The box was in his office. He had set it there for its safe keeping.

Perhaps it was a foolish thing to do, but he had no place in his home that would allow him to keep it. He didn't want it sitting in his space. If he had it somewhere where he relaxed, he only would have looked back. The memories would have filled him all over.

As his jeep had leaped through the night, heading torwards the building; Judal could do nothing but curse himself over this decision.

What he needed right now was to be with Aladdin, but the box…

He couldn't let anyone find it. If they knew the truth of him, there would be inquiries.

All the pieces were falling into place. He would never have to look back. After he would grab this box, he would drive somewhere and burn it, forget that there had ever been a name before Judal. This was his life now.

He turned into the parking garage and ignored the spaces on the ground level. Instead he drove up to the third level and parked by the door.

Quick, quick, quick.

He needed to be in and out before anyone really took in the fact that he was here. The Kou brothers wouldn't be in the building right now. All there would be is the night workers and maybe Hakuei. She wouldn't bother him though. He needed to get to that damn floorboard in his office immediately.

The keys to the building were still in his car. He unlocked and went through to the skywalk. The city lights reflected off the glass. Never again would he walk this path. Never again would he be trying to reach for something in an effort to let go.

Aladdin had been able to shed his past.

He should be able to as well.

The building loomed over him, watching with the eye from that box.

The box was the thing he needed. He had to grab it. It needed to burn. He had to get rid of the last of his past and move on now.

A beep sounded as he swiped his ID card, the door opening only to be shoved by him. His feet carried him across the dark carpeting. There was no one in the cubicles for once. The computers were all left on, but there was no one.

It must have been a damn birthday or something.

Judal moved further through the building, heading along the hallway towards his office.

The nameplate for Kouen flashed passed.

There would be no more of that man. He would never have to wonder about what the other was planning, whether or not he was trusted. Kouen would never again be coming into his office to read or speak cryptically. He would never have to wonder about whether or not he should inform him about the misconceptions he had about the old beliefs.

That would have sparked too many questions though.

The nameplate for Koumei passed.

Never again would he be walking into that man's office to find him asleep. He wouldn't be seeing the other sitting in the courtyard by the building, feeding pigeons and playing chess with old men. The man would be but a memory. Koumei had been a simple person.

The nameplate for Kouha passed.

There would be no more of the pushy brat around. Kouha would never again be trying to find out the truth of him. He wouldn't be making housecalls or anything. It would be as though he had never existed.

No more of those three.

Judal pushed the door to his office open and moved across the room. His hands were shoving the bookshelf aside, letting it crash onto the floor nearby before he was on his knees.

Identity, Judal thought to himself, come here and let me burn you from this world.

The floorboard was still cracked in the same place he had broken it. His hands pulled the piece of wood away from the wall, his nails dug into the hole only to begin pulling the small box out.

The all-knowing eye on the box stared back at him, displayed upon the bright orange and black background of the box. His hands shook as he pulled it out. It was still here. No one had touched it. His hands lifted the lid up.

Alexander Sun stared back at him.

"Hello, dead friend," Judal murmured, his heart calming just slightly.

A click came from behind him, making his blood run cold.

"Hello, Judal…"

The man had found him. It shouldn't have been that surprising. Judal had not hidden away that much. He had thought that the other would have needed more time though. He had been brought back only a couple weeks back.

"Titus," Judal greeted, closing the box and looking behind himself.

The blond looked ragged, like he hadn't been eating or sleeping right. His eyes had a cloudiness to them, like he wasn't all there in the mind. Or perhaps that was just the impression that he wanted to give. Judal wasn't going to dwell on the details when there was a gun to his back. "Are you going to shoot me, Titus?"

"You had Marga killed."

"Did I now?" Judal turned, feeling the barrel of the gun moved to remain over his heart. "Was I truly the one that killed her? If I remember the brat much anymore, I would swear that it was the knives of a group of savages that killed her."

"They were always just savages in your eyes, weren't they?" Titus kicked at his face, sending Judal falling back. Judal pulled the box under him with his legs. He needed to escape now. "There is no one in your eyes, is there, Judal? No people. No things. You're a monster, the true monster in this world. You are selfishness in true form."

"Marga was killing those savages."

"SHE WAS A CHILD! SHE WAS GETTING BETTER!"

The gun was shaking in his hand. He was lost in that mind of his. Judal could see it so easily. There was no telling what he would do. "Marga was the reason for their pain. Those people were itching to fight. They would have blamed one another with or without my help."

"Marga would have lived," Titus screeched. The sound was like nails on a chalkboard.

Judal moved in closer. "Titus…"

The floor was shot, right between his legs, near his dick. "Don't come any closer to me, you greedy fuck." Titus pulled his phone out as it rang, watching Judal as he answered.

"What? …I don't care. The kid's not with him. If he's not in the jeep, then just wait. Maybe he's hiding… You're what… okay… Wait by the door for me. I'm going to finish this guy here…."

"You are working with the slave trade to find me?"

"Fatima took me in after I got out, saved me from a situation." Titus leaned in closer. "You recognize this gun, Judal?"

"I do."

"Tell me about it."

"It's my gun from the front lines…" The one that had been sitting in his basement. He had placed it in a case, covered with a black cloth. A symbolic gesture for a time and death of his army self.

"You know where I got this?"

"I do…"

Titus was shaking more, either from the adrenaline or something. He wasn't the same man that Judal had seen in the base. This person was broken. "We're going to replay her last few hours together again. Just for old time's sake. When it's over, I'm gonna do you the kindness that you wouldn't show her. I'm gonna kill you."

"She was dying anyway."

"SHE WOULD HAVE LIVED!"

Judal looked up at him. "You can kill me, but you won't get that boy. He's gone."

"Did you kill him too, Judal?"

"I enjoyed every second of it," Judal purred, balling his fists. "He died just like Marga. Screaming and crying, his little fists trying to reach for me. His blue eyes looked up at me with such vulnerability. It was just like how Marga was when we found her almost dead."

"I should have known you were that way. Yunan tried to convince us all otherwise, but I knew… you're nothing but a murderer."

"I am."

The barrel of the gun was pressed to his forehead as Titus pulled out a knife. "I'm going to enjoy this then. I'll gut you like you should have been gutted long ago."

"Yes, please," Judal hissed. "Kill me, Titus. Prove to yourself that you are the monster you think you are. We have always been so much alike."

"I… I was nothing like you!"

"Are you sure?" Judal leaned up, daring him to pull that trigger. Aladdin was safe with Kougyoku. When they would find his body, Kougyoku would take Aladdin to Sinbad and Ja'far or take care of him herself. She would not let any harm come to him. Kougyoku and Aladdin both loved him too much. They would be one another's rock in case of his death.

He had no doubt of that.

"I'm nothing like you," Titus growled, his knife going to Judal's leg, right by his balls. The man intended to kill him from that starting point. The pain would make him pass out before death.

"You are," Judal told him softly. "We are so much alike, Titus. We joined the army at the same time, both doing piloting and then going to army. We were in the same group together for so long. Am I even real to you anymore?" Judal moved in closer, watching the other shake. "When I look in the mirror, it isn't even me I see anymore, Titus. It's you. It's always been you."

That was it, he needed to psych him out. Make him shoot himself or something.

Titus shook his head, "WE ARE NOT THE SAME!"

"How many people did we kill together," Judal murmured. "How many bodies lie in a coffin, people crying over them as some priest says prayers? That was us, Titus. You and me together. It's always been us. It always will be us. You think you can stand there and tell me that you are a pure person in spirit, but what I see… what I see in you is the same darkness that is in me. We're closer than brothers, Titus. After killing me, you will have to kill Fatima. Everyone in this building will come after you. You'll watch person and after person fall. You'll run, but I'll always be there, Titus. I'll watch you from every window, every shadow."

"SHUT UP!"

The knife dug into his thigh, but Judal didn't stop, he had a hand almost to his gun.

"We're the same," Judal murmured. "We will always be together in mind. You wanted Marga dead as much as me. We wanted her dead. Togeth-"

"STOP!"

A shot rang out in the room, the two of them pressed together. It wasn't Titus who had yelled though. It wasn't Judal who stood with a bullet in him. The two men stared at one another, the gun aimed towards the door.