr.'s eyes snapped open when he felt Albedo's tongue on his ear. "I will absolve him."

"Get off me!" Jr. threatened. That familiar fire began to rise inside of him. "I swear to God if you don't stop this-"

Albedo's maddening laughter rang throughout the cathedral. "Fangs, fangs, give me that bite, that marvelous bite of yours."

Jr. growled and squirmed again but Albedo was stronger. Jr. wasn't going to get away. Not unless… Albedo's eyes flashed with excitement and Jr. watched his reflected smile turn sadistic. Before he could brace himself Albedo had flipped him onto his back, hard. Now the madman was crawling on top of him, pinning him down, urging the dragon to fight.

"I can feel it Rubedo," Albedo spoke. Jr. felt a hand behind his neck. Something smooth and round pressed against his spine. It only took a moment to for him to remember the nail still lodged in Albedo's palm. "In the way your blood and your heart beat. In the way your body writhes beneath me." Jr. could hear the sharp end scrapping against the tile and felt his twin's blood on his skin as Albedo pulled the boy up closer to him.

"And although I adore the sting, the prick of those sharp, violent teeth…" Jr. could feel U-DO before he could see it. It evaporated off his twin's body and covered him like silk. He couldn't stand the feeling "I've had enough of your fangs. Give me your fire!"

"No!" Jr. shouted. His heart pounded, his blue eyes flashed red, his body craved to destroy the creature above him. It coursed through his veins with enough force to cause his body to shake.
"I won't!" But it was growing harder to hold himself back. As his body shook from the effort he wondered which was more exhausting: releasing or containing his power. He wondered too if that was Albedo's intention.

His mind was quickly brought back to Albedo when he felt the man's lips on his neck.

"And to what deadly sin do I owe this submission?"

He cringed and struggled, trying to escape, trying to contain himself, trying to just think.

"Have you come bearing admittance to that tightly wrapped secret of yours? Or have you come to be done with me? Done with my memory, my mind, my presence, my soul, your soul? Done with the consorts of God's blood and of his burial?"

Jr. tried to make sense of what was happening, his mind caught between controlling himself and dissecting Albedo's words. He opened his mouth to speak but a finger on his lips stopped him. He glared at Albedo as the madman bent lower so that their faces were mere inches apart.

"Tell me, mon coer," he grinned, watching his gloved hand slide down Jr.'s lips. "What do I desire?"

Jr. could feel himself reaching the breaking point. He shuddered, sparks flickering on and off his body. They burned into Albedo and Jr. felt his stomach turn at the excitement that brought him.

"Why?" Jr. screamed, "Why are you doing this? I don't want to fight anymore! You're not even real! The real Albedo died. He died! I-I…"

Albedo was a composer effortlessly coaxing Jr.'s body to play his masterpiece. He loved every moment of it; his dragon's lamentation trapped in the harlequin wrappings of a hymnal's praise. Ah but that's not what he truly wanted and though the melody was enough to send his maddened mind into a delicious delirium he couldn't help himself.

"Death is but bitter without your sweet fire."

And ah, that was what he wanted; that shock, the confusion written all over his fiery twin. It was too much and as Jr. opened his mouth to speak Albedo took the chance to place his lips over Jr.'s His body was shaking harder now and Albedo grinned against the boy's lips. Jr.'s hands pressed on Albedo's bare shoulders, trying weakly to push him off but Albedo only responded by forcing them harder together.

"Guide me to Hell my red prince," he gasped. Albedo ran his uninjured claw down Jr.'s body. The boy jerked and the madman smiled. "And together let us lie in your bed of coals."

Jr. was beginning to wonder if it was worth it. Keeping his power at bay was putting him in an extremely dangerous position. But even with the knowledge that he was in a dream and even knowing that none of this mattered, even knowing that this all had to be some kind of twisted fabrication of his wounded mind he couldn't let himself do it again. Albedo was taking full advantage of Jr.'s torment, drinking in the sight of it. The tips of his claws met the zipper of Jr.'s pants.

"What are you-" Jr. started to shout but he was again stopped by Albedo's lips. Jr. fought harder this time, a bit of his energy ghosting along Albedo's bare skin, threatening him. Albedo loved it and when he pulled away Jr. felt the black rosary hit his chin, the tips of an inverted cross idly knocking against his skin. Albedo pulled Jr.'s body as close to his own as he could and nuzzled his face into the boy's neck.

"It is not your fire but your molten core that I seek."

Jr. was even more confused than ever at his words. If Albedo didn't want him to lose control then what did he want? Wasn't that what he had been trying to get him to do from the moment these nightmares had started? That had to be the point of all of this. There was no other explanation. The claws that had been playing with Jr.'s zipper released it but Jr. was too caught up in his thoughts to notice until that same hand slid over his crotch. He jerked and started to ask Albedo just what the hell he was doing but was stopped once again by Albedo's mouth. It was a much more violent kiss this time and Jr. couldn't stop the panic swelling in his chest. Albedo crushed their bodies together, rubbed harder against Jr. The boy tried to fight again but found that the more he struggled the more friction his motion caused.

"Tell me where your heart lies," Albedo said, a breathless laugh escaping him as he placed his lips on Jr.'s ear. "And let me burn in your inferno, mon Rubedo."

He wasn't sure what he was shaking from anymore. He heard himself gasp and felt himself growing hot. He had to get away. His ragged breathing was met with laughter as Albedo whispered something that went unheard in his ear. There must be something, anything he could use as a weapon. His eyes scanned the lightened nave frantically until they fell on a broken candlestick. One of them must have knocked it over. It was perfect, just long enough to use from his angle. If only he could get to it. It wasn't that far away. He was having a hard time concentrating between the attention Albedo was giving him and the containment of his power.

Jr.'s gasps were driving Albedo wild. He wasn't sure how much more of this exquisite torture he could take. And how white hot were his dragon's flames, threatening to scorch him. But it wasn't the flames of his dragon's wrath that seared through him. Albedo's body lurched reflexively as something sharp tore through his abdomen and continued to rip through him until it exited through his back. A vicious laugh erupted from him. Jr. used the momentary distraction to shove the man off of him. He pushed himself up and stumbled backward toward the door. Running through the darkness toward them wouldn't be a good idea so he looked around for a moment and found one of his pistols.

"You," Jr. gasped, trying to get control of his wayward power and body, "You're not going to break me."

"Why Rubedo," Albedo chuckled. He curled his injured palm around the end of the broken candlestick lodged inside of him. "
A sharp tug freed it from Albedo's body, tearing a hole through his stomach. As soon as it was free his body started reforming itself, weaving flesh and organs back together. "You are already broken."

Jr. could still feel the fire pounding in his system, unwilling to dim down. His body twitched and his eyes flashed occasionally. He gritted his teeth and tried to hold it all together.

"I know what's real." Jr. spat, cocking his remaining gun. Jr. felt as if he were going crazy. Albedo had kissed him before in other dreams but Jr. had always assumed it was to piss him off, throw him over the edge. He had disregarded those parts of the nightmares. The true Albedo might pull something like that but this was getting into scary territory. What had that accident done to him?

"And I know that I'm…sick. And I know that when I wake up you'll be gone." The pistol in his grip shook slightly as he spoke. "And I'll forget all about you."

"Of course Rubedo," Albedo grinned. He tossed the candlestick to the ground and took a few steps toward the boy. Jr. took a few backward at his advance, ready for his next attack. "Doubt that the silence of your mind disturbs you not. Doubt that the death of your villain doesn't make your heart bleed with the guilt of an uncontested sin. And Doubt that my presence will fade with the disillusion of your nightmare."

"Yet I remain your phantasmal incubus." He opened his arms in welcome. "Deny me. Deny my form, my mind, my existence, my body." He bowed, "Your heart is mine, dear Rubedo and I have come to claim it."

"I don't belong to you!" Jr. shouted. "You're not real!"

"My dear sweet Rubedo," Albedo cooed taking a few deadly steps toward the tortured boy. "What must I do to ease this doubt?"

The speed at which Albedo moved seemed to always catch Jr. off-guard. He didn't get the chance to dodge this time as Albedo grabbed his collar and pulled him up so that they were eye level. "If I were to bring the nails would you sacrifice me again my savior?"

Again? But Albedo was gone. The real Albedo was gone. He had to be. Jr. would never forget. And as Albedo held him there in his deadly grip he felt the fight in him dulling. So maybe it was out of pure instinct that he pressed his gun to Albedo's throat. Perhaps it was out of instinct that he threatened his brother and promised his destruction because Jr. wasn't fooling anyone anymore. Not even himself.

It is my ghost that haunts your heart.

Jr.'s eyes widened and Albedo smiled at him. The static that had been sliding along Jr.'s mind grew louder, digging into his skull with its presence. He groaned and shuddered beneath the pain.

I have returned for you.

The static was horrible. It scrapped against his mind like a serrated knife tearing chunks of him apart. It was distorting his vision and making him sick to his stomach. He couldn't hear, couldn't see, couldn't think. It was paralyzing. Jr. tried to fight the feeling back. He was lost in the sensation as it painfully devoured him.

Mon Rubedo.

It's not true. Jr. thought as he began to lose himself to the feeling. It couldn't be. He wasn't sure how much longer it was going to matter. He thought he heard Albedo's laughter from somewhere in the static but he wasn't sure. He was so desperate to hear anything else that he might've been imagining it. He was sure that Albedo was touching him when he felt a claw on his neck.

"So tell me, my dragon,"

Was that Albedo's voice or was it his imagination? It must have been Albedo because he felt the man's lips against his ear again as if he wanted to make sure Jr. knew it was him. As if he knew he was lost. Should there have been comfort in that? Albedo was the one hurting him, wasn't he?

"In our abysmal game who is the leader?"

Wasn't…he?

"Is it my turn to die, Rubedo?"


A/N: Well? Worth the wait? I certainly freakin' hope so. I've used a lot of symbolisim in this chapter and I usually don't like to point things out so that readers can interpret things for themselves but there are a couple of things I'd like to point out.
*Ormus' cross is the first. Am I the only person that loves that thing? Yes? Awww...Well anyway, I described it as an inverted cross but I'm not exactly sure that it is, in fact, inverted. I described it that way as an allusion to the Cross of St. Peter and not as an Anti-Christ symbol. St. Peter was crucified upside down by request because he felt that he was not worthy to be crucified in the same position as Christ.
*Albedo's rosary is the second. Albedo wore a necklace at the end of XII but I replaced it with a rosary for nightmare purposes. I did so because wearing a rosary around one's neck as jewelry is viewed as sacrilegious. Not by all churches mind you, but stricter ones won't be happy to see you wearing one like that.

Yeah well...I think that's about it. I'll try to update again as soon as possible but I'm not exactly sure when I'll be able to. :\
Sorry again and I hope that everyone had a merry Christmas and a happy New Year! c: