AATS
Chapter 40
Storm Waltz
Maybe all one can do is hope to end up with the right regrets.
-Arthur Miller
"You sure?" Captain Matthews asked, adjusting the brim of his hat. He leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms. "Said it won't be much longer. Couple of days max."
It had been a week since the Elsa and her crew had limped their way to the nearest dock colony. It had been a particularly long and treacherous limp and there had been moments where chaos was more than a little unsure if they would find help in time, but they had made it in one piece.
"Seen worse," Matthews had grumbled as they exited. Tony had brushed off his shoulders
and bragged about his impeccable piloting. Hammer had fallen to his knees and kissed the grimy metal catwalk, thanking whatever god had blessed him with more time.
The dock colony they had stumbled upon was larger than most. The alleys were like streets crowded with small stalls that held bars, food, and arcades with sharp, neon signs that glared just a little too bright when stared at directly. Tony and Hammer dove straight into the glare, eager for some fun after their desperate flight. It had felt like a secret vacation tucked in the middle of space with nothing but the gaudy gleam of holographic lights to give them away.
chaos could admit that it had been fun, but it had been over a week and the Elsa still wasn't functional. The Kukai Foundation had requested their return days before the gnosis attack and chaos was growing restless. There hadn't been a direct reason listed for their return, but chaos had a feeling and that feeling was directing him to charter a flight to the Foundation.
The four of them found themselves in a little bar near the maintenance dock. They had been regulars over the past week, coming at least once a day for lunch or dinner. Tony and Hammer were passed out on the table. A sea of beer bottles separated them; the remains of their most recent drinking competition. Captain Matthews reached for the closest bottle and shook it. He found some liquid left in it and raised it to his lips, uncaring of whose had previously touched it.
"It's a long ride alone."
chaos shrugged and looked over at the two men slumped against the table. Tony had been sitting next to him. chaos reached out to pat his back with a soft glove.
"They probably want you before the rest of us anyway," Matthews added as he set the bottle down.
"Maybe if I'm all they need you won't have to return so soon. There's bound to be plenty of scrap once the gnosis clear out."
Matthews nodded. Gnosis weren't known to inhabit any place for very long and that area had been a veritable graveyard with enough scrap to fashion a fleet of ships.
"Maybe I can convince Jr. to overlook the extra weight."
Matthews laughed, "Ah, it's not the Little Master I have to worry about. It's the big guy."
He pushed an empty plate away from him and crossed one leg over the other, giving his stomach a soft pat.
"He's gotten me out of more than one scrape though. I'll give him that."
He folded his arms behind his head and nodded to chaos.
"No problems here. If you want to leave, go ahead. I'll wait for the word."
He tilted his head toward the men sprawled across the table.
"I can drag these morons to the ship. It's getting late. You need to hurry if you're planning on going tonight."
"Thanks, Captain."
chaos stood and took one last look at the table. He smiled sympathetically down at Tony and Hammer.
"Get outta here," Matthews said, waving chaos away with a lit cigarette between his fingers.
chaos had looked into finding a flight the day before and already knew where to go. It was always dark on dock colonies. They had been old war outposts and had never been intended
for long-term use. These colonies always had a surreal, other-worldly feel to them. The darkness felt eternal, as endless as the surrounding space. chaos never adjusted to them well. This one had more life and felt less dingy, less dangerous. He remembered a time when Tony would insist that they walk together. chaos appeared so frail and fragile to everyone. He had always hoped to appear so.
"Boy! Hey! Boy!"
chaos stopped and turned in the darkness. He was only a short distance from the main dock and the area was full of exhaust from ships and the surrounding buildings. The street was loud and humid from the thick streams of steam that seemed to bleed out of every crack the colony had gained over its lifetime. He hadn't been entirely sure that the floating voice had been calling for him. It was possible that there were other people hidden in the steam, but the voice grew more insistent when he paused. He turned in the fog until he found Professor. He emerged through it like an ancient creature from a swamp. His glasses were clouded with steam, and he made angry noises as he ripped them away from his face to clean them.
"Boy!" Professor grumbled, shoving his glasses back onto his face.
"Professor," chaos replied with slight surprise. "What are you doing all the way out here?"
"Don't worry about where I'm going," Professor said irritably, waving his hand to dismiss any more questions from chaos. He reached into a back pocket and produced a small black container.
"Here," he said impatiently.
"Asher," chaos said, recognizing the container as soon as it met his glove. "He's ready?"
"Yes, yes," Professor said and chaos couldn't help but smile at the tone of his voice. Professor was always in a constant state of irritation or excitement. It was rare to see him calm or still. "You're going back to the Foundation, right? Take this with you."
He placed both hands behind him and sighed. "Peak operating condition. I might even go as far as to say that it operates better than before."
He leaned forward and stared up at chaos through his rapidly clouding glasses.
"You tell that idiot boy to be more careful! Every time he brings this E.S. to me it's in an even worse state than before. It was almost irreparable. This is not a toy, and I'm not a magician!"
chaos laughed and slid the container into a pocket. "You can't blame this one on Jr., Professor. This time it was my fault."
Professor grabbed chaos' wrist as he pulled it out of his pocket. His eyes were completely hidden behind a creeping layer of white, but chaos could see the pull of concern through the cloud.
"There was no need for us to travel this far and I think you know that."
Professor and Jr.'s interactions had never been what one would call friendly. Their personalities clashed dramatically, and they had a tendency to speak to each other in loud, harsh tones. chaos could count on one hand the number of times they'd had civil conversations.
"You know Jr.," chaos said, watching the lines of Professor's expression. "He has specific tastes."
Professor's lips formed into a scowl.
"He's a reckless boy."
"He is," chaos agreed. "But he wouldn't be Jr. if he wasn't reckless."
"He's too reckless!" Professor's grip tightened slightly. "There's something wrong with him."
Professor released chaos' wrist and straightened up.
"He doesn't listen to his father. He doesn't listen to his elders. He doesn't listen to anyone, but he does listen to you. He sent you away for a reason. He's up to something."
Professor pointed harshly at chaos' pocket.
"So when you give that to him, be sure to give him a piece of my mind!"
Professor was right. chaos had wondered if leaving had been a mistake.
"Don't worry, Professor. I will."
Professor gave chaos a curt nod, apparently satisfied with their conversation.
"Someone's got to look out for that boy," he grumbled. He was wiping his glasses clean again. "He's already requesting new weaponry. As if I'm not busy enough."
"New weaponry?"
Professor was turning in the fog. A new blast of steam washed over them from somewhere above.
"Professor, wait! What kind of weapon does he want?"
Professor had his back to chaos and was walking away. He shouted back to him over the steam, "Ether bracers! More toys for him to break!"
chaos watched Professor's outline as he waded through the steam, a hunched creature returning to his swamp. chaos waited in the humid clouds and the noise as he thought about Jr.'s request. He turned back toward the dock and rushed through the steam to the first available flight he could find. Asher sat like a rock in his pocket threatening to drag him down with every step. He knew who those bracers were for. He knew why the Foundation was calling them home. He knew he had made a mistake. He had given Jr. too much room, too much space to think and plan and stretch. Jr. had never been good alone. chaos knew better than anyone. chaos also knew who Jr. was reaching for, and he knew he had stretched too far.
Albedo's mind had been a Hell mouth with gaping jaws, glistening teeth, and poison grin. Rubedo had caught glimpses of it in the space-time anomaly. It had trapped him like a snare in its pulsating horror and wrapped him in varying shades of madness that clawed and moved for just for him. Distorted memories, heart-wrenching half-truths doused in delusions of grandeur, of evolution, of triumph, of what could be.
Michtam's crystal could only reflect what was. Its clear, flat orderly surfaces gleamed and glittered with their reflections and the red of Rubedo's eyes.
Albedo didn't have to reach for their link. He was standing in it, fully formed. Rubedo held it open with a force so vicious, so violent that Albedo knew there was no denying him.
How much did Rubedo know? How much had he learned? How had he accomplished something so impossible, so dangerous, so...foolish?
Rubedo's gaze was as violent and possessive as the power forcing their connection open. He was a vision; a phoenix king on a crystal throne. He was mesmerizing. Fear choked at Albedo with cold dead hands and still he was captivated.
"What is it?"
Albedo winced at his voice, at the mockery in it. Rubedo lifted his head and Albedo was brought to heel at the motion, at the slant of his neck and the travesty of his smile.
"Looks like you've seen a ghost."
Albedo had to remind himself that he was a Testament. It was difficult to remember when faced with the full might of his red prince.
Had it been worse to isolate him? In his attempt to become something human had Albedo created a monster?
Albedo did his best to keep his secrets safe, but he felt Rubedo's presence swarming him like millions of buzzing insects waiting to sting, bite or otherwise tear into him in order to find those hidden secrets. Rubedo couldn't sustain this hold over their link, it would destroy him. It was already destroying him.
"Like you've lost your best friend."
Albedo felt the turning of Wilhelm's compass as if the sharp ovals were grinding into him. Escape was impossible. If Albedo left, Rubedo would drive himself mad looking for him. If Albedo stayed, Rubedo would collapse in on himself trying to hold onto him.
Wilhelm had allowed Albedo his game not with an inexplicable boredom but with full knowledge of Albedo's failure and the promise of a new Testament. Albedo had played into every spin of Wilhelm's compass. There was no ending that left Rubedo alive.
"Sweet Rubedo," Albedo started. He tripped over each syllable in Rubedo's name, as if the sound of it were too painful to speak at once. He took a small step forward. Rubedo's eyes followed his every motion, their gaze a boiling heat on his skin. "Persistent paramour, I could only dream of losing you."
"You're right," Rubedo laughed. It was a sharp, short sound that didn't belong to him. "I'll always find you. There's no escape."
Rubedo stood on the seat of his throne and shoved his hands into his pockets.
"So spill. Tell me where you are."
"There is nowhere else," Albedo replied evenly, calmly. "I am here with you."
"Cute," Jr. said, drawing out the word in deranged frustration. "You think you're cute."
The crystal rapidly darkened beneath him. The translucent greens and blues deepened into a sickly purple.
"But you know I've always wondered what you thought of me. What you really thought. I had been afraid to look when we were younger. It was so messy when you came back that there was no real way to understand your thoughts, so I pushed you out. I had to protect myself. Madness is contagious after all."
He looked up suddenly as if an idea had struck him, and he grinned down at Albedo.
"Folie à deux?"
Albedo felt Rubedo prying at him. He tried to create a defense, something that would feel the same as their link, even with it burst open and bleeding.
"Who was it that said that to you?"
His brow pinched forward in concentration and for a moment the terrifying red of his eyes flickered away.
"The shapeshifter."
"Rubedo!"
His eyes returned to Albedo and their fire reignited.
"What's wrong? Scared? Horrified? What's that like?"
Rubedo laughed. He placed his hands over his guns and laughed uncontrollably as if the sound of his own madness was frightening even to him.
"There's no way out of this, Albedo! No grand escape! None of that bullshit!"
"Rubedo...I can't...give you what you need."
The pleading was obvious in his voice. He was a monster pleading with another monster, begging it to understand. In his terror, he had forgotten that there was no reasoning with madness. Rubedo wouldn't stop until he had what he wanted. Albedo couldn't give him what he wanted. He had turned him inside-out. Albedo had to fix this.
"I don't need your protection! There's nothing to fix!"
Rubedo's laughter had died down, dried up in his fury.
"Do you love me, Albedo?"
"Unfathomably."
"And this is what it amounts to? Endless fights and secrets? Is it even possible to bring you home? I'll make it possible. I'll drag you home! Whether you like or it or not!"
The crystal beneath Albedo's feet shot up. He tripped away from it.
"It's easier than I thought it would be, manipulating your mind. Then again, you always made it look easy."
The crystal continued to move and Albedo stumbled his way around it.
"You know, I never asked if you could dance."
The crystal continued beneath his feet as it tried to trip or stab him.
"I keep digging and digging, but it's hard enough to keep you here. I'm spread too thin, but I can still feel your heartbeat. I can hear your panic. Hell, I can smell it. You're tired of games, tired of secrets and questions but come on, you've had your fun. It's my turn."
Albedo managed to avoid a particularly sharp crystal that attempted to skewer him. It stood sharp and thick between them. Rubedo's image distorted in the crystal, his red eyes shone like fire through it.
"I have one question for you that I think you can answer."
The crystal retracted and flattened down into the cool, green surface. Rubedo placed one foot against a solid armrest and smiled at Albedo as if he held a joke on his tongue.
"What the hell is this?"
It crawled out of him slowly and the slowness only made the sight more painful. Great blue wings, long sharp claws, and deep red scales, large blue eyes, and diamond teeth. It was too large for Rubedo's smaller frame, but it found its balance perfectly. Its long neck pulled around Rubedo to look at Albedo. Smoke poured between its teeth.
"What do you call this thing?" Rubedo asked. At his voice, the dragon placed the top of its head against his cheek to nuzzle him. Rubedo patted it with a slight laugh. "I have a few guesses."
They both turned to Albedo. The dragon opened its mouth, its veins glowed white. Albedo expected lines of electric fire and braced himself but when his dragon opened its mouth it sent out sharp round blasts that shot through the air and stuck in place. It filled the entire area between them, around them, dotting every moveable space with a floating mine begging Albedo to brush against it. They shot out like bullets, each one making a sharp pop as it left the dragon. When its work was done the thing shrieked and spread its wings wide for Albedo as if proud of its treachery.
The crystal jumped beneath his feet and he fell backward, narrowly missing one of the floating mines. They glowed red-yellow and angry, reflecting off the crystal and illuminating the area in a harsh, hazardous glow like the lights of an explosive chandelier.
"So what is it?"
Jr. drew his guns and pointed them at Albedo. The dragon curled around him, tail wrapped securely around his waist. Albedo could feel the power flowing out of him. It circled the both of them like brilliant flames.
"Can you dance?"
Gaignun awoke to the sound of Mary's voice screaming at him from his console. He couldn't remember where he was. He tried to raise up, but his limbs felt like rocks. He tried to roll over or pull up his knees. Shelley's voice joined Mary's over the console. They sounded frightened, and he felt as if it had something to do with him. Why weren't they with him? He tried to remember what had happened, but his mind felt as heavy as his limbs.
"I'm ok," Gaignun mumbled. He knew they wouldn't hear him. He wasn't entirely sure the words had left his mouth. He knew he should have been worried, but he was too sluggish to feel anything real or coherent. An hour passed before he was finally able to sit up and recognize the room he was lying in. Mary and Shelley were still calling for him. He crawled his way to the desk chair and dragged himself into it.
"Master Gaignun!"
Their voices blurred. Gaignun barely recognized the words.
"The code, Master Gaignun! Open the door!"
Door. The door to his office. The code. Jr.'s code. Gaignun stared at his hand but he couldn't make the fingers move. He fell forward onto the desk, catching himself with an elbow.
"Master Gaignun!"
He tried to nod and found that he couldn't even manage that. He knew the longer they saw him like this the more worried they would become. He fought for a few frustrating minutes and was finally able to input the code. He fell back into the chair as the two of them rushed in. They were upon him instantly, hands on his clothes, voices colliding into nonsense. The attention made him nauseous.
"Master Gaignun," Shelley said, her voice quivered slightly. "I have an antidote. I'm going to give it to you. I need you to stay very still for me."
"Antidote?"
Mary grabbed his hand in one of hers and turned his chin toward her, away from Shelley and her work. It was harder to breathe in this position, but he didn't object.
"Was I poisoned?"
"Hush now, Master Gaignun. Shelley's gonna fix you up. You keep those pretty eyes on me, alright?"
Gaignun didn't feel the prick of a needle, but he felt the warmth of the medicine as soon as it entered his veins. The oppressive weight pressing him down finally began to lift. He sighed deeply, filling his lungs with much-needed air.
"There you are," Mary said, smiling with relief. Her hand fell away from his chin and was instantly replaced by both of Shelley's.
"Master Gaignun, I'm so sorry. I knew the Little Master had sedatives, but I didn't think he would do anything like this. I should have warned you."
The pool table. The darkness that lined the edge of their link. Gaignun remembered. He pulled Shelley down and slid a reassuring hand under her hair.
"Don't worry, Shelley. I'm fine. It was only a sedative."
He pulled away from her slightly and turned toward the door.
"It was just to buy some time. Do you know where he is?"
Gaignun was reaching for him before they could answer. He didn't have to reach far to find him. Jr. was a blazing inferno searing at his end of their connection. Gaignun stood, or attempted to. His legs wouldn't respond.
"I have to get there now," Gaignun said, forcing himself to his feet.
Mary and Shelley exchanged a quick, worried glance. Gaignun rose between them before they could decide on a course of action. They caught him when he stumbled.
"It's too dangerous for you to come with me," Gaignun said.
"You'll fall flat on your face before you even get to the door!" Mary hissed, throwing his arm over her shoulder.
"Mary is right," Shelley agreed, copying her sister's movements. "Allow us to escort you there."
Red Dragon Mode. Gaignun could feel Jr. through the door before he entered the code. He pulled his arms away from Mary and Shelley. He was still unsteady, but he couldn't risk them coming in with him. They seemed to understand and didn't argue when he stepped away.
"We're not going anywhere," Mary said as he turned away from them. "We're stayin' right here."
"If you need us...please, Master Gaignun."
He looked over his shoulder to them and nodded.
"Everything will be fine."
He opened the door and moved quickly into it.
The room was covered in a light red haze like a hot mist that settled into his hair and clothes. Gaignun found Jr. slumped against the pillows on his bed. Alby was curled dutifully beside him and popped one large purple eye open at the sound of Gaignun's approach.
Dangerous even in sleep.
Yuriev's presence sank into Gaignun like jagged claws.
You can stop him. You were created specifically for this situation. You're far more powerful than you give yourself credit for. Wouldn't it feel nice to just let go?
Gaignun felt him in his veins, traveling the same path that the medicine had. He pressed him back with as much force as he could, but the situation seemed hopeless. He refused to take another step toward Jr. until he could get Yuriev under control.
Alby was fully awake now. He stood on the edge of Jr.'s bed, his low growl cut sharply through the haze.
"Alby." Gaignun began but as soon as the name left his lips he knew that it was useless. Alby had been worried about Jr. at the beach house. He didn't seem worried now, only protective and furious. Gaignun's attempt bounced off of him effortlessly. He jumped off of the bed and ran towards Gaignun. Gaignun stumbled uneasily backward. He still hadn't regained his full balance. Alby corralled him into a corner with ease, chasing him with all the fury of an animal ten times
his size until Gaignun was flat against the wall. He struggled between Yuriev and Alby, unsure of which threat to handle first. He pulled off his suit jacket, fully prepared to drape it over the angry dog and immobilize him. Just as he had shrugged out of it Alby began to bark. It was far worse than the shrill noise he'd produced at the beach house. The sound was much higher in pitch and weaponized. It stabbed into his ears and reverberated inside his skull. He threw his hands over his ears, no longer caring about Yuriev. Alby continued to bark, even with Gaignun paralyzed in the corner.
Yuriev had gone silent, deafened by the debilitating noise. Alby had taken care of that threat, but he was still a problem, one that Gaignun had no idea how to solve. He could barely think, could barely see. Every nerve was overstimulated and oversensitive. He felt the door beside him slide open, and he turned quickly to warn whoever had entered to stay back, but the action made him so dizzy that he immediately shut his eyes.
"Quiet down, Alby. You'll wake Jr."
Alby's barking paused and Gaignun opened his eyes to find chaos kneeled between the two of them. Alby seemed confused as if the addition of chaos had suddenly changed the rules. His eyes kept flickering over chaos' shoulder to Gaignun, but he didn't bark or snarl.
"You don't want to wake Jr. do you, little guy?"
chaos extended a hand to the puppy. Alby bumped his nose against chaos' gloved fingers and chaos reached to scratch behind his ears. Alby didn't relax at his touch. His eyes cut across chaos' shoulder again, but before he could open his mouth chaos muttered, "Sleep."
Alby collapsed immediately. chaos caught him and laid him down gently onto the carpeted floor. Gaignun sighed with relief and slumped against the wall. He realized that he was still clutching his suit jacket. He dropped it as soon as he realized it. chaos stood and pressed a steadying hand against Gaignun's chest.
"Right on time," Gaignun said, trying to disguise his exhaustion.
chaos frowned as soon as his glove met Gaignun's shirt. Gaignun recognized the expression.
"It was just a sedative."
"A strong one," chaos replied.
Gaignun felt ether flowing into him and accepted it greedily, desperate for any relief from the sharp pounding in his skull. He looked past chaos to the bed and the swirling mist of red that had grown thicker. It continued to coat the room. Jr. lay still in the middle of it, completely peaceful except for a small crease in his brow. Their connection was like a hot brand that seared into him any time he pressed into it. Gaignun was so busy trying to assess Jr. that he didn't see chaos' deepening frown.
When chaos pulled away Gaignun felt better than he had all night. His head was clear, and he was steady on his feet. Even Yuriev felt quiet and nonthreatening. chaos turned toward Jr.
"Albedo?"
Gaignun shook his head. "It is Albedo, but he's not the one causing this. I think...Albedo might even be trying to...escape."
Gaignun walked toward the bed and took a seat at the edge of it. Sitting this close only inflamed their burning connection. Gaignun could feel the heat pouring out of him. It was enough to make him sweat. The thought made him reach reflexively for Jr.'s forehead, but he stopped himself.
He couldn't feel Yuriev, but his words continued to swim in Gaignun's veins, keeping his presence alive and ghostly in his bloodstream. His fingers hovered above Jr.'s skin - a guillotine. Executioner.
"Can you stop this?"
The question was asked without malice, but it pricked at Gaignun nonetheless. chaos stood across from Gaignun on the opposite side of the bed. He held Alby in his arms, having picked him up from the floor. He placed him gently against Jr.'s side. There was a hint of worry in his features. It spread across him evenly, as if he were absorbing the feeling through different parts of his body in order to think more clearly. He was the calm in a red haze, a solidifying and comforting presence.
"I...don't know," Gaignun replied. It was a lie. There was an obvious fear in his voice. He knew that chaos would hear it and would recognize it for what it was. He placed his fingers against Jr.'s forehead. No fever.
"I promised that I wouldn't interfere."
He was afraid to. Their connection was threatening and although Yuriev was quiet, Gaignun was hesitant to give him a solid pathway. Gaignun delayed. The room continued to fill with his power. Gaignun's fingers stayed pressed against Jr.'s forehead.
Gaignun hadn't been exposed to Jr.'s Red Dragon in years. He knew that he could nullify it, but he wasn't sure what that would do to Jr., or if it were even possible to pull off without injuring him.
"It's alright."
Gaignun lifted his head and found in chaos' eyes the very sentiment he had missed earlier. The shock anchored him firmly into the muck of his rapidly growing fears.
"I think he would forgive you."
It was a relief when chaos turned his all-seeing eyes away from him and to Jr.
"We're losing time, and we're out of options."
"How long-" Gaignun began, but he couldn't bring himself to finish. When chaos turned to him Gaignun looked away. He focused instead on Jr. and the fury of their link. He wouldn't be able to directly break through their burning connection. He would need Yuriev again and that was a risk he wasn't willing to take.
"I can't pull him back," Gaignun said. He moved his hand from Jr.'s head to his chest. His heartbeat was powerful and furious. Gaignun could feel the vibration of it through his bones. "I can keep him from destroying the ship."
Jr.'s power prickled against Gaignun's palm like a numbness as if it were seeking to drain him of any and all vitality. The haze in the room began to move toward him as if he were a large magnet pulling it in. It clung to his clothes and burned any skin that it touched, but before the pain could seep into him and make any sort of noticeable mark, it was gone. Gaignun pulled in Jr.'s angry haze until he was covered in it, until every part of him was an inflamed, burning red. The heat stung, but the pain was brief and Gaignun felt it quickly dissipating into nothingness. The room was clear in a matter of minutes. The haze would try to return, only to be led to Jr.'s chest where it became trapped under Gaignun's palm.
Jr. didn't stir. Their link remained molten and impassable.
"Does it hurt?"
Gaignun realized that the arm pressed against Jr. was shaking.
"No," Gaignun said. His eyes stayed on Jr. He was afraid to look away. He swallowed thickly and readjusted himself. He dared a quick glance at chaos and found him seated on the other side of the bed, mirroring Gaignun's posture. "I still can't reach him."
"I think this is enough," chaos said with a nod. He shifted slightly closer to Jr., turning to lean over him. "The only thing left for us to do is wait."
"Wait..." Gaignun agreed. He pressed his hand more firmly against Jr.'s chest as if he could fit all of Jr. in the span of it and cage him protectively in the fold of his fingers. "...and hope he comes back."
It was golden chaos. A ballroom blitz, a militaristic romance, a beautiful destruction. Rubedo had turned the crystal room into a violent arena that cracked and exploded and burst apart. He wanted to overwhelm Albedo, to break him down into easily contained pieces and unfortunately for Albedo, it was working. For every glowing mine he avoided there was a crystal spike ready to skewer him. For every spike there was a stream of lightning or a flaming red bullet. Rubedo kept him in the center of it all. He circled the battlefield, riding a rail of crystal that trailed from the throne and surrounded Albedo, trapping him in an oval. Rubedo rained fire and brimstone down onto him. Albedo fought to stay on his feet and focused on minimizing the damage. He knew that if he fell Rubedo would be on him in an instant. The floor was slick with his blood. Rubedo rode around him in an endless loop, like the infinite hands of a clock or the inevitable spin of Wilhelm's compass.
Albedo had to find a way to calm him, to return him to normal, and to escape without revealing himself. Though, as he fought, as Rubedo continued to try to cripple him, Albedo had the sinking feeling that it was already too late.
Rubedo had outmaneuvered him. He had created this space, this nightmare in the very same way that Albedo had created all the others. He didn't understand what he had done. He was borrowing the power of a Testament, and he had no idea.
The only way to become a true Testament was to die, to sell your soul. Albedo refused to let that happen. Rubedo's soul belonged to him and Albedo would save him even if it meant losing him.
"You're making this too easy!" Rubedo shouted as Albedo stumbled into a mine. It ripped through his right shoulder and arm. He spun away from a blast of fire, narrowly missing a volley of bright red bullets.
"Where's the fight?"
Jr. fired from his rail. Albedo took it in the ribs. He felt Jr.'s powering dissolving him atom by atom, eating hungrily into his flesh, sizzling as it devoured him.
"Where's the passion?"
The dragon aimed for his legs and Albedo danced away from it, clutching his still-burning side. Rubedo had made his way around to the throne and jumped off his railing onto it. The crystal cried out beneath his feet in a cacophony of painful, fearful notes.
"Where are you?!"
Jr. pointed the barrel of both guns at him. The dragon curled protectively, angrily around him. Albedo saw him clearly through the spaces between the mines. There were spaces in between; perfect little gaps like little pockets of safety, gasps of respite.
"On second thought, don't tell me." Rubedo's eyes flashed. His grin turned mocking and sinister. "Wouldn't want to ruin the surprise."
Rubedo pulled back on the trigger and Albedo felt as if Rubedo were pulling on the strings to his heart. His power ripped through the gun and Albedo threw himself forward, leaping for the safe spaces between the mines. He moved as swiftly as possible. He realized quickly that Rubedo couldn't see the path as clearly from his position. Albedo dove further into the fray, around every obstacle Rubedo and his dragon could conjure. Nothing slowed him. Albedo made it out of the fray, away from the floating mines, to the throne and drove both arms to the elbow into the crystal. It filled instantly with bright purple fissures that glowed and fractured until the entire throne began to collapse.
It crumbled fast. The dragon spread its great wings and lifted Rubedo away from the wreckage. Albedo moved through the crystal and grabbed the dragon as soon as it had dropped Jr. safely to the ground. At his touch, the dragon whipped its head around to spray fire at him. Albedo lost an arm in the assault, but he didn't waver. He ripped the thing away from Rubedo and slammed it to the ground. It thrashed and screamed and tore into Albedo with claws and teeth. It left long, bleeding gashes in his legs and waist, but he took it all easily, fighting to keep the dragon down long enough for his arm to reform. Once it did he grabbed the thing by the neck and tail, held it high above his head, and pulled, ripping the gnosis apart.
The gnosis dissolved in his hands and the remaining mines along with it. Albedo stood and began to turn when he felt a burning red bullet sear into his back and straight through to his heart. He turned in surprise to find Rubedo grinning at him. The cascading golden glow of the mines had disappeared and with them any illusions of warmth, of escape or hope. The two of them faced each other in the remnants of the broken throne, surrounded by the bruised and battered floor and walls of Rubedo's makeshift Michtam.
Albedo's wounds began to heal. Rubedo stared at him, lips locked into a grin, guns pointed straight at him.
"Competent little crack shot."
There was blood in his mouth and on the hand covering his chest. Rubedo's eyes danced at his voice and he opened his mouth to say something vile, to tear into Albedo as no weapon could, but something stopped him. His brow furrowed and he turned to look up. Albedo felt it at the same time. The furious red of Rubedo's eyes dimmed for a slight moment and the painful words turned into a name.
"Gaignun?"
Albedo had never in his life been so grateful for Nigredo's presence. It gave him enough time to cut the distance separating them. He grabbed Rubedo's face and slammed him onto the floor. His guns clattered against the crystal. Rubedo's hands flew to Albedo's wrist and Albedo hesitated at his touch. Their link remained open, but Albedo found that he couldn't feel him. Rubedo's mind was an incomprehensible mess, but he was so entwined in their connection that Albedo couldn't find a way to untangle them. Rubedo had grounded him, locked him in place. It was an impossible feat, and he knew that he couldn't force him out the same way he had forced Nigredo. Not as he was.
Albedo was still here. The two of them were still entwined, inseperable. Wilhelm hadn't called him back. The game was still his. Albedo could still win. Rubedo held onto him like a thousand hooks drilled into his bones.
The hands on his wrist moved to his forearm and he was brought back to Rubedo and to the muffled, pleading sound of his name. Rubedo was looking up at him through his fingers with clear blue eyes. Albedo removed his hand nervously, unsure of what his manic, unpredictable Rubedo might try to do next. But when he pulled his hand away he found Rubedo's eyes clear, wide, and dazzling with bewilderment.
"Albedo." It left him like a question but the hold on him was strong and determined. "What is it going to take?"
His voice cracked. "Please tell me what to do."
Albedo didn't know who moved first. Had Rubedo climbed up his arm or had Albedo collected him from the ground? They ended up wrapped around each other; Rubedo arms around Albedo's neck and Albedo's around his waist.
"What am I doing wrong?"
Albedo felt the pain in his voice as if it had sprung from his own chest and moved through his throat. "There's got to be a way to find you."
His arms tightened around Albedo's neck, and he whispered, "If I can't find you then let me keep you here. Stay here. With me."
"My hero," Albedo replied, softly, sweetly. He pressed his hand against the back of Jr.'s head, fingers sliding into his hair. "You would destroy us both."
"It doesn't matter." His hold turned suffocating. "I can't go back, not without you."
Albedo felt the crystal floor shifting around them. It moved up his knees and crawled its way along his hips and chest. He shifted backward and discovered a crystal wall forming behind him. Rubedo was encasing them in it.
"Rubedo, stop this."
"I always thought you were the one who needed me. How stupid."
Albedo felt his shoulders crystallizing. His arms tightened instinctively around Rubedo as if doing so would protect him or bring him to his senses. But Albedo suddenly found his arms empty.
"Rubedo?"
As if to punctuate his confusion the crystal moved faster, more eagerly, folding his empty arms against his chest.
"Felt real, didn't it?"
Albedo heard the click of Rubedo's gun and felt the brush of the barrel against the back of his head.
"Crazy how that works, isn't it?"
The edges of the crystal were jagged and cut at his chin as it climbed him, tried to claim him. It was there as he sat, on his knees tethered to the ground in his crystal coffin with Rubedo at his back like a mad executioner, that Albedo finally snapped.
He burst through the creeping crystal like a drowning man bursting through the ice of a frozen lake. He spun on his knees, surprising Rubedo and escaping his flaming bullets. Albedo's hands flew for him. The first one wrapped around Rubedo's right hip and the other attached to his side, around his ribs. Albedo leaned over him, bent him backward, his fingers threatening to crush him.
Rubedo's guns fell and he grabbed Albedo's wrists. Pain twisted his features, all except for his smile. He grit his teeth, eyes red and defiant. Albedo's rage reflected within them. Albedo could crush every tiny bone in his body effortlessly. In fact, he wanted to. He wanted an end to the madness, to the constant torture of this game. If he couldn't win, if it truly was hopeless, he could kill them both and rob Wilhelm of the satisfaction.
He was overcome by the intimacy of it all; to rob Rubedo of his last breath, to be the one to steal the life from him. Rubedo felt this desire, and he laughed through the pain.
"How romantic," Rubedo ground out. Sarcasm dripped between his clenched teeth. His own fingers dug into Albedo's shaking arms. "But you know what would really get me going? What would really get me hot?"
Albedo felt his skin burning with Rubedo's power.
"If you would tell me where you are!"
Albedo couldn't stop him. He was flooded with Rubedo within seconds. He had forced his way in, desperately grasping at any and every one of Albedo's thoughts. He couldn't shut him out, but Albedo had decided that he didn't want to escape. He wanted Rubedo broken and defeated. He wanted him in pieces that he could reassemble and rebuild into what he had been, what Albedo himself had destroyed.
Rubedo tore through him with a hunger that Albedo had never felt from him. It was anger and fire and fury and desperation. The last time he'd felt so much of Rubedo, it had been the warm, comforting heat of a hearth, not the flames of an unforgiving wildfire.
Rubedo tried to twist out of his grasp and Albedo noticed the silver necklace on his chest. Albedo moved for it unthinkingly. He grabbed the emblem and pulled Rubedo closer.
It was his. Albedo had only worn it once and yet Rubedo remembered it well enough to recreate it. The violence left him as soon as he held it in his hands. His grip lessened as he was brought back to himself.
Albedo hadn't been able to handle an ounce of the torment he'd put Rubedo through.
He created a block to restrain Rubedo. It was flimsy but it was enough. The disturbing grin remained on Rubedo's face, but Albedo was focused on the necklace and every mistake he had ever made. Albedo felt the barrel of Rubedo's gun again, this time against his forehead. Albedo wondered dimly how Rubedo had recovered his gun.
"I'm full of surprises."
Albedo never felt the bullet.
When he awoke he found himself trapped beneath a thick layer of crystal. He moved harshly beneath it and found the crystal so tight that he couldn't. Rubedo had compacted it in a way to hold him completely still. He wouldn't be able to break his limbs to escape. If tried to break through, Rubedo would see his attempt and put an end to it immediately. He was trapped.
There was the soft clink on the crystal floor behind him. He followed the sound and looked up to see Rubedo staring down at him. He was still flaming red, but his grin had finally disappeared.
"Welcome back."
He dropped to his knees and placed his hands against the sides of Albedo's head. They weren't painful, the way Albedo had expected. He leaned over Albedo and placed a soft kiss against his lips. It was an awkward position but Albedo's heart ached all the same.
"I missed you," Rubedo whispered against his lips.
"You have no idea," Albedo replied.
Rubedo felt his sadness in his voice and laughed hollowly, humorlessly.
"You can stop this," he said. "You're not protecting me. You're protecting whoever is on the other side of this. I'm going to find him. This...is a waste of our time. Don't make me do this."
Rubedo pressed his forehead against Albedo's.
"Please don't make me do this."
"You will die if you do this."
There was a heaviness in his voice, a sense of finality, of doom that caused Rubedo to pause. Albedo had stated it as a cold, hard fact. He stared up at Rubedo and felt as if his heart were about to explode. It would chew its way through muscle and bone to get to Rubedo, to make him understand his fear. Albedo knew that he could feel it.
"I have to try," Rubedo replied and his voice held the same cold finality Albedo's had. "You died because of me. If I die trying to save you...well, then..."
Panic was made real inside their link. It was material, palpable.
"Albedo, I know that whatever you are is because of what I've done to you. I don't know what you are exactly, but I can feel it, the power. You've been handling me with kid gloves."
He smiled and Albedo was surprised to find it was genuine.
"But I'm not a kid."
Rubedo pulled away. He pressed both thumbs to the center of Albedo's forehead.
"Don't worry," he said, "Gaignun's still hanging around. You can feel him too, right? I'll tell him where you are and chaos will find you."
It was then that Albedo knew that Rubedo didn't plan on surviving. This power would destroy him and if it didn't, Albedo's mysterious captor would. Their time together was over. Wilhelm wanted this, had waited for this. He wasn't going to remove Albedo from the equation until he'd gotten what he wanted.
Albedo could feel Rubedo moving through their link, pressing into him like a surgeon's scalpel.
"What use is a world without you?"
Their eyes met and for a moment Albedo thought that he might reconsider. It was a useless bit of hope, the last that he had held in his chest. It vanished when Rubedo's blue eyes turned red and the hands on his head began to burn.
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
It was the first time Albedo had ever felt despair at the sight of him. His Phoenix King. His Red Prince. The only man he'd feared and loved in equal measure. There was nothing he could do to save him.
"Deliver me, Red Dragon."
Jr. was coming apart. He felt as if every cell in his body were attempting to separate. He knew he was screaming, but the sound was far away and detached. He didn't stop. He pushed through the pain and Albedo's terror. He ripped into Albedo's mind, pulling out every memory and emotion that might tell him what he wanted. Albedo tried to fight him but Jr. forced him back. He moved backward through his most recent memories. He followed Albedo through labs, through the planet with the crystal core. Albedo was able to keep its name from him, but that was fine. He wouldn't find him there and even if he did it wouldn't matter. He wanted the man behind it all. Albedo tried to steer him away, to keep everyone in a watery silhouette but Jr. recognized a voice.
"You get some sort of special treatment for making your path back to him? You're no better than us."
Blue. Blue leather. It covered him completely, head-to-toe.
"What will you do? Can't see you at the helm talking to the twins."
It was the shapeshifter.
"Show me the kid! Show me the kid!"
Claws wrapped in Albedo's collar. A painful urgency.
"Your date's cute. Little violent but I know that's why you like him."
Jr. had seen him before somewhere, he knew it, this blue shadow, but he couldn't place where. Jr. tried to dig farther, to force Albedo to show him who he was looking at, but Albedo was immovable and Jr. reluctantly moved on. He didn't have much time or energy left. He couldn't waste it here.
Albedo struggled beneath the crystal. Jr. knew that he couldn't hold him much longer. He was at his limit. He had to hurry.
A red shadow. A black one. Years of violence. Blurry images of Ormus soldiers and Kirschwassers. An old man in a hoverchair. An angry boy with dark hair. Soldiers, Inquisitors, the hierarchy of Ormus and its giant, glaring cross. Names were hidden from him in quick successive flashes. Blue eyes, blonde hair, and the gleam of ether.
"What are you doing? What do you think you're doing?!"
Richard. A name Albedo couldn't hide from him. Flashes of soldiers. All of them different and yet incredibly similar. Blue eyes, red hair, a cocky smile, or a mixture of them all. Inferior pieces of Jr. He finally understood what that meant.
Ormus. The gilded cross. The Patriarch and the eternal disgust he and Albedo shared for each other. Pleroma. Pleroma! A dulled cross, someone on the bridge, death in the pews, and finally, finally Jr. found him.
Albedo hid him well. Jr. couldn't even make the color of his clothes or the shape of his body. Jr. couldn't be certain if he heard his voice correctly when he spoke, but he heard the words and knew that this was the man he was looking for.
"I know what you pray for."
Jr. cut away all other thoughts as if preparing to pry this one away from Albedo and keep as his forever.
"I believe you were praying for that very thing before I so rudely interrupted you."
Rubedo!
Albedo was cracking through the crystal. He could hear it singing. Jr. pulled and twisted and turned and replayed that memory over and over until it began to give way. Red eyes. Like a vampire. He had intrigued Albedo. He had known exactly what to say and exactly how to say it. He was ancient. His power unimaginable, despite his short,
slender frame.
The memory was becoming clearer. Jr. could almost see him. The silhouette looked behind him and Albedo turned and what he saw made Jr. stop. It made everything stop.
It was him, reaching for Albedo.
"I know what it is they say to encourage your obedience."
It wasn't him. Albedo's fingers slid right through his hand and he fell to his knees, silent.
"Can you hear me now, Rubedo?"
Who...is he?!
Jr.'s anger flared, and he dove forward with renewed vigor.
Tell me who he is!
Albedo freed an arm and tried to grab for Jr. but he destroyed it before Albedo could reach him. It reformed quickly and Albedo began tearing at the crystal instead. Jr. noticed that the combat suit he had been wearing was changing into something else. Albedo's illusions were slowly being stripped away. His protections were cracking. He couldn't keep them up. Jr. could almost see him. Albedo kept trying to turn him away, to distract him with other powerful thoughts and memories but Jr. wouldn't budge. He kept pushing. He could almost see him. He was almost there.
"Rubedo!"
A younger Albedo screaming for him. Jr. ignored it at first, determined to peel away every dark layer until he had revealed Albedo's captor.
"Sakura!"
Jr. froze for a moment. It was only a moment but it was enough. The red-eyed shadow tilted his head in a mocking motion as if to say he had won. As if he could see Jr. on the outside of Albedo's memories, past the boundaries of their link.
"Sakura, please tell me where he is! You know where he is!"
Albedo's arms were free. His palms laid flat against the crystal, fingers digging like anchors into it.
"Rubedo!"
The crystal moved, and he looked up to find the translucent blues and greens layered with moving images as if the UMN were being fed into it. It played across the cracked and broken walls and floors, splintered into a million different segments but Jr. could see clearly who was crying for him.
"Rubedo, please answer me!"
A/N: Sorry for the super late update. Work has become even more stressful if you can believe it. I hope that you all enjoyed it and that it was worth the wait. I didn't want to rush one this important so I tried to take my time with it. Hopefully the length will make up for the time it took to write it. I'll see you in the next one. Until then, please stay safe and healthy~ c: