AATS
Chapter 26
Lost Boys

"To die will be an awfully big adventure."

-J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan

Virgil laughed. He laughed so hard he was doubled over, arms wrapped around his stomach. He straightened up, let out a giant sigh and wiped his eyes.

"Right into his arms," Virgil said. "Couldn't have been more perfect."

Albedo stayed silent, perched perfectly on his crystalline bench, eyes always on his looking glass.

Virgil, practically glowing from the hilarity of Albedo's failure, plopped down on the floor beside him.

"Why don't you just hand him over on a silver platter?"

He gestured to the boy on the floor, "Cut him up, feed him to the biggest, baddest shark you can find."

It wasn't a secret to any Testament what was happening to Gaignun. They could see it squirming under his skin, trying to push its way out. They could also see that he was fighting a losing battle. He wasn't strong enough. His struggle was barely that and pathetic no matter how earnestly he fought.

Virgil knew by now that he shouldn't expect anything from Albedo, so it shouldn't have surprised him then when Albedo smiled - even though it did.

"Wrong again, Addict."

Virgil squinted at the boy, trying to see with whatever Rubedo-vision Albedo was equipped with. Jr. was in his office shuffling through papers and pulling up multiple screens on his console. Nothing out of the ordinary. Rubedo was a resilient little shit and to Virgil it looked like he had just bounced back from that last nightmare, ready to get back to whatever it had interrupted. He didn't seem frenzied or frazzled. He looked like he was working. Business as usual.

Virgil knew he was missing something.

"You've always been bad at this game."

Albedo pressed a clawed glove to his lips.

"Enough from the peanut gallery."

The same hand swept across the floor and the scene before them, directing Virgil to simply wait and watch.

The Elsa suddenly had work for chaos. He would be gone for a while. Just long enough, Jr. thought, as he rushed into his office. He'd told Mary and Shelley that he would be working from the beach house. He needed to be away from distractions, away from anyone who could bother him.

Mary looked like she wanted to protest but Shelley had stopped her with a steady hand and simply said, "As you wish, Little Master. Please let us know if you need anything from us."

Jr. hadn't tried to contact Gaignun since the night of their birthday. He'd tightened his hold on their end of the spiritual link. It wasn't a complete lockdown - he knew he wouldn't get away with that - but it was close. Nothing was getting through to Gaignun. Nothing from Gaignun was getting through to him, not unless it was forced. I took a lot of concentration and it was exhausting but it's how Jr. needed things to be for now.

Jr. began collecting everything he would need to work from the beach house along with the files he had brought back from Pleroma. He was walking around to the left side of his desk, eyes on screens, when he heard a sharp yelp. He pulled back immediately and found Alby's dark nose peeking out from under the remnants of Jr.'s birthday present. He had been playing in it, ripping the box and paper to shreds.

"Alby," Jr. sighed, knocking shreds of the box away. Jr. picked him up and turned him around to make sure he wasn't hurt. Alby's tail wagged furiously as he squirmed in Jr.'s hold, completely oblivious to his master's irritation.

"You are the bane of my existence."

Alby whined and gave him a quick lick on the nose.

"It's really my fault, I guess," Jr. said as he settled Alby in the crook of his arm. He kicked at the mess. Alby's squirming had stopped but his tail was still wagging, slapping against Jr.'s side as he collected the trash.

When he was done he sat down at his desk chair. Alby was placed in his lap and immediately began begging for Jr.'s attention. He braced his front paws on Jr.'s chest and whined. He licked at Jr.'s chin, bit at his earring when Jr. tried to turn his head, and cried hysterically when Jr. had had enough and set him back on the floor. Jr. finally pushed away from his desk and turned in his chair.

"It's been a while, I know. I couldn't exactly take you with me to Pleroma. What were you going to do? Kiss my captors? You're not exactly an attack dog."

The puppy sat down, tiny purple eyes focused completely on Jr. He shivered in his spot, ears flicking forward any time Jr. looked back at his screens.

"Where have you been anyway? Sleeping with someone else?"

When Jr. was gone for long periods of time Alby had a bad habit of wandering off into employees quarters and staying with them until Jr. returned. Alby had his favorites and anyone who found him was quick to notify Jr. that Alby was currently camping with them. Sometimes, if he was particularly angry with how long Jr. had been gone, he stayed longer. There was a 100-series he liked in particular for whatever reason. Jr. would catch him with her sometimes on the bridge. He just assumed that Alby missed MOMO.

He was here now, all of his attention focused solely on Jr.

"I guess it would be ok to take you with me," Jr. said, turning back to the console. "If you want. I could get lonely."

Alby barked when Jr. stood up, jumping on his hind legs and begging with his forefeet. Jr. obliged, scooping him up in his arms as he walked past.

"You better behave," he said as he exited his office. "Or you can go live with that Realian. She can clean up your messes."

The white interior of the beach house felt dark and hollow even with sunlight filtering through the large windows that lined the living and dining rooms. Alby sensed Jr.'s shift in mood as soon as they entered and squirmed relentlessly until he was placed on the floor. He ran in rapid, excited circles in an effort to cheer Jr. up.

It worked slightly.

Jr. sat down on the couch and pulled out his communicator.

"Time to get to work."

Gaignun was still in Fifth Jerusalem. The security feed served as solid proof. It showed that everything up until Jr. set eyes on Gaignun was exactly how he remembered it; Swimming with Mary and Shelley, the volleyball battle and his conversation with Captain Matthews had all happened. After that only pieces of his memory were correct. He had never seen chaos give Gaignun his present but Captain Matthews had given Jr. that poorly-judged smack. Mary and Shelley had served cake and stayed behind with him to watch movies but they had snuggled on the couch together without Gaignun. chaos had been at the table in Gaignun's seat when the candles were lit. Everything he remembered saying to Gaignun simply hadn't happened but it didn't appear that he had said those things to anyone else.

At least there's that, Jr. thought. It was fine for people to worry about him but if that worry grew and they started to actively interfere with him it was going to become a problem. Albedo was - without a doubt - alive and it was time to dissect what he was doing and how exactly he was doing it so that Jr. could find him.

Albedo was able to manipulate Jr.'s memories. He was able to manipulate Jr.'s perception of time, events and even people. He was especially good at doing this when Jr. was asleep, when his defenses were weakened. The only way to curb that would be to never sleep. He'd already tried that. It wasn't exactly the best option.

These were things Jr. couldn't do, not even as link master. Jr. was convinced that Albedo was doing this through their spiritual link and the pain blocking his access to him was just a deterrent. Albedo must exist on the other side of that link. Jr. just had to get past the blockage.

Maybe Albedo had truly evolved, Jr. thought, rubbing his hands over his face in frustration. It would explain a lot. Not everything, but a lot.

What exactly had he evolved into? Had his evolution created the blockage or was Albedo creating it? Did he not want to be found? If he didn't why was he trying to contact Jr.? Was he just doing this to torture him? Why? Albedo had manipulated Jr. into killing him. It didn't make sense that he'd want revenge when Jr. had given him exactly what he'd wanted.

Jr. thought back to the Alviss and the soldier who had protected him. He'd mentioned protecting Jr. in the last nightmare too, when he'd finally shed his skin. But what did it matter to an evolved Albedo if Jr. went Red Dragon and destroyed an entire ship? What did it matter to Albedo if the soldiers had filled him with bullets when he was tearing Jr. apart in his nightmares?

He controls those scenarios, Jr. decided. Albedo hadn't done anything that would have killed him. Jr. had always been able to get help in time when he was injured. On The Alviss Jr. would have either killed everyone and been left in a destroyed ship or been killed by hundreds of soldiers.

Albedo had come for him.

But from where? Where the hell was he? How did Jr. get there?

Alby, exhausted from doing circles in any space large enough to perform them, jumped up into Jr.'s lap. Jr. petted him absently.

Did he even have a physical form? Was their link the only way Albedo could communicate? If it was, why did he insist on trying to drive Jr. insane?

Jr. had so many conflicting thoughts and ideas about Albedo. At the end of the day he couldn't prove any of it. The only proof he had sat at the end of his link; a painful bundle of over-sensitive nerves daring him to try again and again.

He refused to ask Gaignun for help. Even if Gaignun could feel Albedo's presence it wouldn't solve anything. Gaignun wouldn't be able to break past the barrier and he'd try to stop Jr. from taking drastic measures to get past it.

Jr. let out an angry groan and threw his hands in the air.

"What the hell am I going to do?"

Alby ignored his outburst, intent on getting a nap in before Jr. stood back up.

He felt as though he could pound against that blockage for the rest of his life and still never get to the other side but there had to be a way in; a way to untangle it or force his way through. The pain had always stopped him but what if he just didn' t stop? What if he could just power through?

It was a stupid idea. He knew it was stupid as soon as he thought it but that's what he was here for, wasn't it? There was no one here but Alby to stop him from doing something stupid and he seemed completely content to do absolutely nothing.

Jr. put away his communicator and reached for the console in the middle of the coffee table. He needed to get as much Foundation work done as he could before he tried this. He didn't want to have a pile of work waiting on him. He couldn't leave Mary and Shelley to pick up all of his slack, it just wasn't fair and they would worry all the more because of it.

He worked for the rest of the day. Anything that was sent to him was completed almost as soon as he got it. He felt as if he was on fire, fueled by the possibility of finding Albedo.

Jr. really hadn't killed him. He could prove it. He could bring him back. He just had to find him.

It was late when Jr. finally stepped away from his console. The clear, white interior of the beach house had turned a soft orange. Jr. hardly noticed, completely engrossed in his work. Alby was the one who convinced him to stop. He had awoken from his hours-long nap in Jr.'s lap to inform him that he was hungry.

Jr. finally closed his console. He realized that he was hungry too. He hadn't eaten since breakfast. He turned to the kitchen with a frown. Jr. wasn't a very good cook. Now wasn't a very good time to experiment with learning either. He looked down at his puppy.

"What do you say we go find some food?"

The owner and bartender of the Ironman was brash, loud and obnoxious. He liked to give Jr. long-winded speeches about what it took to be a man and exactly how large a man's muscles needed to be before he was considered one. Jr. liked him. He never had to contribute to the conversation past a few nods and laughs and he always tried to let Jr. leave without paying. He was entertaining if nothing else and Jr. needed a little entertainment.

Traffic was light that evening in Sectors 26 and 27. He didn't feel crowded or rushed and was able to fully enjoy his surroundings. These were his favorite sectors and he knew most of the people who lived and worked there; had personally saved a large majority of them during the gnosis attack.

They never treated him like a celebrity. They didn't even try to treat him like a hero. They greeted him like an old friend. Alby stayed obediently beside Jr. as he walked the cobblestone street. Jr. often took Alby on walks through these sectors and the same people who waved at Jr. would wave at Alby too or stop to pet him. When they came up on Smiley Bakery, however, Alby completely abandoned Jr. and took off running toward the counter. He liked the owner of the bakery and would yelp until she came to the counter and gave him a few treats that she always kept around for him.

"You're spoiled," Jr. said. Alby's ears flicked back at his voice but he carried his treat with triumph. He carried it all the way back to the beach before biting into it. He stretched out beside Jr. as he sat down in the sand.

It would have been easy for U-TIC to discover what Albedo was even without intel. He would have been brimming with power, radiating with it. They must have thought they'd stumbled upon a gold mine of power. They had, in a sense. They'd found an amazingly powerful child, someone they could shape and mold into whatever they wanted; a designer child designed again into their fiercest soldier.

What a crock.

He hoped Albedo gave them hell. He felt that he must have.

He'd had the same thoughts when inside Pleroma as he'd tried to imagine Albedo walking through the ship, glaring at that giant cross.

It was night now and the lake sparkled under the darkness of space and the millions of stars shining down through the clear dome top of The Foundation.

I bet it was lonely, Jr. thought. Unbearably lonely.

Helmer had saved them, provided for them, helped them create their home. Sure it wasn't without benefit to him but he could have saved any Life Recycling variant and done the same thing. Jr. was more than grateful.

He'd had chaos with him even before Helmer. His best friend. Jr. also had Mary and Shelley who were practically his sisters-in-law who were two brilliant, beautiful women who doted on him any chance they got.

He had his Elsa crew; a crew that was completely indebted to him for probably the rest of their lives, but a loyal crew nonetheless. At this point where else would they go? Jr. highly doubted that they would leave even if they could.

Not to mention the new friends he had made and the ones he continued to make. Even if for some reason he had never met any of them or had lost them he always had Gaignun. He had never had to be without someone before.

What friends had Albedo made? Richard?

Jr. grimaced.

Jr. wasn't sure what their relationship had been but he had a feeling that it hadn't been healthy. He had his Kirschwassers, Jr. thought. But look at what he had done with them.

Alby had finished his treat and crawled between Jr.'s legs begging for another.

"You don't need another one," Jr. said, tapping the bag the Smiley Bakery owner had given him. "You have five more. I think you should save them."

Alby jumped up, paws on Jr.'s chest. Jr. caved and gave him another. The puppy settled on Jr.'s right thigh, using it like a table as he ate.

"Do you think he would like this place?"

Jr. pulled up a knee and laid his chin against it as he watched Alby eat. Alby ignored him but Jr. kept talking.

"When we were kids I promised to take both of them to the beach."

He ran his fingers through Alby's soft, white fur. He gave Alby another treat when he was done and the puppy took it eagerly. Jr. looked back out over the water.

"It's gonna hurt," Jr. sighed. "But I've got to figure it out. I've got to find him."

He offered Alby another treat but the puppy had better judgement and wouldn't take it. Jr. laid back in the sand and stared up into space. He didn't know what he was going to find. He wasn't even sure that Albedo had a physical form to drag back.

If he could just power through and get past that blockage...

Alby jumped onto Jr.'s chest and laid down, panting happily, ears alert. Jr. let him sit there for a few minutes before picking him up.

"I don't know if you'd like him," Jr. said as he stood. "He's really tall and really fucking crazy. I don't even think I like him."

He carried Alby and the rest of his treats into the house. Alby chewed on his earring but was careful not to pull on it too hard and risk Jr. putting him down. Jr. dropped the treats on a kitchen counter and walked into his room.

He would try it tomorrow, after he got a little more work done. He needed to try it here, away from the Durandal, away from protective hands. He needed to try it before the Elsa came back. He would break through that barrier and if he found Albedo at the other end then the real work could begin.

He tried to set Alby down on the bed but the puppy howled until he was picked up again.

"You're not coming into the shower with me."

Alby shook and sent water flying everywhere. He looked up at Jr., fur heavy and flattened from the running water. Jr. stared down at him, wondering who exactly had started letting him in the shower.

"I should have left you at home."

Jr. finished his shower and dried himself off. He wrapped his towel around his waist and found a blow dryer for Alby. He was a round puffball when Jr. was done but he was dry.

"Come on," Jr. said as he lifted him up and exited the bathroom. "You better let me sleep."

"Now why would I do that when you're already here with me?"

Jr.'s attention swung from the puppy to the man sitting on his bed waiting for him.

"Yo, Rubedo."

Jr. slowly dropped the puppy behind him. Jr.'s guns where in the bathroom in his holsters. He didn't think he'd be fast enough to get to them.

"Are you really here or are you screwing with me?"

"Why not both?"

Albedo rose and Jr. took a defensive step backward.

"You want me, right?" Jr. asked. Albedo's eyes widened at the hostility in his voice. He took one step back for every step Albedo took forward.

"Oh sweet dragon, you have no idea."

"Tell me where you are - where you really are," Jr. shot back angrily. "I'll come to you."

Jr. heard Alby whining behind him. The sound caught Albedo's attention. Jr. slammed his hand against the wall, shutting the door and locking the puppy and his weapons behind it.

Jr.'s back was flat against the door, daring Albedo to get past him.

"Is this how you greet everyone, dear brother," Albedo asked, his eyes running up and down Jr.'s body. He really didn't want to fight Albedo naked but he couldn't risk opening the door. Alby whined louder as if to punctuate his point.

"I wasn't exactly expecting company."

"A poor host then," Albedo said. He crouched down until he was on his knees, level with Jr.

"You wound me, Little Master," he said, dripping with spite. A sinister grin spread across his face. "Yours is the only company I keep."

"Really?" Jr. asked, his own grin spreading over his lips. "I was told to ask about Richard."

Albedo laughed; real, long and mocking. "Jealousy was never so attractive."

Albedo leaned close, Jr. pressed harder against the door, once again supremely aware of his lack of clothing.

"Distractions, imitations, all of them. I've come for the real thing."

"Then tell me where the hell you are!"

"Ask, sweet Rubedo..." Albedo's hands were on him. One went for his throat, the other planted against his chest. "And you shall receive."

A/N: A little later and a little shorter than I had hoped but here we are. I hope to see you in a couple of weeks in Wrath: The Last Nightmare.